Bruce Springsteen, The #27 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part One)

 Springsteen's new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town, did not come out until nearly three years after Born to Run.  Despite the delay, the music reflected Bruce's perfection of his songwriting and deeper themes.  "Badlands" stalled at #42 but is another song popular at concerts for years.

 Darkness reached the Top 15 on Album charts in every major country in the world except Ireland and West Germany.  The album is built around the theme that Bruce had finally tasted success but because of the legal problems could not do what he loved to do, record songs.  Like Springsteen, the subject of the title song has been beaten down but resilient.

 

A tour that year firmly established Springsteen as a major concert draw, as it was readily apparent that here was a performer who put 110% of his energy and soul into each show.  "Racing In The Street" is one of several songs Bruce wrote about cars.

Springsteen was something of a perfectionist in recording sessions for this album, according to those who helped out.  He recorded well into the night and insisted on getting everything right. 

Also that year, another Springsteen composition, "Because The Night", was partially rewritten by Patti Smith and recorded in 1978.  With "Fire", the Pointer Sisters took another Springsteen song high into the Top 10 in 1979.

Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden.  The live album and the documentary of the event finally put Springsteen's famous live performances on media the public could consume.

 Similar to John Mellencamp, Springsteen became one of the heroes of working class people.  In 1980, he released the double album The River and posted his first Top 10 hit, 'Hungry Heart".

Springsteen's medley of "Devil With The Blue Dress"/"Good Golly Miss Molly"/"Jenny Take A Ride" was nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male at the Grammy Awards. 

Bruce's work paid off in the form of his first #1 album in the U.S., Canada and Norway; it hit the Top 2 in every major country except Ireland and West Germany.  The River has now sold over five million copies and the entire album was cited in Springsteen's 1982 nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male at the Grammy Awards.  Once again, he and the band toured extensively, playing major arenas in the United States and Europe.  Here is the title song.

 Springsteen ventured to acoustic music with the 1982 album Nebraska.  Depressed when he wrote the material for the album, Nebraska is a dark outlook of American life.  It was Bruce's sixth consecutive Platinum release.

 "Atlantic City" is about the very poor city in New Jersey where there is a stark contrast between the bright casinos on the boardwalk and the city itself.  Atlantic City is also a magnet for organized crime, and it against that background that the narrator struggles to pay the bills and takes a job as a hit man.  

 Springsteen recorded "State Trooper" on a four-track deck.  He liked the sound so much that he kept it.

To this point, Springsteen had a large contingent of very loyal fans, and of course, the critics on his side.  Word had gotten out about his tremendous live shows, and those who made it to those concerts soon became believers.  But to the public at large, Springsteen was mostly known second-hand.

 

That changed with the release of the 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.  It not only made Springsteen a superstar but made music history in several ways.  "Dancing In The Dark" moved to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #2 overall in the U.S. and also topped the chart in the Netherlands.  It is another of Springsteen's in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

 Springsteen won his first Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male and he was nominated for Record of the Year for "Dancing In The Dark".  He also won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance.  "Cover Me" was a strong follow-up, #2 on the MR chart and #7 Popular.  Originally written for Donna Summer, Springsteen decided to keep the song for himself.

 

The title song (#1 in Ireland and New Zealand, #9 in the U.S.) is a scathing attack on the treatment of Vietnam veterans by the United States government.  Springsteen told the story of how some politicians are gung-ho to send the nation's young into battle and sing their praises while wars are going on, but those same politicians turn a deaf ear when those that survive come home, sporting wounds of the body that are easily seen as well as mental problems, which often went undetected and untreated for years.

What's especially galling to Springsteen and anyone who listens to him is that the song which sharply criticizes those politicians is used by those same politicians and their ilk as a patriotic song of the United States, when nothing could be further from the truth.  

To attempt to make the meaning explicitly clear to those who are so ignorant in so many ways, Springsteen performed only acoustic versions of the song.  This was in line with how the song was originally written, recorded but not included on the Nebraska album.  The album Tracks in 1998 contains the acoustic version of "Born In The U.S.A." as originally recorded.

"Born In The U.S.A." was nominated for Record of the Year and Springsteen was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.  Bruce also won American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Single (for "Dancing In The Dark") and Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video ("Born In The U.S.A.") and he was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video (both for "Dancing In The Dark").

 

The album reached #1 everywhere in the world except Ireland, where it peaked at #11. "I'm On Fire" sizzled to #1 in Ireland and the Netherlands, while in the United States, it peaked at #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #6 overall.

