“Jessie’s Girl” rocker Rick Springfield says he lives with the lasting toll of a gnarly fall that happened decades ago.
The Grammy-winning musician, 75, said a recent full-body MRI scan revealed he has brain damage connected to an onstage tumble he took during a Las Vegas concert in 2000. The “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “Affair of the Heart” singer told People in an interview published Monday about the fall and its enduring effects.
“I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I’m working on trying to repair that,” Springfield said.
He told the magazine that the injury stems from a 25-foot fall where he hit his head on the stage multiple times. Springfield did not specify where exactly in Las Vegas he fell but said he intends to be vigilant about his care.
The Australia-born musician also detailed his lifestyle to People: He exercises constantly, follows a pescatarian diet, cuts down on his alcohol intake and micro-doses acid. Springfield, who also has been vocal about his struggles with depression, explained elsewhere in the interview that his focus on his health stems from more than just his decades-old injury.
The “I’ve Done Everything for You” singer said his father suspected he had stomach cancer but never took action to treat or confirm his suspicions. Springfield’s father died in 1981 after losing blood from a burst ulcer.
“That was a giant message to me,” Springfield said, adding, “If you want to live long, you have to be prepared for some bad news now and then.”
Springfield, who released his “Big Hits: Rick Springfield’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2” last month, reflected on death with the same matter-of-fact approach. He told the magazine that he finds it’s “important to be aware” of death.”
“You can only put on the party dress, but what happens at the party is up to the gods.”
