Rick Springfield | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
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What experiences shaped Rick Springfield's early music career?
We got in a lot of fights just because, well, we were cute and we wore pink. So that's all you needed.
You're aware, like, this moment doesn't last.
I was very aware.
It's not like you just get off a train and like, hey, I'll get back on this train in a year from now. You know that train's going to be long on the track. And by the way, and I don't know if you were, there's also the predatory part of the music business where they don't care what you're going through. you know, go talk to this radio guy, go do this interview because they need you to keep.
Yeah. They need you to keep producing.
I want to talk about Zoot. How do I know, not know about Zoot? I went on my Zoot deep dive and I was shocked because I'm, I'm, I love kind of psychedelic rock and, and I'm listening. I'm like, how have I never heard a Zoot? It was really good.
Yeah. It was, it was, uh, It was a teen band that I joined after they'd had some pop hits. And then Led Zeppelin was on the horizon. And because I'm a guitar player, I said, dude, we've got to change this thing. Do you still have the white SG? I do. I do.
That guitar sounds good.
It's amazing. I use that on... I still use it. Really? Yeah. That was my first good guitar, because usually... When you're young and you want to get a better guitar, you're going to sell the one you have, right? Yeah. But that one was the first American guitar I had because I grew up in Australia and England. But when I was looking for guitars, I was in Australia and you couldn't get Gibson Offender. It was just out of the price range.
How did Zoot influence Rick Springfield's musical journey?
What was the common brand in Australia then? We had the German ones, Hoffner. Framus. Framus. My first guitar was a Framus. Yes. Hot frame is Hollywood.
Yeah. I'm doing my research on you and I see this is the band Zoot. It was like think Think pink, think suit. Yeah, that was a teen thing. And you guys all wore pink, right?
Yeah, it was horrible, dude.
And now, at some point, you burned the pink outfits on television.
Is that true?
Wow, you have dived deep. Yeah, it was... I couldn't find footage of the burning of the pink outfits.
Yeah, it was... We got into so many fights backstage because there was no security back in the 60s, you know? So people just wander back and... Yeah, the guys would wander back and just start swinging, you know, and we'd... I said, we've got to get rid of the pink. So what we'll do is we'll take a photo of us naked looking over our shoulders, but we'll burn it. So I'd have original pink suits, but we'll high contrast it so you can't really see. Of course, they printed it in full color, and my mom went, oh, my God, Richard. But it was a good transition.
Yeah. Shocker. Cool story. So I was texting today with Sean Lennon, dropping a name, but I was texting with him and I said, I was going to interview you. And I was talking about Zoot. And he said he was in this really cool band that I've never heard of. And I said, oh, by the way, they covered Eleanor Rigby. And like five minutes later, he's like, this is great. That is so wild. You guys are a really good band. I'm shocked because I'm a bit of a 60s snob. I like a lot of that music. So the fact that I never heard the band was shocking to me.
Yeah, we had some interest over here from EMI, but we had a manager that was scared to lose us. So he said, you're not out of your contract. You can't sign. So they call it like a super group in reverse because I came over here and had a career. The bass player formed Little River Band. the singer went on to become a big TV star in Australia. So we went our different directions and did other things when we've been given a lot of because of the pink thing. But I arranged this version of Eleanor Rigby thinking, how would Hendrix play Eleanor Rigby?
Because when it goes to the other part, it goes to this weird, almost dissonant riff.
Yeah. I'd never heard Black Sabbath at that point. A couple of my band members have heard it. They said, that's very Black Sabbath. And I said, I'd never heard Black Sabbath at that point. But it's the devil's interval, you know.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What experiences shaped Rick Springfield's early music career?
0:00–1:39
2
How did Zoot influence Rick Springfield's musical journey?
1:39–5:41
3
What challenges did Rick face during his transition to acting?
5:41–12:08
4
How did 'Jessie's Girl' impact Rick Springfield's career?
12:08–15:04
5
What mental health struggles did Rick Springfield encounter?
15:04–21:17
6
How did Rick Springfield navigate fame and personal loss in 1981?
21:17–23:32
7
What lessons did Rick learn about success and self-worth?
23:32–23:53
8
How does Rick Springfield view his legacy and future in music?
23:53–1:15:06
Speakers
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