 Springsteen just kept pulling hits from the album, as "Glory Days" went to #5.  The video won for Best Overall Performance and Best Stage Performance Video and was nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV VMA's.

Springsteen originally wrote this song for the Nebraska album but it was not recorded until this one.  The single "I'm Goin' Down" gave Bruce six Top 10 hits from Born in the U.S.A.

 Then, Bruce scored a seventh with "My Hometown", a story of growing up in Freehold.  He paints a bleak picture of life for the working man during the years when Ronald Reagan was president.  As millions could identify with him, Springsteen became a voice for the common person.

 Springsteen's album contained more Top 10 hits (7) than the rest of his career combined (5).  Born in the U.S.A. has now sold over 15 million.  "Shut Out The Light", a non-album single, was originally on the flip side of the title song, which was a good pairing.  It too is about the despair felt by Vietnam veterans, about the disconnect between what life used to be and what it is like after returning from the war.

While touring to promote the album, Springsteen met actress Julianne Phillips, whom he married the next year.

The sales of albums referred to earlier occurred after the huge success of Born in the U.S.A.; at one point in 1985, all seven of Springsteen's albums appeared on the Album chart in the United Kingdom, the first time in history that all albums in an artist's catalog were ranked at the same time.

Join us for more of Bruce Springsteen, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!

Bruce Springsteen, the #27 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Springsteen is one of the best musicians in the world."

"He's a working class hero."

"Bruce is awesome!"

"He puts so much emotion into his songs, and his live shows are not to be missed."

"Bruce Springsteen is absolutely one of the greatest and most incredible entertainers to ever walk the earth! "

"One of the best Rock & Roll singers ever."

"Bruce is timeless Rock & Roll."

"Legend ♥"

"Bruce is truly the pinnacle of what Rock'n'Roll can be."

"The beauty of Bruce Springsteen's songwriting is that you can close your eyes and feel like you are really there in the moment."

"He writes amazing lyrics."

"The Boss is brilliant."

He is an incredible artist."

"Bruce is the best."

"Springsteen transcends Rock to a kind of transcendental music/emotion. One of the greatest talents in the last 50 years."

"Bruce equals Genius."

"His songs have so much passion!"

"Very talented musician and also a talented poet."

"Bruce's honesty and humility... he's always put it all right out there. It's very personal for him and it resonates in his work."

"One of the best songwriters ever."

"Bruce is a legend."

Bruce was born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey.  He went to St. Rose of Lima Catholic school but didn't like the strict nature of his schooling.  In ninth grade, he transferred to Freehold Borough High School.  There, he kept to himself, just wanting to play guitar.  He graduated from Freehold, but felt so out of place that he skipped the graduation ceremony.  Bruce briefly went to Ocean County College, but dropped out.

Springsteen listened to Frank Sinatra, and became inspired when he saw Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Seeing her son's interest in music, Bruce's mother bought him a guitar in 1964.  It was the Beatles' famous appearance on that same Ed Sullivan Show that triggered Bruce's desire to perform:



"This was different, shifted the lay of the land. Four guys, playing and singing, writing their own material ... Rock 'n' roll came to my house where there seemed to be no way out ... and opened up a whole world of possibilities."

After seeing the Beatles, Springsteen practiced hard and soon performed at a nearby Elks Lodge.  His mother bought him a new guitar in 1965 and Bruce headed to the home of Tex and Marion Vinyard, who sponsored some of the local bands.  The Vinyards put him in touch with the Castiles, who brought in Springsteen as their lead guitarist.  

The Castiles (above, with Springsteen on far right) recorded some original material and played several venues, including Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village.

Later in the decade, Bruce joined Earth, which also played in clubs in New Jersey near his new home of Asbury Park, New Jersey.  During this time, he acquired the nickname "The Boss", as it was his job to collect the band's pay each night and distribute it.  

From 1969 to 1971, Bruce played in the group Steel Mill, which played at colleges in the region and later in California.  Word was beginning to spread about Springsteen's talent and he began to attract a fan base.

Bruce went from band to band--first Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom, then the Sundance Blues Band and the Bruce Springsteen Band.  Gradually, the pieces of what would become the E Street Band fell into place.  Organist and founding member Danny Federici, drummer Vini Lopez and songwriter, arranger and guitarist Steve Van Zandt played with Springsteen in Steel Mill.  Keyboardist David Sancious joined Bruce's backing band later.

