Speak to the Sky - Rick Springfield (1972) 8/23/21

From 1969 to 1971, Rick Springfield was a member of an Australian band called Zoot. It was an odd little group that would dress in pink satin from head to toe, and sing-teeny-bopper music for a fan base that couldn't seem to get enough bubblegum.

In the process, however, Zoot lost any chance at gaining credibility as rock musicians. So they broke up.

Rick went solo, and in 1972, he wrote, recorded and released one of the most unique Gospel songs ever to hit the charts.

"Speak to the Sky" was sort of a Gospel/Dixieland/Rock/Ragtime hybrid that sounded NOTHING like traditional church music. (Love that tuba!) However, with a lot of artists releasing Gospel hybrids in the early '70s, it was worth a shot...and it paid off.

The song reached #6 in Australia, #10 in Canada and #14 in the US.

What happened next was weird.

Rick's good looks made him a teen idol all over again...this time in North America...and it took several years for him to shake the image and become one of the best-selling artists of the early '80s, with songs like "Jessie's Girl" and "I've Done Everything for You!"

In addition, his acting ability made him a movie and TV star (most notably on the the soap opera "General Hospital").

But all of that was a few years away when Australian Rick Springfield was discovered by Americans...with "Speak to the Sky:" A "Great Song of 1972." And that's the Gospel truth!

Note: In 1997, one of my favorite singers, Judith Durham, recorded a cover version with her group, The Seekers. It didn't chart...but I love it anyway. Click the link here: