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Product Description
In a searingly candid memoir which he authored himself, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Rick Springfield pulls back the curtain on his image as a bright, shiny, happy performer to share the startling story of his rise and fall and rise in music, film, and television and his lifelong battle with depression. In the 1980s, singer-songwriter and actor Rick Springfield seemed to have it all: a megahit single in “Jessie’s Girl,” sold-out concert tours, follow-up hits that sold more than 17 million albums and became the pop soundtrack for an entire generation, and 12 million daily viewers who avidly tuned in to General Hospital to swoon over his portrayal of the handsome Dr. Noah Drake. Yet lurking behind his success as a pop star and soap opera heartthrob and his unstoppable drive was a moody, somber, and dark soul, one filled with depression and insecurity.In Late, Late at Night, the memoir his millions of fans have been waiting for, Rick takes readers inside the highs and lows of his extraordinary life. By turns winningly funny and heartbreakingly sad, every page resonates with Rick’s witty, wry, self-deprecating, brutally honest voice. On one level, he reveals the inside story of his ride to the top of the entertainment world. On a second, deeper level, he recounts with unsparing candor the forces that have driven his life, including his longtime battle with depression and thoughts of suicide, the shattering death of his father, and his decision to drop out at the absolute peak of fame. Having finally found a more stable equilibrium, Rick’s story is ultimately a positive one, deeply informed by his passion for creative expression through his music, a deep love of his wife of twenty-six years and their two sons, and his life-long quest for spiritual peace.
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Customer Reviews
2010-10-13
By Michelle R (Minnesota)
To this day, every time Rick Springfield (or, okay, Bruce Springsteen) are mentioned in front of my grandmother she asks me, "Is he the one from the mall?" What she refers to is the time that, after seeing Mr. Springfield at Pine Knob the night before, she took me shopping and somehow he ends up at the same mall, at the same store where I was, but not quite at the same time. Yep, the health food store where I'd just discussed him with the clerk earlier due to the big honkin' concert shirt I was wearing. I found this out from Faye at the hair salon, returned back to the health food store, and said to the clerk, "is it true," but the still dazed look on her face said it was true. I scoured that mall, hyperventilating.
Okay, actually let me just get all the fangirl stuff out of the way so that I can be a semi-serious reviewer. There were posters. There was listening to Jessie's Girl on the stereo, but reluctantly turning it off because it was time for General Hospital -- and there was a hunky new doctor. (Yeah, well.) There was my brainstorming with my friend Terri to come up with a new verse for Living In Oz for some contest. There was sleeping in front of the TV to not miss the next showing of Hard to Hold -- pre-VCR, you know? Just, whatever stereotype you can think of concerning the rich fantasy life of a teen girl as it concerns a musician.
Since I'm sharing, there was the time a handful of years ago when I was shopping at K-Mart and Don't Talk To Strangers came on. I thought, "wow, how cool -- in my day, they played my mother's music here." Then, it hit me -- they were still playing someone's mother's music -- namely the kids who were the same age as I was when Don't Talk to Strangers came out. In case I missed the message, I found myself at a RS concert at the park and looked around at all the screaming middle-aged women -- who were, you know, my age. Think the scene in the Brady Bunch movie when the teachers storm the stage when Davy Jones showed up.
That.
So, anyhow, he wrote a book. A -- and you have to trust me that there is very little fangirl in this -- quite poignant and well-written book that's largely about a lifelong battle with depression that I think that anyone with their own dark voice can recognize as quite candid. He pulled no punches in talking about the mistakes he's made along the way and how part of him felt a need to tear down what he built almost as fast as he could build it up.
I imagine a lot of people who are and were fans of his are going to read this for perhaps a nostalgia kick or because they have memories like the ones I mentioned. They might have fallen in love with him or his music as teens, but they'll read this as adults and really relate to his struggles to hold it all together. I think of what an insecure kid I was, looking in the mirror and not feeling good enough, but thinking of this singer as perfection -- as someone I couldn't imagine ever having real doubts. So, as an adult it's a revelation to read about his childhood and teens and how he had his own insecurities that didn't dissolve even when he was on top of the world.
I think that what carries through the book, what allows the reader to keep siding with him even when he messes up a lot, other than knowing what depression does, is his clear and deep love of his family and of dogs. No, seriously. This guy has this amazing connection to dogs and I'm one of those people who can never find a person like that all bad. I tweeted this quote yesterday:
"At this young age I am already sold on the idea of the dog. One of God's absolutely greatest inventions and one that needs no more tinkering. The dog is the perfect beast, companion, friend, shoulder to lean on, and scapegoat when too many cookies are missing. And a dog won't hold that against you, either. I am at peace sitting in silence with a dog."