Springsteen's unique outlook expressed in his songwriting drew the attention of Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, who became his managers.  Appel convinced Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond to sign Bruce to a recording contract in 1972.

While recording his debut album, Springsteen jammed with saxophonist Clarence Clemons and his band The Joyful Noyze (sp) at The Shipbottom Lounge in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.  Clemons played sax on "Blinded By The Light" and "Spirit Of The Night" and officially joined the E Street Band in 1972.  Both songs were covered by the Manfred Mann Earth Band, with that group scoring a #1 hit with "Blinded By The Light".

 

From his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey in 1973, critics have loved him, but, since critics don't buy a whole lot of albums, sales lagged.  When Bruce became a superstar, interest in his back catalog propelled the album to Double Platinum status.

Neither Springsteen's first single, "Blinded By The Light", nor his second one, "Spirit In The Night", charted anywhere in the world, but both became hits for Manfred Mann's Earth Band.  Greasy Lake, near Howel, New Jersey, got its name from the fact that homeless people living around the lake who used it for bathing and washing dishes.  The people were known as "Gypsy Angels" or "Spirits in the Night".  Route 88 runs through Ocean County in New Jersey.

 

 

Later in the year, Springsteen released the album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.  Again, there were no hits (a recurring theme through much of Bruce's career) and little sales, but like his debut, the album also eventually sold over two million copies.  One track that stands out that is in demand at live performances is "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)".

Bruce considers this his musical autobiography.  After the hard-working Springsteen toured up and down the Jersey Shore, he finally had signed a recording contract, proving naysayers wrong.  

"Incident On 57th Street" is a romantic song set against a New York City street fight, similar to the classic movie West Side Story.

 

Several early Springsteen songs are about characters that travel around New York City.  He sings of Billy in his Cadillac, the fish lady and the junk man.  "New York City Serenade" was originally called "Vibes Man", one of the songs Bruce played at his audition for Columbia.

 

The lyrics about Madam Marie refer to an fortune teller who was a fixture on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.  This is "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)".

After a 1974 concert at the Harvard Square Theater, music critic Jon Landau famously wrote, "I saw the future of rock and roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen."  Landau liked what he saw so much that he became Springsteen's manager and producer.  Columbia, too, believed in their new artist, and, in a last-ditch attempt to put Bruce on the map, approved of a large recording budget for his next album.

 

The project took over 14 months to record, with six of those months devoted to the title song.  Springsteen battled frustrations that he wasn't able to translate the sounds he heard in his head to the studio, but Van Zandt, a longtime friend, helped Bruce out.  Finally in 1975, Springsteen released the album Born to Run.  The title song peaked at #23, easily one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

Springsteen and the E Street Band played two shows a night for five nights at the famous Greenwich Village club The Bottom Line.  The shows, broadcast live on WNEW-FM, caused a buzz in the New York area among both fans, critics and radio station personnel.  On the strength of the title song, the album rose to #3.

Springsteen's strength has always been his album tracks, and Album Oriented Rock stations played several tracks, including "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out".  It tells the story of how the E Street Band came to be.  

The "Big Man" in the third verse refers to saxophonist Clarence Clemons.  In 1971, Clemons, who was a social worker at the time, walked into a club called the Student Prince in Asbury Park where Springsteen was playing.  It was a stormy night and the door flew off the hinges when Clarence opened it.  Clemons asked to sit in and Bruce said ok.  Springsteen later talked about the incident and how Clemons "literally blew the door off the place."  

 

Born to Run has now sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone.  But before its release, Springsteen was in danger of losing his record contract if the record didn't sell.  

The phenomenal piano playing you hear is from a new musician in the band, who joined just prior to Born to Run.  Thirty piano players answered an advertisement in the Village Voice in August of 1974 which was looking for a pianist "who could play classical to Jerry Lee Lewis".  Roy Bittan had been working for bands and Broadway musicals in New York and saw the ad.  After two auditions, Bittan had the job.

Another standout track which helped save Bruce's career is "Thunder Road".

"Jungleland" is another tale of what life was like for Springsteen.  Bruce created several characters in the song, drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan.

"Terry" in the track "Backstreets" is not a real person, but rather a composite of girls he met.  He told Rolling Stone magazine in 2016 about what the song is about:  

     Just youth, the beach, the night, friendships, the

     feeling of being an outcast and kind of living far away

     from things in this little outpost in New Jersey.  It's

     also about a place of personal refuge.  It wasn't a 

     specific relationship or anything that brought the song 

     into being.

