Inside 'Jessie's Girl' singer Rick Springfield's 41-year marriage to wife Barbara and how she transformed his career

The singer was born on August 23, 1949 in a suburb of Sydney, Australia to his parents Eileen Louise and Norman James Springthorpe. He was inspired to get into music when he saw The Beatles perform in Melbourne when he was 14-years-old.

Rick briefly lived in England, where his father, who was an Australian Army officer, was stationed. While there, he joined several bands and continued his musical career back in Australia. In 1968, Rick was approached by guitarist Pete Watson to join the band Rockhouse. The band was later known as MPD Ltd and finally Zoot.

With their official rebrand to Zoot, Rick, Pete and newcomer Daryl Cotton were commercially successful. The pop rock band only released one studio album. Just Zoot, which was released in 1970, peaked at 12 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

Their most popular song is an ode to Rick's youth. Their 1971 cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" reached #4 on the national charts.

In 1971, just one year after their first and only album debuted, Zoot broke up. Rick, who had been scouted for a solo career, released his debut single "Speak to the Sky." And ten years later, he had a number one hit with "Jessie's Girl."

After he moved to Los Angeles, Rick had a chance encounter with his future wife. The singer was recording an album at the Sound City studios, where Barbara worked as a receptionist. In 2021, Rick spoke with People about meeting her, saying: "The English manager brought Barbara in and introduced her to everybody. She was only 15 at the time and looked like a mini Brigitte Bardot. I said, 'too young.' I just thought she was cute, and that was it."

A few years later, the two crossed paths again while Rick worked on his fourth studio album as a solo artist, Working Class Dog. The singer, who had just broken up with his girlfriend, asked Barbara out. And the rest is history.

While Rick had a pretty successful career before meeting Barbara, he told People in 2021 that "nothing started happening [in my career] until I hooked up with her."

He continued: "That's because, once your attitude changes, and you're open to everything, then things start to happen, and I was kind of closed, I was stressed out not having money and not having any success and being on my own in America, away from my family. When I met her, all of that didn't matter anymore. I still didn't have any money. I still hadn't done anything career-wise, but the power of having someone with you on the journey, you can't underestimate it."

It was after he met and started dating Barbara that the success of "Jessie's Girl" became apparent. The single has sold over three million copies worldwide and was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 32 weeks. In 1982, Rick won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for the song.

In October 1984, Barbara and Rick tied the knot in a ceremony at his family's church in Australia. A year later, the couple welcomed their first son, Liam. In 1989, Barbara gave birth to their second son, Joshua.

While many children of celebrities strive to follow in their parents' footsteps, Rick told his sons: "I just want you to be happy. Do whatever you want." Liam is an actor and musician. And Joshua is studying to be a child therapist.

"He's got a great heart and it's really a perfect gig for him," Rick explained. "He's the kind of guy when you meet him, you just want to hug him. He's very warm, and I'm proud of him for pursuing that."

As for his relationship with Barbara, Rick called her "my rock." He continued: "She's definitely the one that has been the core of our relationship, without question, but as we get older, we both go off the deep end and the other one's got to be there to throw the lifesaver and pull them back to shore."