A LULLABY OF LOVE on "GENERAL HOSPITAL"

by Alice Koenigsberg

Life in the fast lane may sound appealing to some people, but not to Rick Springfield. Back in 1972 when he moved to the US from his native Australia, Rick discovered that the glamorous life wasn't all it was cracked up to be - all the glittered definitely wasn't gold. He was an instant hit on the rock scene as a teen idol and all the sudden stardom attention brought him a lot of pressures he never knew existed. So now that he's back in the spotlight as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital and also has a hit record, Working Class Dog, Rick's making doubly sure he doesn't fall for any of stardom's trappings.
"I had a lot of pressure when I first came here," says Rick, "so I've had a little homework on what to do. I've learned to put it all in perspective, because in two or three years, all this attention isn't going to mean anything. Obviously, I'd like to fulfill my potential but it has to come from within, which is what I learned a long time ago."
Those early years in show business also taught Rick another very important lesson - drugs can destroy a career. "I used to take drugs, but I don't anymore," he reveals. "I found that you can't function to your full capacity when you're stoned. My mind would start to go on hold when I was smoking grass. I'm a real doer but somehow I didn't feel like doing much. Drugs are a great unmotivator."
Now that Rick's older and wiser, he can look back at those troubled times with a totally different perspective. He's glad he's not a teenager growing up in today's drug-oriented times.
"When you're sixteen or seventeen, it's hard to realize that because of drugs, you can wind up dead or way under capacity," says Rick. "Some of the luckier kids, who have a power inside them saying 'This isn't the way,' don't feel square if they don't do drugs. I know now that this is the only body I have. Who wants to be sorry years later for all the damage you've done to that one body?"
So now that Rick's sworn off drugs, he's relying on some natural ways to help him deal with the pressures of his two very active careers. "As soon as I get up, I stumble into my clothes and go out and run five miles. Sometimes when I'm nervous about a part, I'll get up at 3:30 to run." And laughs Rick, "Another way I unwind is with hot baths and severe love making sessions."
Even when he's resting, Rick's still hard at work since many times he'll get great ideas for a song while sleeping. "Then I get up and write everything down on a pad next to my bed," explains Rick.  "I'm always thinking about my music or my acting. I wish I could be like Thomas Edison who used to take 20 minute naps when he was stumped by a problem and then would wake up with there answer.  There's definitely a 24 hour-a-day office going on in my head.

Article provided by Kerry Stroh