Springsteen was so overhyped that when he appeared on the covers of Newsweek and Time on October 27, he tore down promotional posters prior to a show in London.

Mysteriously, fans stirred by the sound of the album waited for a new release and didn't get one.  Legal difficulties with Appel kept Springsteen from recording for almost a year.  To keep the band active, Bruce arranged for dozens of shows throughout the United States.  

We're just getting started with this superstar.  Be sure to join us for Part Two, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!

Rod Stewart, The #28 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

 

(Continued from Part Three)

In 1991, Stewart released the album Vagabond Heart.  "Rhythm Of My Heart" was another huge hit--#1 in Ireland, #2 AC and #5 Popular in the United States, #2 in Australia, #3 in the U.K. and #4 in Canada.  It landed in the Top 10 in most countries in the world.   

 

Rod invited the legendary Temptations to join him for "The Motown Song", #2 in Ireland, #3 AC and #10 overall in the U.S. and #10 in the United Kingdom.

 

Rod took the Robbie Robertson song "Broken Arrow" to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

 

In 1993, Rod received the Legend Award at the World Music Awards.  He joined Sting and Bryan Adams for the song "All For Love" from the movie The Three Musketeers.

 Stewart and Ronnie Wood performed on the MTV Unplugged series.  The album Unplugged...and Seated reached #2.  Their version of Van Morrison's song "Have I Told You Lately" rose to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #5 overall.  

In 1994, Rod was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  His show on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil set a world record for the largest free Rock concert in history with 3.5 million fans on hand.

 

Stewart released the album A Spanner in the Works in 1995.  In 1996, Rod contributed "So Far Away" to the album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King. Stewart reached #2 on the AC chart.

Later in the year, Stewart released the album If We Fall In Love Tonight. The title song peaked at #4 among adults.

 

Rod released the album When We Were the New Boys in 1998, which reached #2 in the U.K.  Rod recorded a new version of the Faces song "Ooh La La", which peaked at #3 on the AC chart.

             Stewart's song "Faith Of The Heart" was included in the movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams.  It hit #3 on the Adult chart.   

Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in May of 2000 and underwent surgery for it.  He has worked to raise funds for The City of Hope Foundation charity, which works to find cures for cancer, especially those affecting children.

Stewart switched to Warner Brothers in 2000 and released the album Human the following year before signing with J Records.  He released the compilation The Story So Far:  The Very Best of Rod Stewart.

Stewart received the Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for achieving 100 million in sales.  Rod was invited to the Party at the Palace in 2002 which celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace Garden.

Stewart then turned his attention to singing from the Great American Songbook, for which he has enjoyed great success.  The series began when Rod released It Had to Be You, the Great American Songbook, number four on the Album chart in the U.S. and #8 in the U.K.

Rod released the album As Time Goes By:  the Great American Songbook 2, #1 in Canada, #2 in the U.S., and #4 in the U.K.  

 "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Dolly Parton, hit #2 on the AC chart. 

In 2003, the musical Tonight's the Night, honoring Stewart, opened in 2003 in the London West End.  Rod reunited with Wood for concerts of material from their years with Faces before releasing Stardust:  the Great American Songbook 3, his first #1 album in the United States in 25 years.  It also topped the Canadian chart and hit #3 in the U.K.

Stewart won his first Grammy Award for the album.  He followed that up with the 2005 album Thanks for the Memory:  The Great American Songbook 4, a #2 album.  

In 2006, Rod released Still the Same...Great Rock Classics of Our Time, another #1 album.  At the end of the year, Rod hosted the 8th annual A Home for the Holidays on CBS television.

Stewart was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 for his services to music.  He performed at the Concert for (Princess) Diana at Wembley Stadium in London.  Rod released the 4-CD compilation album Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998 in 2009, which consisted of outtakes and unreleased material.   

Stewart released the album Soulbook, which consisted of remakes of Soul hits.  He followed with a continuation of the Great American Songbook Series, Fly Me to the Moon...The Great American Songbook Volume V.

Stewart joined Stevie Nicks for a North American tour in 2011 and he headlined the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London.  Rod had a two-year residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2012, Stewart signed a new recording contract with Universal and released his book, Rod:  The Autobiography.  In November, he performed before Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance and later in the month during the 10th Royal Variety Performance. 

