EXCLUSIVE: Rick Springfield On How Music and His Wife Barbara Help Him Battle Depression

EXCLUSIVE: Rick Springfield On How Wife Barbara Helps Him Battle…

Sherri Shepherd Recalls Barbara Walters Fighting to Cast Her on …

‘Hot’ Wiggle John Pearce Says His Wife Is ‘Proud’ of His Newest …

Cole Hauser Calls Out Wife Cynthia Daniel for Refusing His Kisse…

ABC News’ Dax Tejera's Wife Accused of Endangering Their Kids on…

'90 Day Fiancé': Kim's Son Accuses Usman of Being Narcissistic a…

'90 Day Fiancé’: Michael Reveals Affair With Another American Wo…

'90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way' Season 4 Trailer Features Groundb…

Jimmy Kimmel Reflects on Show's 20th Anniversary as His Aunt Chi…

Prince Harry on How Princess Diana Would Feel About His Fallout …

'90 Day Fiancé' Tell-All: Liz Reveals She Caught Big Ed on an As…

'Varsity Blues' Mastermind Rick Singer Sentenced to 3.5 Years in…

Shemar Moore Announces He's Expecting First Child (a Girl!) at 52

Pamela Anderson Claims Sylvester Stallone Offered Her a Condo an…

TLC's Chilli and Matthew Lawrence Dating After His Split From Ch…

Ken Block, Racecar Driver and DC Shoes Co-Founder, Dead at 55 Af…

Skip Bayless Emotionally Speaks Out Following Damar Hamlin Comme…

Angela Bassett's Son Shares an Apology After Michael B. Jordan T…

Damar Hamlin: Medical Expert Gives Insight Into Athlete’s Condit…
We've all happily sung along to "Jessie's Girl," but the stories behind Rick Springfield's hits might make you hear them a little differently.
"I'm kind of known through the ages as this kind of happy, shiny guy, but I was really dark," Springfield told ET. "'Don't Talk to Strangers' is sexual paranoia. It's all dark stuff."
WATCH: Rick Springfield on Touring Now: 'I Get Laid a Lot Less'
Springfield wrote about his lifelong battle with depression in his 2010 memoir, Late, Late at Night. In the book, he revealed that, at 16, he attempted suicide by trying to hang himself in his backyard shed, but the rope's knot unraveled, sparing his life.
The GRAMMY winner eventually found music as way to work through his darkest days.
"It has really helped give my depression a way to get the hell out of there," he said.
Music proved to be a rewarding way of dealing with his issues. In 2007, Rolling Stone voted his perennial hit "Jessie's Girl" as the No. 1 karaoke song of all time.
NEWS: Meryl Streep Rocks Out with Rick Springfield in 'Ricki and the Flash'
Also helping Springfield deal with his darkness, he said, is his wife of 31 years, Barbara.
"She still inspires me," he said. "We've been married a long time -- been through a lot of ups and downs."
At 66, Springfield still has that rock star swagger with his new album, Rocket Science, and at least one of the songs, "Let Me In," was written for Barbara.
"In one of our down moments, I was the one saying, 'Let me in,'" Springfield explained.
WATCH: 12 Celeb Couples Who Can't Ever Get Divorced Or We Will Lose All Faith in Love
Rocket Science is the Australian's 18th studio album, and he still performs roughly 100 concerts a year. He told us the hardest part about touring: "It's not getting enough sleep," he said. "I could sleep for 14 hours every night. I love to sleep."
Springfield is performing at the iHeart80s Party, which will live stream on iheartradio.com on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT. Rocket Science is available now.