The Legendary Rick Springfield

And that's what you really missed with Jenna.

And Kevin an iHeartRadio podcast.

Welcome to and that's why we really miss podcast. An extra special special special guest today, Kevin I.

I'm sweating already, so nice. Today is a Glee the Music special, Yes, because we have one of the artists of one of the songs that we covered and we never.

Get to do that, who wrote this song and shared with us the inspiration or the truth behind this song and one of our favorite covers of this song by the one and only Corey Montieth. Who do we have today, Kevin?

We have Rick Springfield wrote and performed Jesse's Girl. And you know, when you look at the show, you look at Glee, all of us had sort of our idea and a fire in terms of a song, right, we each had if do you think about that character and what's one song that they did that has to be their song? This was obviously Corey's slash Finn's song. He did it on tour. We had it's one of our favorites.

There was a plan for this song, like from the beginning, it's why Jesse see James calls Jesse James, which we talk about.

Yeah, I feel like this is like part of the bedrock of the foundation of what of some of the music for Glee.

If Corey could only see us chatting with Rick, I know Springfield today? How cool?

Well, you guys will love this. He is the sweetest, He is so talented and we are so so fortunate that he said yes again. Yeah. So here is our interview with Rick Springfield.

Hello, how the heck are you?

We're good?

How are you? I'm good?

Good?

Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.

Very well, this is very exciting and I kind of a legend.

You know, it's not every day that we we worked on a show, a musical show and sang over seven hundred numbers and very few times and we actually get to talk to the people whose songs we were covering, hopefully doing them justice. You never know, we didn't know all of them, but so it is very very special.

Yeah.

I think you did great. I love the Beagle base amazing.

Well, thanks for coming on. We would love to talk about Jesse's Girl. Obviously, Cory Monteeth, our late friend, you know, cover Jesse's Girl. It's one of our favorite memories of him, is him doing this number. This number is obviously you know, so so e thing fantastic. It's such a banger, it's such a they're such a great hook. It's amazing. So we're just so honored to have you. Can you tell us about if your memory serves like what who came to you with the idea of the song, What did

Who came to me to suggest it for Glee? I mean just this song?

Yeah, you know, to allow us to do it?

Really?

Yeah, yeah, it's a no brainer. I mean, you know, the show was was huge and I was surprised you hadn't come sooner because it's a it's a great story. It fits you know, a lot of scenarios, and I think it was great. It's great to see it play out in a scenario, you know, play because this song is it's a story song. Yeah, yeah, so I think it was great.

It was great to see. And who came to me? I don't know. My manager brought it really, you know, they do all that stuff. That's what I paid those guys.

For exactly, the paperwork stuff. And yeah, we had Ryan Murphy on a couple months ago when we asked him if there's a character that came on named Jesse. If we asked him if that character was named Jesse just as a device so we could get to your song, and he said yes. So the intention was pretty early on to find some way to get to do Jesse's Girl.

And well, that's very flattering.

Well, I think their intention with the show early on too, where to bring these songs that gigantic right and bring him to a whole new generation, a whole new audience. And what better song to do that with than Jesse's Girl? Like, did you ever feel any sort of I don't know, feedback or like positive repercussions from that in twenty ten having the song out, I think it ended up debuting at like twenty eight on Billboard with the Glee version.

Yeah, yeah, I came back. It's been.

It was fortunate enough to be used for the I think what gave it a kind of a rebirth, you know, the song.

You put the song.

Out and and and eventually it takes on a life of its own, and you hope, and some of them don't. Some of them crash and burn and are hit and then they go away, and some stick around, and you're very lucky, very far.

I was very fortunate to have that.

I mean the Beatles had what two hundred of them, but I'm fortunate.

That I was fortunate to have certainly that one.

And you've had a lot yourself.

Yeah, yeah, but Jesse's Girl has kind of gone on and on, And it was first at first was used in a movie called what was the one about the porno industry? Oh, I can't think of it.

I know what you're talking about.

Yeah, come on ten seconds five three two, Yes, that's right.

Yeah, and I kind of brought it back and then uh, it was in there was a movie called thirty Going on thirty that was featured.

You know, it was kind of built around that.

Also, incredible movies like those are also huge and incredible movies.

Yeah.

