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Rick Springfield Was Kicked Out of 11th Grade, Nearly Blew Up Band With Hand Grenade: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Rick Springfield
Rick SpringfieldMichael Buckner/Getty Images

Jessie’s girl didn’t know what she was missing! Aussie singer Rick Springfield, whose film Ricki and the Flash hits theaters Aug. 7, shared 25 surprising facts about himself with Us Weekly

1. I wanted to be an Egyptologist, but got kicked out of 11th grade for nonattendance. 

2. I name all corporate, music publishing, and other creative endeavors after either my kids or my dogs. 

3. I went to Vietnam in 1968-69 to play for the U.S. troops. 

4. While there, I nearly blew up the band and myself with a hand grenade. 

5. I once slept in an abandoned underground vault. 

6. I miss the smell of vinyl records. 

7. A third-grade teacher once asked me to hit her with the strap she used on us kids when we acted up. 

8. Until the age of 16, I played in bands with my back to the audience. 

9. I met Elvis

10. Age 7 was my best year. 

11. I found and repurchased the first five guitars I had as a kid. All cheapos, but full of memories. 

12. The Gibson SG guitar I play in Ricki and the Flash is also the guitar I wrote “Jessie’s Girl” on. 

13. Yes, Meryl Streep is the bomb. 

14. When I write books, I drink red wine. I write songs sober. 

Related: PHOTOS: Hot Celeb Aussies!

15. I love chocolate bananas. 

16. I still have all my original lyric sheets to every song I’ve ever written. 

17. Hawks are my spirit sign and have appeared to me in times of distress. 

18. I sleep in white T-shirts with the Spanish word “sueño” (dream) written on them. 

19. I actually do have a favorite color. Those stupid teen mags were right! Dammit! 

20. Meditation is the only cure for my depression, although sex comes in a close second. 

21. I have a lifeboat plaque from the Titanic

Related: PHOTOS: ‘80s Stars: Then and Now

22. I have watched 2001: A Space Odyssey more than 20 times. 

23. I have no feeling in the little finger of my left hand. 

24. I don’t eat dairy. 

25. It’s turquoise! (See No. 19.)

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