Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 1831 Date: 03/10/1984
Debut: 49
Peak: 5
Weeks: 16
Genre: Rock, Soundtrack
Pop Bits: So, you're a musician and an actor. Both careers are going great and your star has risen. Now what do you do? Why not break into movies with a challenging role like...playing a famous rock star! Well, that is what Springfield signed on to do for the film Hard to Hold. In addition to his work on General Hospital, Springfield had done quite a bit of TV work since the early 70s, but he had not branched out into films. This would be his first real theatrical film and his first starring role. If the film was even somewhat of a hit, it could move him to better roles and establish him as a bankable movie star. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The film was not a critical favorite and it was a dud at the box office. However, one good thing did come from it - the soundtrack. Springfield wrote six songs and co-wrote one instrumental for the film. This first single got things kicked off. It was highly successful going Top 5 at Pop and #13 Rock. The soundtrack would reach #16 and become Springfield's fourth platinum album in a row. It was a bright spot from a film debacle, but it wasn't all completely rosy. This single would be Springfield's last to reach the Top 10 and the album would be his last platinum selling Top 20.
ReduxReview: It's a good thing Springfield had a few solid songs in his pocket that he could use in the film. Otherwise, this could have been a bigger disaster than it was. The movie was terrible, but the soundtrack had a handful of keepers from Springfield including this first single. It's not one of his most memorable hits, but it gets the job done and it increased his streak of writing good, solid, pop/rock tunes.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Springfield's film career could have gone off on another, better trajectory. At the same time he was approached to do Hard to Hold, he was offered a role in the film The Right Stuff. That movie ended up being a hit and an Oscar nominee for Best Picture along with seven other nods (winning four). When asked to work on The Right Stuff, Springfield was given a script for a movie in which he'd be the star. Initially, Springfield hated the script and said no. But then the folks behind the film offered a lot of money to do it and Springfield had a change of heart. He did the movie even though he thought it was crap. Springfield has mentioned that his decision was ego-based and he totally regrets it now. He realized later his mistake in turning down The Right Stuff. At least the soundtrack did well for him.
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