Yeah, So, as you know, it was very fortunate to have that. And then you guys, your show was so huge and everyone was paying so much attention to what song you were going to pick, and you know, so it was just added to the power of the song really and you know, it's great. We actually used we have an opening video when we are in a live show, and we actually.

Used uh, that clip for a little while, but a bunch of Jesse Jesse's Girl uh takes and we used he used his clip, but was very cool, very sad, very sad because we did it before he passed away, so it was very very sad to see afterwards.

So, yeah, you said Jesse's Girl is a story song. Obviously, is there a Jesse in your life? I'm just curious of the inspiration.

For this song.

Yeah, very much so. His name was Gary, but it didn't. It didn't work in the song. It didn't sing, so I had to pick another, pick another name. Sorry for all the Gary's out there, you love it name, It didn't it didn't work in the song. And Yeah, I was actually going to it was nineteen seventy nine and I was concerned. I'd had three albums out and hadn't done anything, and I hadn't acted in a while.

I was thinking maybe I should start looking elsewhere for a career.

And although I never I never really gave it up, but you know, I just I was kind of worried, and I started found the stained glass class.

Oh it loved I love our Heart, I love working in my hands, and this stained glass class.

I started going to it to make stained glass, you know, windows and stuff, with the intention of supporting my future family with my stained glass mastery, which is pretty insane, but.

You're an artists, can't stop.

But there was a.

Girl there and uh, and I don't I don't remember her name because she would I couldn't get closer to her, hence the song.

But I know his name.

Her boyfriend was in the in the class as well, and his name is Gary. And no, I tried in my own way to try and let her know that I thought she was hot, but she wanted nothing to do with me.

She was she had her eyes only for a boyfriend.

And I basically, you know, hadn't written in a while, and I took my sexual anks home and picked up a guitar and wrote wrote the song.

Just one of the biggest songs of all time, no big deal.

Yeah, inspired by stained glass. Yeah, pretty incredible.

So you said, you know, you write a song, and there's probably some songs you write that you want to be, the ones that are gigantic, and maybe they aren't, and there's some you don't think anything of, and those are the ones that take off. This song obviously has been covered, has been used for so many things. When somebody asks to use the song, or you see different covers of it, are there any times you look back and you're just like, eh, maybe I shouldn't have said yes to that, or maybe

I have not disliked any of the versions. It was actually a girl did a version. I wish I can remember her name. She had a great she's gay and she uh I did it, you know, as a girl singing to a girl, and it was it was very, very very sexy.

It was amazing. I'd love to think of her name.

I'm sorry that I can right now, but it's it's on. It's on, you know, uh, the all the sights and everything. Yeah, strange, it's very very cool and the brass the school brass band playing Justice Girl. Now was that left a little a little to be desired, But it was very cute, you know that. I know, I'm flattered at anytime anyone wants to take a shot at it. Great versions. It was a school choir. Get a very hip a cappella

Oh my god, I cannot even imagine.

Most of the time, it's it's flattering, you know, very flattering.

Yeah, Speaking of evolution of Jesse's Girl, you have a new album coming out Automatic Congratulations, and just another just continuing to make music. It's it's fantastic. What how would you say that your music has evolved, your storytelling has evolved over your career.

Storytelling, I'd say the emphasis has gone a little off sex, not quite as much as it used to be. I think there's a sign of age, you know. I always say my favorite three favorites, which this album is about, Automatic is about and the last one was a blues

To you, you.

Can go back to it, right, you know, you can go back to it and feel all the emotions, even if it happened twenty years ago.

You know, it's always there.

So I draw from that as well as well as you know, things like a couple of friend I lost a very dear couple of friends last year within six months of each other, and I just happened to write a song for each of them on this album. And I don't usually I don't do that. I don't make that a habit of someone going and okay, I got to write a song, but it's just they were very close, both very close people, and I ended up writing a song for the me.

So for this album, you're going on a tour to support it.

Yeah, we have a that's called I Want, I Want my Eighties Tour.

I didn't come up with that one, but that's what it was called.

And we have the hooters and uh, Paul Young and uh Tommy Tutone and John Wade on some shows and the Tubes on some shows that it's wow, it's a great package, is really, you know it's Walter Wall hits and and I have an amazing band and we have an absolutely incredible time on stage.

