Getting up to do morning TV is always a struggle for rock stars who are used to late nights and mid-day wake-ups. But you’d expect that the TV professionals who are used to the routine of going into work when it’s still dark out would have it down.
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At least that’s what “Jessie’s Girl” singer Rick Springfield seemed to think when he dropped by the third hour of the Today show on Friday (July 11) to chat up hosts Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Jill Martin about his upcoming I Want My 80s package tour with John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young and John Cafferty, slated to kick off on Friday (July 18).
Asked by Roker if he ever imagined that his signature hit “Jessie’s Girl” would still be spinning four decades later, Springfield humbly said the song had “taken on a life of its own,” stopping his thought midway when he appeared to notice co-host Melvin yawning during his answer.
“Am I boring you?” Springfield said with a smile as he reached over to playfully shake Melvin’s leg. “No, no, actually you’re not at all, I apologize,” Melvin laughed as Roker and Martin cracked up at their compatriot’s morning TV faux pas. “It’s early, don’t worry about it. I’ll yawn too,” Springfield said with a chuckle as Melvin suffered through a coughing fit.
Springfield showed what a good sport he was after the incident, posting a pic with the three co-hosts with the message, “Had a fun time with the gang at @todayshow this morning!”
The Australian-born star said he was fans of all of the bands on the bill in the 1980s, when he went from playing a hunky doctor on the daytime soap General Hospital to scoring a string of pop radio hits from his fifth studio album, 1981’s Working Class Dog. “And they’re all great people, too, so it’s a great hang backstage,” he said, fessing up to the fact that the debauchery of the old days has been replaced by nice meals and proper sleep.
The singer also talked about the futile search for the real “Jessie’s Girl,” the head injury he suffered during a Las Vegas gig in 2000 that left him with brain damage, as well as his upcoming role in Ryan Murphy’s fall series All’s Fair, in which he’ll co-star alongside Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson and Niecy Nash.
Check out the interview below (yawning bit begins around 1:42 mark):
