Rick Springfield heads back to 'Hospital'

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Rocker Rick Springfield is returning to ABC daytime's "General Hospital" after a 22-year break from the role of Dr. Noah Drake.

Springfield was one of soap opera's biggest stars in the early 1980s, but he left to focus on his music career, which didn't turn out to be a bad call for the Grammy Award winner, Zap2it.com noted.

The singer of "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" noted radio has changed a lot since his heyday, so when "General Hospital" called -- he was ready to listen.

"They basically called out of the blue," Springfield adds. "I was kind of taken aback at first, but the more I thought about it and the more excited I got, I became much more interested."

Springfield said his contract with the soap is open-ended, so he will be able to "keep moving forward musically."

Dr. Drake is scheduled to return to the "General Hospital" set next week.