We love each other and it shows and.

People pick up on that. And we're doing you know, we have new songs to do, which always inspires us. You know, I love the old I love the old songs and of course you can't really leave the stage without playing them, so but you know, it's good to have new stuff to insurpire.

You absolutely definitely. Did you like tour? Do you like touring? Did you like touring back in the day?

Yeah, I love touring. I hate the travel always. I've always hated the travel. I said, I get paid to travel, I don't get paid to play. And it's it's uh, it could be a bit of a drag. I hate being away from home now too. It didn't didn't used to bother me when I didn't have a family, of course, but now now it gets harder as you get older and you get more setting.

You know, where you live, I love where I live. I have a studio here.

You know, much of my life is here, so's it's hard to become a road banded again.

So Glee is about high school? Obviously, what were you like? And in Head and Hands, what would you like in high school?

I hated school. The school.

School was my prison, and I mainly because my dad was in the Australia.

I'm from Australia. My dad was in the Australian Army.

And if any anyone's a service bread, they know it's two years in every place. So I was continually the new kid in school, always having always having approved myself, always having to get in the fight.

So always it was just and then and then.

Finally making friends, knowing that in two years I'd be leaving them. And it was brutal, but it was really hard. I dealt with it then. You know, you suck it up when you're a kid. But I realized now that that was a big part of who.

I am now. I don't make friends easily. You know.

I have been in this house and I haven't been now for thirty years, and I hate the thought of moving.

I wonder you don't like travel makes sense for the travel apart.

No, I mean I'm traveling since I was nine years old.

We moved to England when I was nine years old, and uh, and then went all around Europe and then moved back to Australia. Then I went to Vietnam Vietnam is sixty eight sixty nine, and then came to America.

So I've been traveling all my life and I love to travel.

But but it when when you're playing, when you're doing a show, you know, you're constantly tired.

I mean it's it's.

If you guys, know, if you've been on the road and you constantly you never get enough sleep. There's always a plane to catch is always, and it's it's not fun travel.

Fun travel to me is Tahiti and a wife exactly.

It's definitely work travel.

Yeah. Yeah, and that's that's very very different. But I but I do love to travel.

I think that's you know, my my upbringing help help me with that.

M Yeah, it's perfect training for touring life. I guess did you when did you pick up music? Did you start that early or was that something you found later on?

Yeah, I found that when I was in England.

We moved to England when I was nine years old, and uh, it was just before the Beatles came out, and it was a whole English scene was incredible. America never got that part of the English scene before the Beatles, but it was really great. It was very very unique. And a guy called the Richard who you may have heard of, but he was like else in England and Europe in a man called the Shadows, and I used to lip sync their records with a tennis racket and

I started cutting guitars out of cardboard, not paint them red like a stratocaster.

And eventually my mom got the idea and bought me a real guitar of my thirteenth birthday.

So I was very into music.

When I moved back to Australia, I started met a guy and we started playing together, and then it just fell into bands and went the usual route of of horrible performances of birthdays and then getting it getting in a real band, and then starting to learn how to play for an audience, and you know it was and then getting in a successful band in Australia, having records and writing and then going solo in Australia and then getting a deal over here and coming over here.

Right, And that's also an easier way to there's one way to make friends when you're moving every two years. Form a band, temporary band for the next eighteen ish months.

Yeah, it doesn't have to be forever. We'll still like each other at the end of it, you know.

Yeah, exactly who are you listening to? What artists like inspire you to make music? Right now?

Well, I'm a big Beatle fan obviously, but I like I like bands a lot, you know, Like I just got the new Queens of Stone Age album. Actually, I love a lot of the Taylor Swiss stuff. I think she's a great writer. I think she's an artist that truly racist her audience. And I love that because I do too. I you know, I understand I'm here because

And also have a d D. So I forgot the first.

Question, No that you answer it? Who is you know that you know your songs get covered all the time? Is there if you got to be on a show like Glee where you could do a big musical performance of a dream song that was not yours? Do you have one that you would do?

Mm?

Hmm could episode?

Yeah, where do you start?

I mean I have I do an orchestral show as well, and I do She's Leaving Home on it, and that's that's an just I mean I was I was a Paul Guy when I was a kid. Yeah, but now now I'm as much a John Guy Strawberry Fields and I am the Walrus or just you know.