 

In December, he released the album Merry Christmas, Baby.  Rod's version of "Let It Snow!  Let It Snow!  Let It Snow!" hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Stewart appeared on Michael Bublé's television special Home for the Holidays.  In 2013, Rod released the album Time, the first that included his own songwriting in 20 years.  He said that writing his autobiography inspired him to write songs again.  Time went to #1 in the U.K., his first #1 on the Album chart since his Greatest Hits Volume 1 in 1979.

In 2018, Stewart released the album Blood Red Roses on Republic Records.

Stewart enjoyed a golden period in his native Great Britain, when he scored six consecutive #1 albums.  31 of his 62 hits have reached the Top 10 there, with six reaching #1. 

Rod was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.  He was knighted in 2016.  Rod has won one Grammy Award in his career.

Stewart has chalked up 53 hits in his career, with 16 of those reaching the Top 10 and 4 #1 songs.  On the Adult chart, he has 48 hits with 22 Top 10's and 4 #1's.  He has sold 78 million albums.

Rod Stewart, The #28 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

In an effort to rebound, Stewart's album Camouflage in 1983 was much better.    "Infatuation", with friend Jeff Beck on guitar,  jumped to #6.

 "Some Guys Have All The Luck" hit #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #10 overall.

"People Get Ready" with friend Jeff Beck on Beck's album Flash moved to #5 on the Rock chart in the U.S.  The song was written by Curtis Mayfield, lead singer with the Impressions, and became a civil rights anthem.  

After a light rig fell on Mayfield in 1990, he was paralyzed with three crushed vertebrae.  Royalties from this song, especially Stewart's version, helped keep Mayfield afloat financially.  Mayfield credits Stewart for helping him fend off depression and able to remain active as a songwriter and singer despite his condition.

Stewart released the album Every Beat of My Heart in 1986. "Love Touch" from the movie Legal Eagles with Robert Redford, Debra Winger and Darryl Hannah, reached #5 in the United States, #6 in Switzerland, #7 in Canada and #8 in Ireland. Stewart had a great run with something of a comeback.

 

In 1988, Stewart released the album Out of Order, produced by Andy Taylor of Duran Duran and Bernard Edwards of Chic. "Lost In You" roared to #3 on the Rock chart and #12 overall in the U.S. and #6 in Canada.

 

Rod considers "Forever Young" one of the songs he's the proudest of.  "I love 'Forever Young', because that was a real heartfelt song about my kids," Stewart told Mojo in 1995.  "I suddenly realized I'd missed a good five years of Sean and Kimberly's life because I was so busy touring all the time," he continued.  "With these kids now I don't make that mistake  - I take them on tour with me, so I can watch them grow up."  "Forever Young" landed at #3 on the Adult chart and #12 overall and #9 in Canada.    

 

Rod earned a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Forever Young".  Rod's tour of South America in 1989 was a huge success, with 80,000 fans at his concert in  Querétaro, Mexico, 50,000 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, and another 90,000 in Buenos Aires.   "My Heart Can't Tell You No" hit #3 Adult and #4 overall in the U.S.,  #1 in New Zealand and #2 in Ireland.

                "Crazy About Her" reached #1 in Sweden, #2 AC and #11 in U.S., #3 in New Zealand and #4 in Switzerland and Ireland.

 

Rod released the four-CD compilation Storyteller - The Complete Anthology:  1964-1990. Stewart recorded a new version of "This Old Heart Of Mine" (which he originally recorded in 1975), this time with Ronald Isley,  which shot up to #1 among adults and #10 overall.  It was the first Motown hit for the Isley Brothers in 1966.

        Folk singer Tom Waits wrote this song and recorded it on his 1985 album Rain Dogs.  "Tom's 'Downtown Train', Rod told The Guardian in 2013, "I realized there was a melody there in the chorus, and it's beautiful, but he barely gets up and barely gets down to the lower notes, so I took it to the extreme," he explained.  "That was a case where I brought the chorus alive and there have been a couple like that."

Stewart's remake of "Downtown Train" #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #3 Popular in the U.S. and #10 in the U.K.

 

Rod originally recorded "I Don't Want To Talk About It" in 1975 for his Atlantic Crossing album.  A re-recording on Storytellers helped propel it to #2 on the AC chart.

Stewart was back on track, and his comeback continues on Part Four!