To many, Rick Springfield has achieved pop culture status both as an actor (as Dr. Noah Drake on TV’s “General Hospital”) and as a rock star (the iconic ‘80s pop hit Jessie’s Girl). But unknown to fans, Springfield went through bouts with sex addiction and depression, as tells all in his new autobiography “Late, Late at Night.”
"It becomes the thing that you use to make you feel good,” Springfield says about sex in an interview with Parade magazine. “ It's not, 'Oh, I'm feeling turned on tonight.' It's a power thing. It's like, 'If I have sex with this pretty girl that's got to mean something -- she is OK with having sex with me. So there must be something OK about me' -- because you start so far down in your own self-esteem. That's my home down there, and I've had to fight that depression all of my life."
The singer and actor, 61, admits that his addiction has crushed his wife Barbara, with whom he has two sons. "It becomes the thing that you use to make you feel good," Springfield said. " It's not, 'Oh, I'm feeling turned on tonight.' It's a power thing. It's like, 'If I have sex with this pretty girl that's got to mean something -- she is OK with having sex with me. So there must be something OK about me' -- because you start so far down in your own self-esteem. That's my home down there, and I've had to fight that depression all of my life."
Springfield also wrote in “Late, Late at Night” about his attempt at suicide when he was 17 years old. "It's one of the most terrible things," he told Parade, "and it comes back to haunt you, especially once you have kids. I was there mentally. I was ready to go. I've tried to show in the book how much a gift my life has been because I didn't succeed."
The experiences that he went through are reflected in his songs, especially the ones that are dark. ""Jessie's Girl" was a reflection of being very messed up," he said in the interview, "because this girl wasn't paying attention to me. It was sexual angst at its worst. I only write songs like that when I'm worried about something or when I'm stressed about something. And that was a lot of the time."
In addition to his memoir, Springfield is on tour beginning on Nov. 5 in Atlantic City, which will be later followed by the "Rick Springfield and Friends Cruise 2010" on Nov. 15 through 20. During that event, the rocker will host a concert at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau.
Selected Reading: Parade, Rick Springfield Web site
