Springfield in concert in 1985. 34 Years Ago ‘JESSIE’S GIRL’ GOT A TV SOAP SALES BUMP ’s role on the top-rated helped him reach No. 1 in 1981

ON AUG. 1, 1981, RICK SPRINGFIELD jumped to the top of the , thanks to his role on the ABC General Hospital. The Australian singer-actor had appeared on the Hot 100 previously (going as high as No. 14 with his first entry, 1972’s “Speak to the Sky”), but his TV exposure brought the 31-year-old a new level of fame. Springfield’s debut single for RCA, “Jessie’s Girl,” arrived on the Hot 100 dated March 28, 1981 — the same month that he joined the cast of General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake. On an average day that year, more than 11 million viewers watched the show, according to Nielsen, making it the top daytime serial at the time. And that sizable audience helped make the guitar-

CODA driven pop song Springfield’s first and only Hot 100 No. 1. A Grammy Award for best male rock vocal performance followed. Though Springfielddeparted the show as a regular in 1983, his music and acting career continued to blossom: He has notched 21 singles on the Hot 100, appeared in Dave Grohl’s Sound City documentary, can currently be seen as a creepy therapist in HBO’s True Detective and will star alongside Meryl Streep in the filmRicki and the Flash, which opens Aug. 7. Springfield wasn’t the only beneficiary of General Hospital. Through the use of music on the program — or its actors moonlighting as singers — the show helped generate Hot 100 smashes for Herb Alpert (“Rise,” No. 1 in 1979), Patti Austin and James Ingram (“Baby, Come to Me,” No. 1 in 1983), Christopher Cross (“Think of Laura,” No. 9 in 1984) and soap actor Jack Wagner (“All I Need,” No. 2 in 1984). —KEITH CAULFIELD

TITLE-Artist (Producer) Writer, Label& Number (Distributing Label)

JESSIE'S GIRL-RickSpringfield (Perth Olsen), R. Springfield, RCA 12201 CLM THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE-Air Supply (Harry Maslin), G. Russell, Arista0604 REWINDING CPP THE THEME FROMTHE "GREATEST THE AMERICAN HERO"-keySunbury (Mike Post), M. Post,S. Geyer, Elektn 47147 ABP BP CHARTS I DON'T NEED YOU-penny Rogers (Lionel B. Richie Jr.), R. Chrisitan, Liberty 1415 WBM ELVIRA-Tbe Oak RidgeBoys (Ron Chancey), D. Frazier, MCA51084

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