7 Things Bruce Springsteen Did That Made Him Great

He turned me from a hater to a fan with these risky career moves

I am really not a hater however in my formidable youth, let us say from puberty to college graduation, I was not a big fan of Bruce Springsteen. He was the reigning rock and roll king and besides his songs really not connecting to my progressive rock soul, he also came off as a hypocrite. A bit full of himself. Then I read about the scam behind the infamous live concert review that started off, “ I have seen the future of rock and roll and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” I later learned that the author of said line and raving concert review was none other than Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau. I was a borderline hater at that moment.

Through the years I become closer to a few friends from the east coast who adamantly preached of the near god-like reverence for the man they called The Boss-even more irritating. A reference I would never use, because he’s not the boss of me. He was this artist who sang of the downtrodden, under-employed, and down on their luck bastards all while raking in millions of dough.

However, he gradually began to win me over, one step at a time. I began to warm up to him as an artist who dealt with all the issues humans go through. I had to admit he had a way of translating that to songs that rock, but you could also dance to. Here are the gradual steps that led me from disrespect to admiration of Bruce Springsteen.

The Song- Candy’s Room

My reaction was immediate. This is a vital song, I thought upon first hearing it over WXRT in Chicago. Then upon realizing it was Springsteen, I rationalized liking it by saying, well everyone is bound to write one good song. I became a fan of Darkness at The Edge of Town and still find it as his best work. Even though for his fans it wasn’t. Huge let down after Born to Run. Years later after watching a rock-umentary on the making of the record, I realized just how good this record is. For me, there will always be “Candy’s Room” as mysterious as Peter Gabriel's “Intruder.” Oh, I so wanted to meet a girl named Candy after that song.

The Album-Nebraska

Look up the word “stark” in the dictionary and you will see an MP3 file of this record. I just thought it was pretty ballsy releasing this record of scratchy tomes of really desolate beings after the absolute monster success of The River. Looking back it was an intentional artist move more associated with Neil Young. Springsteen knew what he was doing and even if it was calculated, he pulled it off. The record still stands up well today against any of his others. And don’t forget the fact that he followed it up with Born In The USA- a record that sold 3x as much as The River.

The Speech- SXSW

There are few speeches or even TED Talks that I have told my friends over and over “you must watch this.” No matter your thoughts on Springsteen, electronic dance music(EDM), the future of rock and roll, The Animals, DJs or laptop music, it's like a 300-level class for anyone interested in modern music. It’s all here in a concise presentation that leaves you in awe of his perspective on all things music. I felt a whole lot better about all genres of music including Springsteen’s after watching it. “Towards A General Appreciation of Music” is what it could have been called. I might not desire to call him Boss, but I think Professor might be fitting.

The Book- Born To Run

I took the paperback with me on a rock and roll weekend with friends. We were on our way to My Morning Jacket’s One Big Holiday in Punta Cana. On the plane down I was reading it, when Trevor Terndrup, the lead singer of Moon Taxi, started a conversation with me about the book. To hear another musician speak highly of the book and Springsteen’s journey rather than just glowing how much of an influence he was, was enlightening. The book has tales of the lowest lows and highest highs. It would be hard to fictionalize this story. After reading of his parentless teenage plight, I gained a greater appreciation of the person, more so than the artist. And that is a success for any author or biography.

The Play- Springsteen On Broadway

It just worked. There have been some really good adaptations of musical artist careers to the stage recently-Sunny Afternoon about the music of the Kinks- and some not so good -Mamma Mia! using Abba’s music as the soundtrack. And unlike the highly effective storytelling of Carol King’s Beautiful play, Springsteen On Broadway works on a whole different level. This is just one person, on stage in front of hundreds holding their attention. In fact, most audience members are in rapture being up close and personal with their hero, a liberty he didn't have to grant. I watched the Netflix production of the evening and was quite impressed. It was not arrogance, just truth without being overwrought.

The Performance- SNL

Most recently Springsteen appeared with the latest version of the E Street Band for a two-song performance during the Covid-lated production of Saturday Night Live. The songs were new and decent. His performance was ample yet engaged. His thrill of performing was evident. He just smiled and seemed thrilled he could be playing live again. He is a performer and artist no doubt. And that I most appreciate.

The Legacy- Long Shows

Nope, I still haven’t been to a Springsteen show. Might not make one either. I do however appreciate the fact that he and the E Street Band give everyone their money’s worth. It reminded me of how childish Terrance Trent D’Arby was after a 25-minute show in Chicago. He showed up late, performed about three songs, whined about something on stage, and left. This from a guy who had one record out and a sold-out Chicago crowd waiting to anoint him the next big thing. No one left that show singing his praises. He was not heard from again. Springsteen however would never act like that. I can respect that.

All these many years later I acknowledge Bruce Springsteen and respect him now more than ever. I still may not go see him perform if I am given the chance because, at this stage, I’d feel like a poser. I will give him his due on the annals of rock and roll. He accomplished what he set out to do. As he said in his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech, “What I hope to give to my fans with my music — a greater sense of themselves, and greater freedom —”

Mission accomplish Mr. Springsteen, I stand corrected.