But but She's Leaving Home.

It's a great song to perform because it's just a great story. It's very emotional and uh and it's an incredible lyric and incredible melody. Yeah, I mean, you can't really pick one.

I mean, you know you're really doting on the.

Real spot here.

Yeah, that's a great answer, beautiful.

Yeah, and obviously you've also you know, you've done a bunch of TV as well in acting. Is that something that still interests you now?

Yeah, yeah, very much. So I don't think.

I don't know if my agent at William, my acting agent, William Morris, understands that I'm still interested in it.

But yeah, no I do.

I mean, I did a movie with Meryl Streep and that was really exciting and I learned a lot from that. And I've done some uh, you know, did a stint on Californication and that was that was great true detective and a bunch of American horror story and some you know, there's some great writing out there, and uh. And as I get older, the one thing, the one maybe a good thing about getting older is that you have a little more life experience and you understand your craft better.

But but no, you should talk to my mom about it, because she's sent me a long text and I said, we were going to be talking to you because she and my sister the family group chat, were like, oh my god, he's so hot. We watched it every day.

Hot hot is not good acting though.

It didn't work all right, Okay, Yeah, I love acting and I plan to do more, although I just have to inform my my acting agent Mark. My music agent is Gail Hulker. She is the friggin balm. She's awesome. We love her acting agent not so much.

I just got to remind them, give them a little on them. Yeah, exactly, exactly before we let you go, curious, like, You've just had so much experience in this business now, and I'm just curious, what would you any advice you would give to your younger self. You know, we have a lot of young aspiring performers listening here.

Don't trust everybody, don't think that they're in it for your good. But before that, I'd say the most important, three most important things, and never give up, never give up, and never give up.

And that's the only thing that will help you be successful.

That's really all I can say is, you know you just don't don't stop trying, don't give up. Always keep improving your craft, keep learning, and don't take people's perspective of perspective of you as the truth. Keep your keep yourself very clear of who you are and who.

You know, what you know you can do.

And I've always been a big believer in goals and setting goals and seeing yourself there. There's actually a song on my new album called fake It Till You Make It that is about that. It's about you know, you're there, put yourself there in your head and it will somehow the universe will find your way to it.

And it's you know, it sounds simple, but it's.

When you're alone in your apartment and nobody calling and you're down to your last five bucks. It can be very hard to keep that mindset. But that's when it becomes the most important. Yeah, and that's really all I'd say, you know, work on your craft and stay committed.

Yeah, that's that's enough.

That's yeah, absolutely beautiful.

Yeah. Well, we're so grateful that you came and chatted with us. You're so kind and giving and honest and open, and we really appreciate it and appreciate your time, and our fans obviously love this is your song and Corey's rendition of your song. So thank you for continuing to share sharing your music with other people and allow us to cover it. Good Lives with your album and the tour and everything. Thank you so much.

Thank you guys, so nice to meet you.

You too, What a nice man, Jenna.

I was so nervous and I asked him what covers? He didn't like, It's okay, that was what I was trying to ask.

What were you trying to ask?

What he answered, which is like, are there some that you really like? And then the gossip in me went to like, oh, I must be asking a negative question.

It's okay.

What a sweet what a sweet, sweet talented man? Sweet made No.

I think we were both so nervous. It's like such a big he's such a big artist coming on. Usually we have like you know, family of Glee coming on and.

So friends, we can be messy and mess up. Yeah, he's a real.

Yeah, I know you really had to We really had to come, you know, come correct. Well, we're just so grateful that he said yes to come chat with us. And how cool Jesse's girl, Gary's girl.

Yeah, I mean, what a legend and like what a creative mind.

Definitely you can and tell he lives.

It's wonderful to see people's exactly and see how people work and to see how it's really inspiring. You know, when you asked at the end of he has any advice for people, and he actually the thing about never giving up when you're down to your last five dollars and signing up for that stained glass class sort of

Artists to support his family.

And then has the biggest smash and then has sixteen other top twenty five million albums.

Well, Rick Springfield, we're so lucky to have you. Thanks for coming on and we hope you guys enjoyed this episode.

That's what you really missed. Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and that's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars. See you next time,