I know, right?! Right there was why I could read long passages where he made the wrong decisions and still be firmly in his corner, convinced that he was not a total a-hole.
The book also allowed that dorky teen in me to get over that moment when I opened The National Enquirer to see the headline "Rock Star's Secret Marriage." His wife is truly amazing and clearly his soul mate to have stuck with him and his demons. Also, you have to look at the pictures of her, because this woman has found the fountain of youth.
Of course Late, Late At Night is great for fans, but it's also a terrific book for anyone who's battled with depression: that voice that says that everything you have is built on sand. When he discusses this he's not Rick Springfield Up On A Stage, but a human being telling the truth of his life and his struggles. Buy it as a fan with your own memories and stories, but you'll come away from it with a different perspective on your own life and a better understanding of the man
I also want to mentioned the author has a rather sharp sense of humor, a little crisp, and I found myself laughing pretty hard on several occasions.
Now I have another reason to be a fan. I saw a clip -- maybe the Today Show -- in which he mentioned wanting to write fiction. I'd love to read a novel by the author, or even a short story, as he clearly has talent has writing talent. Fans have always known this, but Late, Late At Night reinforces it! If I hadn't been a fan before, this book would have made me one without a doubt.
5 stars.
2010-10-13
By Terri Burson (Weaver, AL USA)
I'm not a diehard fan but I do think Rick Springfield is very talented and underappreciated as an artist. I saw his interview today on The View and decided right then and there that I would have to read his book. Looking forward to it and thanks Rick for all the great music!
2010-10-13
By Lucky Ducky (USA)
Yes I am a child of the 80's and have flipped around to read those sections first. It is funny, sad and touching. As a fan I am disappointed on his repeated infidelities and character flaws, but unfortunately that is the norm (especially in entertainment) these days. I do appreciate the music and have always loved his songwriting most of all. The book is a great read and may shock at times. He has had a great career, one that has been repeatedly dismissed, ironically by those who have achieved a fraction of the success Springfield has. He deserves respect for his many talents and for being brutally honest about his shortcomings.
2010-10-12
By Terry Richard (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada)
I remember turning on "General Hospital" one day (it was my favorite soap along with 12 million other daily viewers as it was the #1 rated show) and saw a new hearthrob named Dr Noah Drake. Not only could the guy act, but he was extremely good-looking. It wasn't long before I picked up some soap magazines and discovered who the guy playing Noah was. He was none other than the author of this highly insightful memoir, Rick Springfield. For a whole generation of people who watched soaps in the early eighties and who listened to music, Rick Springfield was the ultimate rock star. He had it all.
In this very candid and long-awaited biography, Rick takes us on the journey of his fascinating life. Born in Austrailia, Rick was always impressed with music. He also loved to write his own material and it wasn't long before he started his own band and began playing for Vietnam vets. Eventually, his music took him to Los Angeles where he had his first mega hit called "Speak To The Sky" that went to #14 on Billboard, but because of poor management and trouble at various record labels Rick found his singing career stalled. To pay the bills he began taking acting lessons and it wasn't long before he started popping up on various network primetime shows like "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Hardy Boys". Eventually, by 1980 Rick had signed with giant RCA Records and in 1981 he began his most famous role on "General Hospital". Rick became one of the few soap stars in North America to have a career on the small screen while having huge hits on Billboard, most notably his self-penned "Jessie's Girl" that would win him a Grammy. Gloria Monty, the executive producer who hired him, had no idea he was even a singer until Rick was cast in the role.
In these pages of "Late, Late at Night" Rick takes us through his amazing journey. Just when America thought he had everything Rick had been suffering for years with depression, something that has plagued him his whole life. While battling that disease and dealing with thoughts of suicide Rick had to pull himself together, memorize thirty pages of dialogue daily for the soap, embark on constant touring on the weekends to promote his singles for the record company, all the while maintaining his personal life.
After leaving "General Hospital" Rick starred in his first motion picture called "Hard To Hold" where he played a rock star. However, both critics and fans panned the film and it wasn't long before Rick realized he had to stop everything in his career and get help with his life-long illness.
An extremely well-written book, "Late, Late at Night" will satisfy the most ardent of biography enthusiasts, while at the same time pleasing all of Rick's fans. It not only is an excellent bio, but a well-written account on someone's struggle with depression, an illness that has been hidden too long because most are ashamed they are inflicted with a such a disorder. Rick writes how he copes with his problem, and how he has successfully won his battle with it.
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