I’ve Done Everything For You – Rick Springfield | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1), R&B (#4) and Dance (#1); 1981

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

In his homeland of Australia, Rick Springfield was a big star, however, in America he was viewed as a cartoon of a pop star: an image helped, no doubt, by his teeny-bopper good looks and a starring role in a short-loved 1974 kids series called Mission: Magic.

By then, Rick was already 25 with several Aussie hits to his credit and one here as well: 1972’s Speak To The Sky. He desperately wanted to rock, yet, legal hassles and record company meltdowns conspired to thwart him.

Acting lessons and appearances in The Rockford Files and Wonder Woman led to a regular role on General Hospital. Rick’s newfound soap opera stardom dovetailed perfectly with the release of Jessie’s Girl. The single was #1 when MTV debuted on August 4th, 1981: lending even more fuel to the Rick Springfield fire.

With Girl still in the Top 5, I’ve Done Everything For You – written by hard-rockin’ Sammy Hagar and released on his 1978 live album – entered the Hot 100, on its way to #8.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • John Carter
  • Sammy Hagar

Lyrics Written by:

  • Sammy Hagar

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Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).