I often go back and read prior Retro Spins, only to be mortified by how terribly they were written. Such is the case with my very first Rick Springfield post for his 1981 album, Working Class Dog, and I'm sure that one day I'll do the very same thing with this one.
Australian born Richard Lewis Springthorpe was thirteen when he learned guitar and began joining various bands. Being the child of an army officer saw him travelling the world, living on various bases, and it was in doing so that he met Pete Watson, and joined his group, Rockhouse, which changed its name to MPD Ltd. They would spend the summer of 1969 touring around Vietnam to entertain the troops, and upon returning to Australia, Watson and Springthorpe formed Wickedy Wak with MPD Ltd. alum Danny Finley, and new members, Phil Blackmore, and Dick Howard.
Prior to the end of that year, Richard would take over as lead guitarist for the band Zoot. With him would come the motto, "Think Pink – Think Zoot", which had him and fellow members, Beeb Birtles, Darryl Cotton, and Rick Brewer wearing head to toe pink satin.
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| Zoot circa 1969 |
While the change brought about public notice, ushering in a slew of female fans, it came at the loss of the band not being taken seriously as a musical act. Though they would release numerous singles, including the popular hard rock cover of The Beatles Eleanor Rigby, which peaked at number four on Go-Set's Top 40, the band would ultimately break up in 1971.
Sparmac Records would sign him to a solo deal, and in doing so, Springthorpe officially became Rick Springfield. His 1972 debut, Beginnings, would be a solid starting point, peaking at number fifteen in Australia, while also charting in Canada and the USA. It would further become his first of seven top forty albums on the Billboard 200.
Despite this solid start, his success would be hampered by rumors that Capitol Records paid people to purchase Springfield's albums, which led to some radio stations boycotting his music. These rumors were never substantiated, but the impact to his career was negative regardless.
Rick shifted to Columbia Records for his second album and released 1973's Comic Book Heroes. While it wouldn't fare well commercially, a subsequent article in Circus Magazine boosted his popularity among the teeny bopper crowd, putting him in the category with the likes of David Cassidy and Donny Osmond.
By the end of the year, an interesting twist had happened. Springfield found himself staring as himself in the animated series, Mission: Magic. The show would run for sixteen episodes and follow a group of kids who were part of The Adventure Club through a basic premise of solving mysteries, fixing problems, or helping people in need, all alongside Rick himself.
The Australian exclusive album, Mission: Magic, on the label, Wizard, would serve as both his third studio release, and a soundtrack to the series. It's been re-released multiple times since under a slew of different titles, and sometimes not including every track. This was followed by the album, Wait For Night, which provided the top fifty hit, Take A Hand.
In February of 1981, Rick dropped his album, Working Class Dog, and then promptly went to work as Dr. Noah Drake in March on General Hospital. Five months later, Jesse's Girl reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, catapulting him into stardom. This was followed by the Sammy Hagar penned, I've Done Everything For You, which landed at number eight, and in early 1982 by, Love Is Alright Tonight, which reached number twenty. As a whole, the album became his next top forty Billboard 200 hit, and his biggest seller in his career.
Though he clearly had a music career ahead of him, Rick continued to work on General Hospital until 1983. In between this, he released two more albums, 1982's Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, and 1983's Living In Oz. Before we get to the latter, let's pause at '82.
Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet provided Springfield with his third top forty Billboard 200 album. It further spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hits, Don't Talk To Strangers, What Kind Of Fool Am I, and I Get Excited.
This is a rock and roll album through and through, and with it comes some satisfying tunes, such as Calling All Girls, What Kind Of Fool Am I, and Don't Talk To Strangers. But as a whole, it's enjoyable.
At least I think it was. Truthfully, with how much history I was hammering through, and typing all of the above, my focus was a bit taken away from it. I was a little caught off guard when it ended because I hadn't really noticed how much time had passed, let alone most of the songs.
Regardless, I'm standing by what I said. It was enjoyable, and I'm down with continuing forward to his next album. As noted above, that's 1983's Living In Oz. At the risk of getting too far ahead, and having written so much already, we'll call this one done.
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