Beginnings

Born Richard Lewis Springthorpe, near Sydney, on August 23rd., 1949, Rick, very good looking and quietly spoken, is undoubtedly one of the great young talents to emerge on the Australian music scene from some time.

At twenty two years of age, Rick has established himself, not only, as a singer but also as an extremely successful songwriter. Both sides of Alison Durbins' new sing and the A side of Johnny Farnhams' latest, were penned by Rick. Looking further into his talents, Rick walked away with two awards, this year, for his work as a guitarist; Best Lead guitarist - TV Week King of Pop Awards 1971 and Best Australian Guitarist - Go-Set 1971.

Along with guitar Rick plays bass, piano and harmonica. He began playing instruments at the age of sixteen, and went straight from school into a rock band, "Pete Watsons Rockhouse", becoming professional at seventeen.

There is no doubt that during his association with The Zoot, Rick's arrangements of their material contributed largely to the groups' success and helped "Eleanor Rigby" earn two national awards.

"Speak to the Sky" and "I Didn't Mean to Love You", are the two compositions that served to introduce Rick Springfield as a Sparmac recording artist.

In October 1971 Capitol Records (U.S.A.) began negotiations with Binder/Porter Organisation to sign Rick to a long term contract. The agreement was signed and Capitol began planning releases for the American market.

In January 1972 Rick flew to London to record an album for world release. The album produced by Robie Porter and arranged by Del Newman (Cat Stevens' arranger) was produced for Capitol Records.

In May 1972 Rick represented Australia at the Tokyo Song Festival. The single "Speak to the Sky" was released in Japan to coincide with his appearance there. In the two week period he appeared on 12 television shows in Tokyo.

In June 1972 Rick signed with The William Morris Agency, the largest theatrical agency in the U.S. Sam Weisborg, head of the agency announced that he would personally handle Springfield himself. Weisborg's only other two personal clients are Elvis Presley and David Cassidy.

In July Rick's album, aptly titled "BEGINNINGS" received rave reviews on its release in the U.S.A. His single "Speak to the Sky" jumped into major American charts as a Bullet entry and at the present time both the single and the L.P. are charted.

In August 1972 Rick began an extensive tour of American cities to promote these records. Capitol Records believe that Springfield is going to be a major international act and they are delighted at the initial reaction to his records and personal appearances in the U.S.

Rick Springfield is making it happen in the U.S. right now and not only is it happening for him but for Australia as well.