Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield’s career-defining moment had almost nothing to do with Rick Springfield. Well, OK, he provided the song “Jessie’s Girl,” which was used to frightening effect in the coke-deal-gone-bad scene from Boogie Nights. Springfield’s own celluloid career has been decidedly less interesting than his musical output, though there are undoubtedly a number of Hard to Hold devotees out there still waiting for a sequel. Musically, Springfield has never been taken seriously by music pundits, and even his best-known discs remain critical chew toys, but they have aged far better than the bulk of his peers’ products. Springfield’s chart-topping career ground to a halt in the late ’80s, but the self-proclaimed working-class dog returned to the stage and studio in 1999. The fiftysomething former General Hospital heartthrob remains an energetic live performer, dutifully cranking out guilty pleasures such as “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “I’ve Done Everything for You” for still-adoring audiences.