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

 

(Continued from Part Three)

 Springsteen recorded "Streets Of Philadelphia" for the movie Philadelphia in 1994.  It topped charts in West Germany, Ireland and Norway and reached #9 in the U.S.  It would be Bruce's last Top 10 song.

"Streets Of Philadelphia" won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television and was nominated for Record of the Year.  It also won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture and Springsteen won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.  Springsteen won Best Video from a Film and was nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards and he won an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture. 

Bruce asked the E Street Band to join him for new recordings for Springsteen's Greatest Hits album in 1995.  The compilation has now sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.

 "Secret Garden" was included in the classic movie Jerry Maguire and was nominated for Best Video from a Film at the MTV Video Music Awards.

 Springsteen released the album The Ghost of Tom Joad, his first to fall short of the Top 10 since his second album.  After a subsequent tour, the Springsteens moved back to New Jersey.  The title song is a Top Track*.

  "Youngstown" is about a steelworker in Youngstown, Ohio who lost his job.  "Jenny" is the nickname given to the Blast Furnace at Youngstown steelworks, which was named after the daughter of W.A. Thomas, who was president of Brier Hill Steel.  

 Springsteen captured Best Contemporary Folk Album at the Grammy Awards and he was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (for "Dead Man Walkin'").  He was also nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.

Bruce won the Polar Music Price in 1997.  The aforementioned album Tracks was released in 1998 and has sold over one million units.  Bruce picked up another Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Thunder Road".

Bruce and the band got back together for an extensive tour that included 15 shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey and a 10-night stand at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York.

In 1999, Bruce was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  He received a further honor when the minor planet 23990, discovered September 4, 1999, was named in his honor.

 

In 2000, Springsteen received Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "The Promise".  Springsteen released the album Live in New York City in 2001, a televised event that won two Emmy Awards.  A Platinum album, it rose to #3 in Norway and Sweden and #5 in the U.S.

 

The album The Rising, recorded with the E Street Band, was released in 2002 and represented Springsteen's response to the murders of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Centers and the U.S. Pentagon.  The album enabled a comeback for Springsteen, hitting #1 in six countries including the United States and the U.K.  The title song is one of Bruce's career best.

 Springsteen won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (for the title song) was nominated for Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for "The Rising").  As usual, the hard-working Springsteen toured throughout the United States and Europe, including a record 10 sold-out shows at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey.  The Rising has now sold over two million copies.  "My City Of Ruins" is another song about Asbury Park.  Bruce hung out there a lot growing up and watched it deteriorate.

Springsteen worked to revitalize Asbury Park and played several winter holiday concerts with proceeds benefiting local businesses, organizations and causes.

Bruce collaborated with Warren Zevon for "Disorder In The House" from Zevon's last album, and the two won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.  Bruce released the compilation album  

The Essential Bruce Springsteen in 2003, which has sold over two million copies.  "The Code Of Silence" earned Springsteen another Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance.

 Devils & Dust, mainly an acoustical album recorded without the band, also hit #1 in 10 countries, but only sold just over 500,000 copies.  The title song won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Rock Song while the album was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Long Form Music Video. 

In 2006, Springsteen released the album We Shall Overcome:  The Seeger Sessions and played before sellout crowds in Europe and the United States.  Bruce won Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Long Form Music Video (for "Wings for Wheels:  The Making of 'Born to Run'").

In 2007, Bruce and the E Street Band returned with the album Magic, which topped charts in the U.S. and the U.K. and peaked in the Top 3 in every major country.  It has sold over one million copies and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards.  "Radio Nowhere" earned Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, while "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" earned Best Rock Song and was nominated for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance and  "Once Upon A Time In The West" won a trophy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

E Street Band founding member Danny Federici, who had been diagnosed with melanoma three years before, died April 17, 2008.

 Springsteen recorded "The Wrestler" for the movie of the same name and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture and was nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.  He was also nominated for Best Live Act at the World Music Awards and for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards for his duet with Rosanne Cash, "Sea Of Heartbreak", on Cash's album The List.

Bruce was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year in 2008.

In February of 2009, Bruce performed at halftime of Super Bowl XLIII.

Springsteen released the album Working on a Dream in 2009.  Bruce won another Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best Rock Song for the title cut.

The album rose to #1 in every major country except Australia, where it stopped at #3.  A tour included stops at some of the world's music festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival in Great Britain and the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands.

Bruce received Kennedy Center Honors for his contribution to American culture in December.  Springsteen concluded the decade ranked fourth in total concert grosses.

In 2010, Springsteen released the album The Promise.

More tragedy struck on June 18, 2011 when Clemons died.  The album Wrecking Ball also got to #1 in nearly every country but was Springsteen's first to fail to go Gold.   Wrecking Ball was Springsteen's 10th #1 album in the U.S., tying him with Elvis Presley for third all-time.  The Beatles hold the all-time mark of 19. 

 

"Land Of Hope And Dreams" had long been a staple of Springsteen's encores, but he reworked his song of hope for America's immigrants for the album.

After Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on his home state of New Jersey and other areas of the East Coast in October, 2012, Bruce dedicated concert proceeds to victims and performed at the nationally televised telethon Hurricane Sandy:  Coming Together.

 Bruce wrote a gut-wrenching song about how somehow America, or at least a minority of its residents, had forgotten that America became great because it valued each and every one of its citizens, and was always there for them in times of need. Springsteen was nominated for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance (both for "We Take Care Of Our Own") at the Grammy Awards.  The Wrecking Ball Tour proved that Springsteen was still the king of live shows, ending the year with the largest total attendance.

In 2013, Bruce received the MusiCares Person of the Year Award.

Springsteen's album High Hopes in 2014, which became a #1 album in every major country in the world.  The album was Bruce's 10th #1 in the U.K., tying him with the Rolling Stones and U2 for fifth all-time.  However, sales of High Hopes are also below 500,000.

Springsteen was on hand when the E Street Band was separately inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.  Later in the year, he released The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984, an 8-disc set including remasters of his first seven studio albums. 

In 2015, Bruce released the box set The Ties That Bind:  The River Collection and toured for 10 months in North America and Europe.  Springsteen's tour was #1 with 1.1 million tickets sold and $135 million in revenue.

Springsteen released the compilation Chapter and Verse, which included unreleased material from his work with the Castiles, Steel Mill and The Bruce Springsteen Band,  in 2006.

In 2016, Bruce released his autobiography, Born to Run, which topped The New York Times Best-Sellers List.  He went on a nine-date book tour in which he offered pre-signed copies of the book.

Bruce received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama on November 22.  It is the highest award a civilian can receive and is "presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors".

Springsteen was nominated for Tour of the Year at the American Music Awards.

Springsteen has won four American Music Awards from seven nominations, 20 Grammy Awards out of 46 nominations, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award out of two nominations, two MTV Video Music Awards from 12 nominations and an ASCAP Award. He has been nominated for three Billboard Music Awards, a World Music Award and an Emmy Award.