Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80
Dickey Betts, the guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, dies at 80.
More than two decades later, Rick Springfield is discovering the true damage of an onstage fall.
The ’80s rock legend revealed to People in an interview published Monday that a recent full body MRI scan had uncovered lingering brain damage from an accident at a Las Vegas concert in 2000.
“I fell 25 feet, hit my head and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again,” he told the outlet. “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.”
A traumatic brain injury can vary in effects, the Cleveland Clinic reports, and can result from a hard bump or jolt to the skull, among other more serious scenarios.
The results of the scan came as a surprise, but that’s precisely why the “Jessie’s Girl” singer wanted to do it. While some people don’t want to know what’s wrong with their bodies, he described himself to People as “the opposite.”
“My dad died from not wanting to know,” Springfield said. “He thought he had stomach cancer for years and never got it checked out. When he finally collapsed one day at home, they found out it was an ulcer that burst, and he died from the loss of blood. It could have been fixed if he had gotten it checked out.”
A reliable ’80s hitmaker, Springfield moved from teenybopper stardom to rock success to a career in television before settling into a role as nostalgia ambassador for his most famous decade. Springfield will hit the road for an I Want My ’80s tour in May and hosted an ’80s themed show on SiriusXM in 2021.
Volume 2 of his “Greatest Hits” album hit streamers Feb. 28.
For now, the rocker told People, he is taking a more measured approach to some of the substances that dominated the industry at that time.
“I was drinking quite a bit, and as you get older, it’s kind of a natural thing to drop,” he said. “I’m not (in) AA − I mean, I know a lot of people it’s worked for. I’ll have a couple of sips of vodka or something when I’m onstage, but I don’t drink any other time.”
Tamping down alcohol consumption has aided with his depression, he told the outlet, and recent experiments with Ketamine and LSD have also opened his mind to alternative treatments.
“I did acid, and that was actually a little better,” he told People. “I hadn’t done that since I was in my 20s, but it was a great high. I don’t mean to push drugs on anyone, but I’m not averse to anything that helps me be happier and a better person. I could use some help in that area. I’m always searching.”
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