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Rick Springfield
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===Music=== [[File:Rick Springfield 2004 Free.jpg|thumb|left|Springfield during the [[Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance|shock/denial/anger/acceptance]] tour in 2004]] Springfield was 13 when he learned guitar. He joined various bands in England, where his father was stationed from 1958 to 1963, and several more after returning to Australia.<ref name="BIO1" /> In 1968, he was approached by bass guitarist Pete Watson to join his group Rockhouse.<ref name="MilesMPD"/> Later that year, Watson changed the band's name to [[MPD Ltd]] and, in October when Springfield was 19 years old, they toured [[Vietnam|South Vietnam]] to entertain Australian troops. Another member of MPD Ltd was Danny Finley (drummer). Upon returning to Australia, they formed Wickedy Wak.<ref name="MilesMPD"/> They were joined by Phil Blackmore on keyboards and Dick Howard.<ref name="MilesMPD"/> ''[[Go-Set]]'' journalist [[Molly Meldrum]] produced Wickedy Wak's single, "Billie's Bikie Boys", with [[Beeb Birtles]] of pop rock group [[Zoot (band)|Zoot]] as a backing vocalist.<ref name="MilesZ"/> In September 1969, Springfield replaced [[Roger Hicks (rock musician)|Roger Hicks]] as lead guitarist and vocalist in Zoot, with Birtles on bass guitar and vocals, [[Darryl Cotton]] on lead vocals and guitar, and Rick Brewer on drums.<ref name="McF"/> Upon joining Zoot, Springfield adopted the "Think Pink{{spaced ndash}}Think Zoot" theme that had the band members dressed head to toe in pink satin.<ref name="MilesZ"/><ref name="McFZ"/> The publicity gimmick brought attention to the group and attracted numerous teenage girl fans, but caused problems in establishing their credibility as serious rock musicians.<ref name="MilesZ"/><ref name="McFZ"/> Zoot's fifth single, "Hey Pinky", was written by Springfield.<ref name="APRA HeyPinky"/> The group attempted to shake off their teeny-bopper image.<ref name="MilesZ"/><ref name="McFZ"/> They followed with a hard rock cover version of [[The Beatles]]' hit "[[Eleanor Rigby]]", which peaked at No. 4 on ''Go-Set''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Top 40 in March 1971.<ref name="GoSetEleanor"/> Despite another hit single with "Freak" in April,<ref name="GoSetFreak"/> which was written by Springfield,<ref name="APRA Freak"/> the band broke up in May.<ref name="McFZ"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rickspringfield.com/timeline|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412123736/http://www.rickspringfield.com/timeline.php|archive-date=12 April 2010 |title=Official Web Site |publisher=Rick Springfield |access-date=6 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birtles.com/zoot.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909152211/http://www.birtles.com/zoot.html|archive-date=9 September 2010 |title=Zoot |publisher=Birtles.com |date=7 June 2002 |access-date=6 April 2010}}</ref> Springfield signed with [[Sparmac Records]] and issued his debut solo single, "Speak to the Sky", in October, which peaked at No. 5 on the ''Go-Set'' singles chart.<ref name="GoSetSpeak"/> Sparmac label owner, [[Robie Porter]], was also producer and manager for Springfield.<ref name="MilesZ"/> After recording his debut album, ''Beginnings'', in London, Springfield moved to the United States in mid-1972.<ref name="McFZ"/> Springfield provided all the songwriting, lead vocals, guitar, keyboard and banjo for the album.<ref name="McF"/> In August 1972, "Speak to the Sky" was issued in the U.S. by [[Capitol Records]] and peaked at No. 14 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in September.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="BillboardSingles"/> ''Beginnings'' was the first of seven top 40 Springfield albums on the related [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="AllmusicAlbums"/> However, follow-up success was hampered by rumours that Capitol Records paid people to purchase Springfield's albums, which led to some radio stations boycotting his music.<ref>According to the 2005 [[A&E Network|A&E]] documentary ''Rick Springfield: Behind The Image''.</ref> [[File:Rick Springfield in Boston 2011.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Springfield in September 2011 before a performance in Boston]] In 1973, Springfield signed to [[Columbia Records]] and recorded his second album, ''Comic Book Heroes'', which was also produced by Porter.<ref name="McF"/> In Australia, released on Porter's new label, Wizard Records, the album and its two singles failed to chart.<ref name="McF"/> Springfield was promoted as a teen pop idol similar to [[David Cassidy]] and [[Donny Osmond]].<ref name="McF"/> Springfield spoke of the [[teenybopper]] image in ''[[Circus Magazine]]''<ref name=CircusMag_spring>"Rick Springfield β A Comic Book Hero No More" by Hugh Slafia, p. 27, ''[[Circus Magazine]]'', No 36 β Vol 8, No 3, 1973 β Circus Enterprises Organisation K47453.</ref> in 1973. He said he was not sure how it happened. "Someone saw my photo and that was it."<ref name=CircusMag_spring /> He went on to say that someone asked to take a photo of him in a white suit and thought that it was "a bit dull", so he took some crayons and "scrawled an R with a lightning bolt going through it ... which became my [[emblem]]."