Each time it seems as though Rick Springfield has slipped into the dregs of pin-up poster obscurity, he comes fighting back.

Success hasn't spoiled him yet.

Thirty five years ago, Springfield was born the son of a working class soldier in Australia. Down under Rick grew up listening to the barroom blues of the Rolling Stones and the British pop of the Beatles. The clean cut image of the Beatles in the mid-'60's was in fact the picture his record companies first tried to paint for him. However, Springfield's career keeps leaning toward the more left-of-center ideas of the early Rolling Stones.

His career started when he blew off school to join Rock House and tour Vietnam. The chance to earn some money was too much to pass up for Springfield and his Rock House cohorts. In between cover tunes, it wasn't unusual to hear a thunderous boom and a voice coming over the PA warning, "that's incoming, gentlemen." Such are the dangers of rock and roll.

Rock House dodged the mortar shells successfully and pulled out of the trenches to return to Australia. Rick subsequently pulled out of Rock House and joined a new band, Zoot, in which he started to perform his own material. Zoot quickly became Springfield's most successful band and earned him the coveted titles of Australia's top songwriter and guitarist.

Springfield had begun playing guitar at 13. Combining steady gigs with high school, homework and practicing guitar didn't pan out. An ongoing battle between Rick and his parents developed. The fighting ended when he went with Rock House to Southeast Asia. His tenacity for playing guitar has paid off for him - it has become a cornerstone of his musical success. Unlike the singer/bandleaders of other top pop groups, he doesn't put his axe down to sing. His ability to play guitar, combined with his songwriting and vocal talents have strengthened his all-around performance level and lent to his success.

When Zoot split, going solo was no problem for Springfield. Since he had been penning much of Zoot's material, it's not surprising that his first solo single, "Speak to the Sky" reached number one in Australia. It was that song that sparked the interest of Capitol Records in the U.S. to sign up Rick stateside. "Speak to the Sky" became a top 15 hit in the states.

The beginning of Rick Springfield's American success story in 1972 is also the tale of his growth in unwanted directions and of an unsettled period in Springfield's life.

When Capitol Records signed Springfield they weren't only looking at a talented musical entity, they were looking at a pretty face. Those good looks were soon plastered all over teen magazines as the record company guaranteed Rick's success as a teen idol. It's hardly what the doctor ordered. Meanwhile, Springfield's management company negotiated a new contract with Columbia. CBS was convinced that they had another David Cassidy on their hands and repeated Capitol's mistake of marketing Rick, and his new album Comic Book Heroes, to pre-teenagers. The music on Comic Book Heroes reflected a musical maturity for Springfield and consequently failed to connect him with the audience the album was marketed toward. Only extensive touring could have saved Comic Book Heroes from the cut-out bin.

Enter problem number two. Rick ran into problems obtaining an Immigration Service Green Card and that prevented him from touring in America for two years. No tour and no album sales left Rick Springfield disillusioned and with no control of his musical direction. A seemingly defeated Springfield left Columbia and his management. Under the terms of his contract he was prevented from recording or performing for three years.

Springfield's three year hiatus was a blessing in disguise. He met up with Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange) and began to study acting. His new career in drama kept him more than afloat while he continued to write, arrange and record new material at home.

When his three year sentence was up, Springfield signed with Chelsea Records and began planning a tour with members of Elton John's backup band. Wait For Night was recorded, the tour set and a single, "Take A Hand, " was doing well on the charts. Then one day, his record label folded.

Without his acting career, this debacle with Chelsea probably would have sent him back to Australia to breed kangaroos. Not so.

Rick rented a theater in Hollywood, designed sets and got together anyone he could to see him perform. A rep from Universal Pictures was in the audience and signed Springfield to a two year contract during which time he appeared on "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Wonder Woman," "Battlestar Galactica" and then secured a role as Dr. Noah Drake in "General Hospital."

While polishing his skills as an actor, Springfield was also busy in his four-track home studio making demo tapes. By 1980 those tapes had made their way to RCA Records where Springfield recorded Working Class Dog. Working Class Dog sold platinum and "Jessie's Girl" earned Springfield a Grammy for "Best Rock Male Performance."

Springfield went out of his way to keep his shining good looks off of the cover of Working Class Dog to diminish his image of teen-idol. In fact, putting his dog on the cover won Springfield a number of album design awards. Despite his efforts, his popularity among teens from his part in "General Hospital" grew dramatically. The pop sounds of "Jessie's Girl," "I've Done Everything For You," and "Love Is Alright Tonite" added fuel to the fire. FM rock radio stations, which played the songs at first, began to drop them from their playlists as they started to question Springfield's creditability among adults. Everyone was anxious for his next move.

Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, his second RCA album, was a smashing commercial success yielding both "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Calling All Girls." The album earned Springfield the American Music Award's "Favorite Male Rock Vocalist" for 1982 and two Grammy nominations. It also earned him the scorn of RM programmers who were trying not to alienate their over 25 listeners.

With his next record, Living In Oz, Springfield's made a few smart moves. The album is lyrically stronger than his two previous efforts, (check out "Motel Eyes" and "Me and Johnny") and it rocks harder and with more sophistication than either Working Class Dog or Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet. This move kept Springfield from becoming typecast as a teen-only attraction and one of the album's highlights, "Human Touch," received considerable airplay across the country.

While cementing his position as a world class rock 'n' roller, Springfield left "General Hospital" and had begun to work on a movie career the first results of which was the feature length film "Hard to Hold." The storyline of the film is based loosely around Springfield's rock experience and is complemented with a soundtrack done by Rick and noted jazz sideman Tom Scott. The inclusion of artists like Graham Parker and Peter Gabriel take the Hard To Hold soundtrack beyond the realm of teeny bopper motion picture score. It is yet another sign that Rick Springfield is developing into a mature artist.

Putting his dog on the cover of his first album for RCA was the beginning of a concerted effort by Rick to prove himself as a good musician and talented songwriter. Well-meaning publicists had typecast his as a teen-idol, an image difficult to shed. Time and again Springfield finds new ways to outsmart his critics. Even when his role as Dr. Noah Drake put him in the teen limelight, he was quick to break out of the mold with the recording of a record like Living In Oz. Clearly, Springfield is a smart and tough talent who will be around for years to come.