Singer Rick Springfield of Jessie's Girl fame reveals what Glenn Wheatley was really like and how he should be remembered - after the music legend's tragic death from Covid at age 74

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Singer Rick Springfield of Jessie's Girl fame spoke fondly of music legend Glenn Wheatley on Wednesday, following his death from Covid at age 74 on Tuesday. 

Appearing on The Project from Los Angeles, Springfield, 72, who was in competition with Wheatley in the late sixties to early seventies with their pop rock bands Zoot and The Masters Apprentices, was asked how the icon should be remembered.

While he became known as the producer and promoter behind John Farnham's career boom, Springfield said he was 'naturally a good soul' who put that 'to good use'. 

'I think he was a great human being first': Singer Rick Springfield of Jessie's Girl fame (pictured), 72, revealed on Wednesday's The Project what Glenn Wheatley was really like and how he should be remembered - after the music legend's tragic death from Covid at age 74

'I think he was a great human being first,' Springfield told co-host Carrie Bickmore.

'You do what you do in your life. And I don't think anyone really wants to be remembered for what they did. I think everyone would like to be remembered for the human being that they were,' he continued.

'So I think he was naturally a good soul. I think he put that to good use.'

Genuine: 'I think everyone would like to be remembered for the human being that they were,' Springfield said. continued. 'So I think he was naturally a good soul. I think he put that to good use.' Wheatley is pictured in March 2009

Springfield also recalled how Wheatley was 'the only one' in The Masters Apprentices who would be nice to Zoot, when they were in competition with one another.

He recalled: 'I remember going to TV stations and they'd all ignore us and walk past and show us a surly look, except for Glenn. He'd go, "Hi guys how are you?"'

Springfield commenced his solo career in 1972 and earned himself a number one hit with Jessie's Girl in 1981, which also won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. 

Loss: Wheatley died of complications with Covid-19 on Tuesday, aged 74. He is pictured here with Delta Goodrem, who he discovered as a teenager and guided to fame, in 2003

Wheatley died of complications from Covid-19 at the age of 74 on Tuesday. 

The man who masterminded the rise of John Farnham to huge success and other Australian success stories from Little River Band to Delta Goodrem passed away in Melbourne.

It is understood he had contracted Covid over the Christmas period and had been in intensive care over recent weeks. 

He leaves behind wife Gaynor Martin, and their three children, Tim, 37, Samantha, 35, and Kara, 35. 

Success: Wheatley and his protege John Farnham produced the hit album Whispering Jack which was a phenomenal worldwide hit. Pictured together in 2002

Born in Queensland, Wheatley began as a musician himself, playing in The Masters Apprentices who became a chart-topping band with hits such as Turn Up Your Radio and Because I Love You. 

However it was as a producer where he made his biggest mark, beginning with Little River Band, who in the 1970s became one of the world's biggest rock bands. 

His management skills extended to John Farnham, who under Wheatley's guidance made a comeback in the 1980s, leading to his biggest hit album, the 1986 release, Whispering Jack. 

The album went 24-times platinum, selling 1.7 million copies and topping the charts for an astonishing 25 weeks.

Family: He leaves behind wife Gaynor Martin, and their three children, Tim, 37, Samantha, 35, and Kara, 35. Pictured with his wife and son in 1998

Whispering Jack went on to become one of the biggest-selling Australian albums of all time.

The last song added to the album You're The Voice was a chart-topping hit and remains an Australian pop anthem to this day.

The phenomenal success of that album had set up Wheatley for life, but some failed investments saw the producer lose almost all his money and even serve a term in jail.

In 2007, he was sentenced to a 15-month sentence for tax evasion, after an Australian Taxation Office investigation into Swiss trust accounts. He spent 10 months behind bars.

History: Wheatley and wife Gaynor were married in 1982. Pictured in 2003

'I'm ashamed of what I have done', Wheatley told the court at the time. 

'It was something that I have regretted for a long, long time and I'm ashamed of what I've brought on my family, who have had to suffer a lot.'

An earlier blow came in the form of his $12million investment in The Ivy nightclub in Melbourne - a deal he lost $5million on in 1990. 

History: Wheatley began as a musician himself, playing in The Masters Apprentices (pictured) who became a chart-topping band with hits such as Because I Love You

'This would prove to be a disastrous decision. I had a premonition that storm clouds were brewing over my life. What I didn't know was that it would be a full-force ­cyclone,' he wrote in Paper Paradise, his 1999 autobiography. 

Wheatley had better success as a manager for singer Delta Goodrem, and helmed her smash hit 2003 debut Innocent Eyes. 

It became one of the highest-selling ­albums in ARIA chart history, however the pair split under acrimonious circumstances in 2003. 

Wins: Wheatley had some wins in radio - he took over Sydney's 2CH in 2017, selling it to Pacific Star Network's SEN for $11.2 million last year. Pictured with Little Pattie in 2002

One relationship he maintained was with John Farnham, 72, and remained his manager until his death this week.

Wheatley had some wins in radio - he took over Sydney's 2CH in 2017, selling it to Pacific Star Network's SEN for $11.2 million last year. 

He only recently sold two more of his radio acquisitions, 91.9 Sea FM and 92.7 Mix FM on the Sunshine Coast, in September last year. 

Patchy: In 2007, he was sentenced to a 15-month sentence for tax evasion, after an Australian Taxation Office investigation into Swiss trust accounts