Onward Promotions to Present Rick Springfield with Special Guests The Motels ...

Akron, OH (PRWEB) June 06, 2011

Onward Promotions will present a Rick Springfield concert on Labor Day weekend in Akron, OH, on September 4th, 2011 with two special opening acts, The Motels and Kasim Sulton. Doors open at 5:30pm with a 6:30pm start time. Tickets will be available from Ticketmaster & the Akron Civic Theatre box office.

Rick Springfield is a singer-songwriter, Grammy Award-winning musician, actor and best-selling author. With 17 top 40 hits, Springfield is best known for the Grammy-winning, 1981 #1 single "Jessie's Girl", which became a blockbuster of 1980s pop rock music and helped establish the emerging music video age. As an actor, Springfield is known for playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the character from 1981–1983 and then returned to play him again from 2005–2008. Springfield also recently wrote and released his autobiography, Late Late at Night, which topped many best seller lists, including the New York Times Best Seller List.

Springfield has continued to release albums throughout the late 1980s, into the 1990s, the 2000s and beyond. His most recent release, Venus in Overdrive debuted on Billboard at #28, his highest chart position since the mid 80s. He's had multiple popular hit songs including but not limited to “Love Somebody,” "Affair Of The Heart," "I've Done Everything For You," " Don't Talk To Strangers," "I Get Excited," "Love Is Alright Tonight," and "Human Touch." He is constantly touring, with a dedicated fan base wherever he appears.

The Motels were a New Wave music band from the Los Angeles area best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer," each of which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Their song "Total Control" reached number 4 on the Australian charts in 1980. Martha Davis, the lead singer, reformed a version of the band called The Motels featuring Martha Davis, in 1998; as of 2009 she continues to appear under Martha Davis & The Motels or The Motels with various line-ups.

Low Resolution: Oscars of the '80s: The Best Original Song Project

At some point during the ramp up to last year's Oscars, I made the observation either here or any of the other places where I blathered on about the Oscars that I would be quite happy if the Best Original Song category would go the way of Best Black-and-White Cinematography and die a noble death. Because as of 2011, the age of the Movie Song is pretty much dead. Even the big Disney movies lack truly dynamic tunes, and while musicals have made a big-screen comeback, they're all Broadway transfers and at best offer up pale add-on songs just so they can beg for honor of a nomination from a category that has lost all its luster. All due respect to quality winners like "Falling Slowly" and "The Weary Kind," but original songs in movies are just nothing like they were back in the '80s. (Hey, there are few things we can say were undeniably better in the '80s. Let's go with this one!) Joe: A legitimate classic, even though it's neither the best song in its movie nor the best song from the movie in this category. Still, with an indelible hook and Irene Cara's brilliant voice, how can you lose? I also love that while the fame-seeking sentiment would seem to be prescient of today's youth culture, lyrical details show how we've changed. Nobody's taking the time to learn how to fly in 2011. You guys, remember when fame cost? And you paid in sweat ?? Mark: This song launched Irene Cara's brief run as the queen of Oscar songs, and I'd imagine that back in 1980, it seemed like it was launching her journey to superstardom. (Since I was one year old for most of 1980, I don't trust my memories from that time.) I can understand the impact on both counts. Though Michael "Brother of Lesley" Gore's disco-synth production is as dated as an old pack of luncheon meat, Cara's voice still roars and the melody still kicks ass. Joe: Did you know that The Competition was a movie where Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving play classical pianists who become lovers? Did you know Dreyfuss was nominated for a Razzie for his performance? I mean, I'm sure you knew all that, I was just checking. Anyway, if you look at the Oscar-nominated songs of the '80s, they tend to fall into some distinct categories. The soaring power ballads. The cheesy rockin' number. The story-driven musical number. And then there are these watery, easy-listening, filler entries penned by your Carole Bayer Sagers and the like. Guess which category "People Alone" fits in?

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