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a biography
Reviewer:
Iluvthe80s
b.
Richard Lewis Springthorpe, 23 August 1949, Sydney, New South
Wales, Australia. The son of an army officer, Springfield's musical
interests developed while living in England in the early 60s;
on his return to Australia he played guitar and piano in the house
band of a Melbourne club. At the end of the 60s, Springfield played
with the Jordy Boys, Rock House and the MPD Band before joining
Zoot. The group had several hits with Springfield compositions
before he turned solo with the number 1 single "Speak To
The Sky". He moved to the USA in 1972 where he was groomed
to become a new teenybop idol and a new version of "Speak
To The Sky" was a Top 20 US hit.
After
a contractual dispute kept him inactive for two years, he joined
Wes Farrell's Chelsea label where Elton John's rhythm section
Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums) backed him on Wait
For The Night. The label collapsed and Springfield began a new
career as a television actor. After guest appearances in The Rockford
Files, Wonder Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man, he landed
a leading role (Dr. Noah Drake) in the soap opera General Hospital.
This
exposure helped to give him a series of big hits on RCA Records
in 1981-82 including "Jessie's Girl" which reached number
1 and the Top 10 records "I've Done Everything For You",
and "Don't Talk To Strangers". The later hit "Love
Somebody" came from the 1984 movie Hard To Hold in which
Springfield played a rock singer. The next year a reissue of one
1978 track, ("Bruce"; a tale about being mistaken for
Bruce Springsteen ) was a Top 30 hit and later Springfield albums
were equally popular in America. In 1999, Springfield released
Karma, his first album of new music in over 10 years.
*Courtesy sonicnet.com
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