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Rick Springfield

by Ernie Thomas

A Saturday morning cartoon character and teen idol back in 1972, a soap opera heart-throb and MTV star in 1982, and a struggling independent recording artist in 2002 –– Rick Springfield –– has enjoyed a colorful and varied career with plenty of ups and a few downs.

Playing guitar since he was 13, there were a lot of years invested in music before his “Jessie’s Girl” single took him to the tip top of the charts, helped his Working Class Dog LP sell multi-platinum, and made Springfield a household name in 1981.

“My love of music started with my father who was always singing,” noted Springfield. “He was really good enough to have been a professional singer, but instead made the Army his life.”

On his way to that success, Springfield dodged mortars while playing Vietnam USO shows in 1968; struggled through a variety of bands in his native Australia; lost out to Gary Busey for the lead in “The Buddy Holly Story”, and like Rick Nelson before him, ultimately had to overcome the teen idol label that first brought him to fame.

Yes, Rick Springfield has worked much harder than most folks might expect to get to this point in his life, where he now seems content to just coast and enjoy the fruits of his labor and the passion of playing.

Those years of long grueling tours and being on the road for months on end are over, replaced by little clusters of dates scattered throughout the year. “We typically do a few dates then go home for a week and then do some more dates. We’re probably averaging 85-100 shows a year these days.”

The recently turned 56-years-old decided last year to put down his pen and record an album of songs he says that he wishes he had written. Songs he fancied that had struck him as a music fan himself.

That 14 song set – The Day After Yesterday – was released this summer via the artist’s own imprint, Gomer Records and features Springfield’s interpretations of tunes by The Beatles (“For No One”), Ambrosia (“Holding On To Yesterday”), Gerry Rafferty (“Baker’s Street”) and 10cc (“I’m Not In Love”).

“I wanted to take a break from writing,” he said of why this seemed the right time for an album like this. “Doing a ‘covers album’ is certainly not an original idea right now, because there are a lot of people having some breakthrough success with cover songs. But it was something I’d always wanted to do and it just seemed the right time.”

“I’m Not In Love” is the current single that A/C radio stations are picking up on. It is one of two songs from this new CD that will be heard live at Star Plaza Theatre this month. The other Springfield’s tasty treatment of the old Dream Academy hit, “Life In A Northern Town.”

“I initially had a long list [of tunes] I was considering for this album and ‘Life In A Northern Town’ was one that I knew would make the cut, because it’s just such a great song,” said Springfield. “For the most part, I tried to pick songs that were under the radar a bit. Songs that radio doesn’t play to death anymore, but that people would hear and say, ‘Oh, I remember that one...what a great song!’”

Eleven tracks fit that criteria. Two songs not too far under the radar from The Day After Yesterday are Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.” He felt Lennon’s dream of world peace needed to be heard today more than ever. The third is the album’s sole Springfield original composition, “Cry.”

“We’re only doing the two cover songs from the new album right now, because we have a real high energy show and it’s just too hard to sneak in a bunch of slow songs,” explained Springfield.

The energy level of a Springfield concert will be witnessed when an as-yet-untitled DVD hits the market in time for the holidays. It is a high-definition taping from the last leg of the 2004-2005 “Shock Tour” of Springfield ripping it up in Rockford, Illinois.

A good deal of material from that tour’s album, shock/denial/anger/acceptance, is still heard in the current live show. That impressive 2004 release marked a strong return to Springfield’s guitar rock roots and is arguably the best overall album the artist has released in several years.

“That was just where my head was at then. I’d been going through some tough times and just needed to make that album,” said Springfield of his surprise return to his youthful hard rockin’ roots. “I’d been in a Vegas show for like two years and was getting ready to go on tour for the first time in a while and I just wanted to get out and rock ‘n’ roll a bit.”

Because of having spent so many years entrenched in the adult contemporary side of popular music, that hard rocking record fell between the cracks. “It was too rock for A/C radio,” he sighed.

Proud of shock/denial/anger/acceptance, Springfield wants people to hear those songs that radio overlooked. “We start out the show with ‘I’ll Make You Happy’, and we do the songs ‘Will I’, ‘Jesus Saves’ and ‘Beautiful You’,” he said.

Of course all the older hits –– “I’ve Done Everything For You”, “Affair Of The Heart”, “Human Touch”, “Love Somebody”, “Jessie’s Girl” and others –– will be present and accounted for during his 90-minute performance.

After all, aside from his latest studio album, a comprehensive, career-spanning 2-CD set of his music –– Written In Rock: The Rick Springfield Anthology–– was released this past Spring via Sony/BMG Music.

Springfield scribed the liner notes for the set and was involved in the song selection process. “I’m very happy with the final [product],” he concluded. “It really covers the whole span of my career so far and the songs represent the different eras of my songwriting very well.”

RICK SPRINGFIELD performs September 24

at Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana

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