<ref name=CircusMag_spring /> From September to December 1973, Springfield starred as "himself" in the ABC-TV Saturday morning cartoon series ''[[Mission: Magic!]]'', for which he usually wrote and performed an original song in each episode. In 1974, he issued an Australia-only album, ''Mission: Magic!'', which was "full of infectious bubblegum pop songs".<ref name="McF"/> His single, "Take a Hand", reached the U.S. top 50 in 1976. The single was taken from the album ''[[Wait for Night]]'', which was issued by his new label, Chelsea Records. Soon after its release, the record company folded.<ref name="McF"/><ref name="BillboardSingles"/> During the late 1970s, he concentrated more on his acting career, guest-starring in several primetime TV dramas.<ref name="BIO1" /><ref name="McF"/> Springfield continued to write and record and, in 1981, released his next album, ''[[Working Class Dog]]''. The album spawned the single "[[Jessie's Girl]]", a worldwide hit which peaked at No. 1 for two weeks in the U.S. on the Hot 100 and the Australian [[Kent Music Report]] singles chart.<ref name="BillboardSingles"/><ref name="Kent"/> Springfield won the 1981 [[Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance]].<ref name="AllmusicAwards"/><ref name="GrammyAwards"/> ''Working Class Dog'' reached No.7 on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref name="AllmusicAlbums"/> Another top 10 single from the album was the [[Sammy Hagar]]-penned "[[I've Done Everything for You]]".<ref name="McF"/><ref name="BillboardSingles"/> He had further success with the follow-up albums ''[[Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet]]'' (1982) and ''[[Living in Oz]]'' (1983). Springfield was frustrated with people in interviews mistaking him for [[Bruce Springsteen]], expressed in the track "Bruce" on the album ''Beautiful Feelings'' (1984). In 1984, Springfield starred in his own film, ''[[Hard to Hold (film)|Hard to Hold]]'', and recorded the majority of the material on the [[Hard to Hold|accompanying soundtrack]]. The soundtrack included a top-ten hit, "Love Somebody", as well as several moderately successful follow-up singles. However, the film itself was not successful, and the soundtrack's success, though higher than that of the film, paled in comparison to Springfield's previous albums. Nonetheless, Springfield released his next album ''[[Tao (album)|Tao]]'' in 1985, scoring several modest hits from this release, including "[[State of the Heart (Mondo Rock song)|State of the Heart]]" and "Celebrate Youth". That same year, Springfield was one of several performers who participated in the [[Live Aid]] charity concert.<ref name="TSMR1">{{cite news|title='Global jukebox' makes plea for Africa|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FbUfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2157,898536&dq=rick+springfield+live+aid&hl=en|access-date=25 June 2010|newspaper=The Southeast Missourian|date=14 July 1985|last=Linder|first=Lee|agency=Associated Press|page=6|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115014450/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FbUfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2157%2C898536&dq=rick+springfield+live+aid&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Around this time, he took a brief hiatus from recording. Between 1985 (After TAO) & 2020, Springfield still recorded and released nine studio albums. Springfield returned in 2020 via a one-off featured performance in the [[Coheed and Cambria]] single "Jessie's Girl 2",<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-21|title=Coheed and Cambria Share 'Jessie's Girl 2' Video Featuring Rick Springfield|url=https://www.spin.com/2020/08/coheed-and-cambria-share-jessies-girl-2-video-featuring-rick-springfield/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Spin|archive-date=23 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823101408/https://www.spin.com/2020/08/coheed-and-cambria-share-jessies-girl-2-video-featuring-rick-springfield/|url-status=live}}</ref> a sequel to the 1981 Springfield single "[[Jessie's Girl]]". In 2021, Springfield started hosting a weekly radio show on [[Sirius XM]]'s "80s on 8" Channel called 'Working Class DJ with Rick Springfield', the musician spins eight songs around a theme.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} In 2021, Springfield joined [[Russell Morris]] and formed [[The Morris Springfield Project]]. The Morris Springfield Project released ''Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz'' in October 2021 which debuted at number 34 on the ARIA Charts.<ref name="aria news">{{cite web|url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/music-of-the-spheres-hands-coldplay-seventh-aria-1-album|title=Music Of The Spheres hands Coldplay seventh ARIA #1 album|website=[[ARIA Charts]]|date=22 October 2021|access-date=23 October 2021|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022204221/https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/music-of-the-spheres-hands-coldplay-seventh-aria-1-album|url-status=live}}</ref>
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