Rick Springfield and Russell Morris

Rick Springfield and Russell Morris have been working on a new music concept called ‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz’ over the extended Covid lockdown period.

Like how Morris articulated Australia’s historical figures in his blues trilogy ‘Sharkmouth’, ‘Van Dieman’s Land’ and ‘Red Dirt Red Heart’, ‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz’ focuses on Mexico’s Day of the Dead’ festival, a celebration at the end of every October where the tradition is to invite your departed loved ones spirits and come back and live with you for a few weeks.

“Rick Springfield, and myself have been friends for many years now- so it’s with great pleasure that I am announcing the release of a duo album, The Morris/Springfield project album called ‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz’”, Russell posted.

Like Russell’s ‘Sharkmouth’ and more recently Rick’s ‘The Snake King’, ‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz’ is based on fact. “We have always loved the Mexican “Day of Dead” festival. It is a beautiful concept- whereby every year at the end of October- they invite their departed loved ones spirits , to come back and live amongst them for three weeks . It is three weeks of celebrations, and embracing the ones who have departed this world. We both love the album- and we hope you will also. Dia de Los muertos— this is the festival- look it up”.

Russell Morris and Rick Springfield have been friends more than half a century. Rick was the guitarist on Russell’s first album ‘Bloodstone’ in 1971. For year’s Russell toured with Zoot singer Daryl Cotton in Cotton, Keays and Morris. Rick was the guitarist for Zoot. And now all these years later, Rick and Russell had regrouped Zoot for an Australian tour with Russell standing in for the late Daryl Cotton on vocals. That tour has been postponed due to Covid restrictions and has been rescheduled for 2022.

‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz’ will be released through Robert Rigby’s Ambition Entertainment on 15 October 2021.