Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Peaks Mill, Kentucky until age 14, when he moved to the Chicago area. He attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. In addition to acting, Sparks is also the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, Zero 1 (previously called The Hal Sparks Band Experience II: Electric Boogaloo). Members include Robert Hall (Sparks' friend) on bass and Miles Loretta (Sparks' cousin) on drums. Their first album was produced by King's X's frontman Doug Pinnick. His musical experience paid off as a contestant in the first season of Celebrity Duets. He often joins the Los Angeles cover band Metal Skool to sing Skid Row songs.

Sparks is a regular on VH1's series I Love the '70s, I Love the '80s, I Love the '80s Strikes Back, I Love the '80s 3-D, I Love the '90s, I Love the '90s: Part Deux, I Love the Holidays, I Love Toys, I Love the '70s: Volume II, I Love VH1 Talking Head Clip Show Reviews, and I Love the New Millennium as well as being a contestant on the reality series Celebracadabra.