By Mark Voger • STAFF WRITER • March 21, 2008
Chocolate goes with peanut butter, pineapple goes with pizza, but can a fella be a soap opera star and a rock star?
Rick Springfield, for one, made his mark in these two at-polar-opposites arenas.
The 58-year-old native of Sydney, Australia, is scheduled to perform in New Brunswick on March 28.
There was an aspect of right-place-right-time for Springfield during his growing-up years — the lucky stiff was living in England just before The Beatles hit — but there were many "right places" for the singer.
"I grew up all over the place," he told PAGE X.
"My dad was in the Army, so I never spent more than two years in one place. I lived mainly in Melbourne. We kind of traveled around Melbourne.
"My dad was posted in England at one point. That was one of the greatest experiences of my life, hitting the teen years just before The Beatles came out. It was a really exciting time to be there. It's really where I discovered the guitar and music and girls."
Following this musical and social awakening, Springfield returned to Australia, but the damage was done.
"Once I got back to Australia from England, once I discovered music, I had no more time for school," Springfield said.
"I got into a lot of trouble over that. I hung out with a band that I was with that had a lot of guys who were older than me. A couple of them had been in prison. I got into some situations where I could have very easily ended up in prison."
How's that?
"Well," he said, "there were holdups in 'milk bars,' which are kind of like coffee shops, and things like that. But it was all for the love of music. I was a young kid. I didn't know any better.
"Luckily, I got out of that, although they threatened to break my legs if I ever left the band," Springfield added with a laugh.
Springfield's next band wasn't holding up any milk bars.
"And then I found Zoot," the singer said.
"Zoot was a nice, normal, healthy, teenage band. We had a lot of success over in Australia. We started writing and started getting some press and realizing, 'Hey, maybe I could do this for the rest of my life.' "
But first there was a considerable detour for Springfield once he relocated to the United States: his role as Dr. Noah Drake on the long-running daytime drama "General Hospital."
In 1981 — the year Springfield landed the role — he also landed a No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" from his "Working Class Dog" album. Due to the fact that Springfield was having chart success at the same time he became the designated hunk on daytime TV, he has mixed memories of the "General Hospital" experience.
"It was great; it was initially great, and then it had its two-edged sword," he said.
"People who initially liked the record then started finding out I was on a soap opera and said, 'Oh, he's on a soap opera actor? Oh, he can't be any good, then.' So it definitely hurt my credibility of what I loved to do first, which was songwriting.
"I mean, it certainly helped, notoriety-wise. There was no hotter show at the time than 'General Hospital,' and I just happened to stumble on at the right time again. So I look at it fondly, mostly."
Springfield parlayed his acting and singing success into a feature film. "Hard to Hold" (1984) was not autobiographical, though Springfield played a rock star and wrote original songs for the film. He was asked if he had any imput into the plot.
"Not really, though we changed the dialogue a lot," the singer said.
"The original dialogue was even worse than, I think, a lot of what ended up on the screen," he added, laughing again. "We were pretty free with the dialogue and trying to have it make sense.
"I was involved in it, certainly, for the two months we did it. I was writing the songs while we were filming. That was kind of a fun memory. That was an interesting way to write — up in a hotel room in between takes, you know?"
Rick Springfield is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. March 28 at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. $28, $38, $48, $68, $125. (732) 246-7469. http://www.statetheatrenj.org/
Rick Springfield, for one, made his mark in these two at-polar-opposites arenas.
The 58-year-old native of Sydney, Australia, is scheduled to perform in New Brunswick on March 28.
There was an aspect of right-place-right-time for Springfield during his growing-up years — the lucky stiff was living in England just before The Beatles hit — but there were many "right places" for the singer.
"I grew up all over the place," he told PAGE X.
"My dad was in the Army, so I never spent more than two years in one place. I lived mainly in Melbourne. We kind of traveled around Melbourne.
"My dad was posted in England at one point. That was one of the greatest experiences of my life, hitting the teen years just before The Beatles came out. It was a really exciting time to be there. It's really where I discovered the guitar and music and girls."
Following this musical and social awakening, Springfield returned to Australia, but the damage was done.
"Once I got back to Australia from England, once I discovered music, I had no more time for school," Springfield said.
"I got into a lot of trouble over that. I hung out with a band that I was with that had a lot of guys who were older than me. A couple of them had been in prison. I got into some situations where I could have very easily ended up in prison."
How's that?
"Well," he said, "there were holdups in 'milk bars,' which are kind of like coffee shops, and things like that. But it was all for the love of music. I was a young kid. I didn't know any better.
"Luckily, I got out of that, although they threatened to break my legs if I ever left the band," Springfield added with a laugh.
Springfield's next band wasn't holding up any milk bars.
"And then I found Zoot," the singer said.
"Zoot was a nice, normal, healthy, teenage band. We had a lot of success over in Australia. We started writing and started getting some press and realizing, 'Hey, maybe I could do this for the rest of my life.' "
But first there was a considerable detour for Springfield once he relocated to the United States: his role as Dr. Noah Drake on the long-running daytime drama "General Hospital."
In 1981 — the year Springfield landed the role — he also landed a No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" from his "Working Class Dog" album. Due to the fact that Springfield was having chart success at the same time he became the designated hunk on daytime TV, he has mixed memories of the "General Hospital" experience.
"It was great; it was initially great, and then it had its two-edged sword," he said.
"People who initially liked the record then started finding out I was on a soap opera and said, 'Oh, he's on a soap opera actor? Oh, he can't be any good, then.' So it definitely hurt my credibility of what I loved to do first, which was songwriting.
"I mean, it certainly helped, notoriety-wise. There was no hotter show at the time than 'General Hospital,' and I just happened to stumble on at the right time again. So I look at it fondly, mostly."
Springfield parlayed his acting and singing success into a feature film. "Hard to Hold" (1984) was not autobiographical, though Springfield played a rock star and wrote original songs for the film. He was asked if he had any imput into the plot.
"Not really, though we changed the dialogue a lot," the singer said.
"The original dialogue was even worse than, I think, a lot of what ended up on the screen," he added, laughing again. "We were pretty free with the dialogue and trying to have it make sense.
"I was involved in it, certainly, for the two months we did it. I was writing the songs while we were filming. That was kind of a fun memory. That was an interesting way to write — up in a hotel room in between takes, you know?"
Rick Springfield is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. March 28 at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. $28, $38, $48, $68, $125. (732) 246-7469. http://www.statetheatrenj.org/
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