Today marks the 60th Birthday of one of my favorite ARTISTS of all time. Born August 23rd, 1949, Richard Springthorpe in Australia, Rick actually just became a US citizen a few years back. Rick has had an odd career, one that is OFTEN underrated, understood, and just straight out quoted and described incorrectly.

Rick often gets lumped in the ONE HIT WONDER category, but to date Rick has had 18 Top 40 hits including 16 in row during his "HOT" phase with the public 1981-1985, and then another in 1988.

Rick's first album was not "Working Class Dog" in 1981 and "Jessies Girl" was not his first hit. His first album was Beautiful Feelings in 1972 and went gold years later, his first hit was "Speak to the Sky" a folk song, which peaked at Number 12 in 1972.

Along the way, Rick has met some strange instances that today, IF APPLIED you would have no new artists at all. Back in 1972 when his first album came out in America, Rick was still in Australia, well the song took off here also and the album was flying, BUT a rumour started that Capitol Records was paying and busing in young teen girls to buy his album and single, well the rumour was strong enough that Rick had to be dropped from his contract and the rumour, followed him through his next 2 releases, no one would touch him for fear of the rumour. Imagine they applied this to todays artists, i mean think about all the payola now and 49 cent singles and downloads bought by labels for chart positions, shit, the whole industry would be gone.

Back in 1981 when Jessies Girl took off, magazines starting Running old pictures of him from the 70's and making him a teen idol, at the time of this TEEN IDOL stuff, Rick was 32!

Another idea was that Rick was an actor who sang, WRONG, its true that General Hospital took off and he went along on that ride when the show was the shit, but Rick was gone from that show before his next album came out and "Dont talk to strangers" was number 2. So for years Rick was lumped into a category of Leif Garret,Scott Baio,David Cassidy etc..and nothing was MORE WRONG or MORE OFF!

In 1985 after the TAO tour Rick took his first break, he left the scene and recording till 1988 and returned with Rock Of Life which was his "maturity" and embracing of nearing forty and having a wife and kids. Well all was good till one day when Rick went out for a ride on his ATV and his foot slipped off the pedal and got hooked in the wheel, spun around and threw him into the ground like a nail and the vehicle on top off him. Rick was fortunate NOT to be paralyzed but he broke ribs had to have a metal plate put in his shoulder and could not even hold a guitar again for over a year. At this time RICK went into his biggest depression and left touring and music till 1996, when he began to tour. By 1998-99 he had Released KARMA a fine collection of new songs by a guy embracing the past. To follow would be countless tours and more albums, this past year or so Rick has played MORE dates than he did when he was in his 30's and to me NO 60 year old is out there doing a 100 dates a year. In 2008 he released his FINEST record "Venus in Overdrive" which was his highest charting album since 1988. Rick appeared on OPRAH a show which falsely called him a one hit wonder years earlier and got the show bombarded with emails and Rick when asked to be on that show, said "Sorry, I have had more HITS" but his fans werent that polite in the emails to OPRAH.

So Mr. Springthorpe, Happy Birthday and Thank U for all the years of music and showing how to be a REAL ROCK STAR. I know people would find it sexier if you were a drug addict now, or in rehab, because that is supposed to be the rock star thing, but you have a wife of 24 years 3 kids, not what people deem a rockstar life.


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I didn't know how much of a talented musician he was until I saw his "Behind the Music" episode and had no idea his career as a singer spanned longer than his acting career. He's had one of the most intriguing careers I ever seen of any pop star.

Happy birthday.

Timmy84 said:

Yeah Rick is very misunderstood in that respect, underrated guitarist for anyone that has seem this cat live, brother can play. I know we tend to dimiss 3 minute pop/rock writers and players as nothings, but to be able to craft the songs like that takes alot, and their is a big difference in eras of what is considered a POP song back when Rick started making them, to todays pop song makers or what is called pop now, thats what people fail to realize. Today Jesse McCartney is POP, back then PAUL SIMON was POP, huge freaking difference. Back then Billy Joel and Elton were the "piano men" today its Gavin Degraw.

So you really cant compare eras in that respect.

For me, Rick, is that guy that wanted to be a rock star, struggled and struggled, i mean he was dropped by so many labels between 1972-1978, he had to pay for the "Working Class Dog" record, with Jessies Girl, with his own money, he wasnt even signed at the time of the sessions, he had to go in the studio at 3am when no one was there, and engineer himself. So i would LOVE to see todays Pop/Rock star have to deal with that kind of struggle.

lastdecember said:

Yeah the media's weird in their perception of what's "pop music" nowadays.

Timmy84 said:

And the scary thing is that Rick seems to have more "angst" in his Rock N Roll, as a 60 year old, then the new kids have that are in "so called" rock today. I mean listen to his 2004 CD "Shock Denial Anger Acceptance" theres more guitar and agression on that record than in all of Rock in the last 15 years at least.
And for the record, Rick at 60 looks better than most at 30
[Edited 8/23/09 13:31pm]

lastdecember said:

Word.