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"And I'm looking in the mirror all the time,
Wondering what she don't see in me,
I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines,
Ain't that the way love supposed to be?
"
"Jessie's Girl"

Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949 in South Wentworthville, Australia), better known as Rick Springfield, is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He started his career as a member of Australian rock group Zoot, with which he played from 1969 until their breakup in 1971.

Embarking on a solo career, he released his debut single, "Speak to the Sky" in 1971, which would be followed by his debut album, Beginnings, a year later, after moving to the United States.

His fourth album, Working Class Dog, produced the biggest hit of Springfield's career with the song "Jessie's Girl", which netted him the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. His following albums would also find success, with singles like "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart", and "Love Somebody".

In addition to his music, he also has a side career as an actor, appearing in a fair number of films and television series, most notably the recurring role of Dr. Noah Drake in American Soap Opera General Hospital, which he maintained for 32 years.


Discography:

  • Beginnings (1972)
  • Comic Book Heroes (1973)
  • Mission: Magic! (1974)
  • Wait for Night (1976)
  • Working Class Dog (1981)
  • Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982)
  • Living in Oz (1983)
  • Hard to Hold (1984)
  • Beautiful Feelings (1984) note 
  • Tao (1985)
  • Rock of Life (1988)
  • Karma (1999)
  • Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004)
  • The Day After Yesterday (2005)
  • Christmas with You (2007)
  • Venus in Overdrive (2008)
  • My Precious Little One: Lullabies for a New Generation (2009)
  • From The Vault (2010)
  • Songs for the End of the World (2012)
  • Rocket Science (2016)
  • The Snake King (2018)

Notable acting roles:


"You know, I wish that I had Jessie's Tropes":

  • Adam Westing: He plays a "depraved version" of himself in his season 3 appearance of Californication.
  • Band Toon: After his early Teen Idol success he was shoehorned into the Filmation series Mission: Magic! As Himself.
  • Berserk Button: Anyone who calls him Bruce.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: Most of his pre-1980s songs were more pop-oriented, with little resembling the rock or power pop style he is known for today.
  • Five Stages of Grief: The title of his thirteenth album features three of the concepts.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: The viewpoint of the singer in "Jessie's Girl".
  • Heartbeat Soundtrack: "My Depression" from "shock/denial/anger/acceptance" ends with three heartbeats before stopping. This is made even more atmospheric by the last line in the final verse with the character questioning if he is "ready for the second half" and a scream before the close of the song, suggesting the heartbeat is the character's final moments of life. Becomes even more haunting knowing of Rick's lifelong struggles with depression and his own suicide attempt at seventeen.
  • Older Than They Look: Would you believe the man in the picture above in his seventies?
  • Silver Fox: He's in his 70s and he's aged quite gracefully. Just take a look at the above picture!
  • Singing Voice Dissonance: He sings largely with an American accent, to the point that it can be quite surprising to learn he's really from Australia and still has a fairly noticeable accent even after decades of living in the US.
  • Two Guys and a Girl: The main theme of "Jessie's Girl", about a guy who lusts after his best friend's girlfriend.

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