Song of the Week #59 – “Born To Run”
Written by admin on June 20, 2011 – 11:45 am -| In tribute to Clarence Clemons, who died on Saturday, June 18, Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons is Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run.”
“Born To Run” was released in 1975 on the album of the same name and also as a single, backed with “Meeting Across the River.” |
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Billboard magazine (Sept 13, 1975) called the track “a monster song with a piledriver arrangement” and “one of the best rock anthems to individual freedom ever created.” The reviewer correctly predicted that it would be Springsteen’s biggest hit to date. A few weeks later, Springsteen made the covers of both Time magazine and Newsweek.
The Time piece, titled “The Backstreet Phantom of Rock” (Oct 27, 1975), is an astute and enthusiastic response to the early power of Springsteen, noting:
| “Springsteen has taken rock forward by taking it back, keeping it young. He uses and embellishes the myths of the ’50s pop culture: his songs are populated by bad-ass loners, wiped-out heroes, bikers, hot-rodders, women of soulful mystery. Springsteen conjures up a whole half-world of shattered sunlight and fractured neon, where his characters re-enact little pageants of challenge and desperation.” |
The Newsweek article, “Making Of A Young Rock Star,” highlights how Columbia were really pushing the “Born To Run” album, with a promotional budget of $250,000. Columbia’s hype made use of a quote from rock critic and future Springsteen manager, Jon Landau, who after seeing Springsteen open for Bonnie Raitt wrote “I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” The gig took place at Harvard Square Theatre, Cambridge, on May 9, 1974, and Landau had actually witnessed the live debut of “Born To Run,” before recording on the song had been finished.
With the hype surrounding “Born To Run” and the financial backing of Columbia, this was make or break time for Springsteen. If “Born To Run” had received the very average sales of his previous two albums, it would have been a tough position to recover from. Thankfully, the record company’s support paid off, with the single “Born To Run” achieving major airplay on AM radio (a first for a Springsteen single) and the album racking up 600,000 sales by mid-October 1975.
In an essay in the 1996 book “Songs” (repeated in the liner notes of the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of “Born To Run”) Springsteen reflects on how the song “Born To Run” came about:
| “One day I was playing guitar on the side of my bed, working on some song ideas, and the words ‘born to run’ came into my head. I thought it was the name of a movie or something I’d seen on a car spinning around the Circuit, but I couldn’t be certain. I liked the phrase because it suggested cinematic drama I thought would work with the music I was hearing in my head.” |
| “…’Born To Run’ was a long time coming; it took me six months to write. But it proved to be the key to my songwriting for the rest of the record. Lyrically, I was entrenched in classic rock and roll images, and I wanted to find a way to use those images without their feeling anachronistic.” |
In the liner notes to “Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits” the year before, Springsteen had described the song as:
| “My shot at the title. A 24-year-old kid aimin’ at the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever.” |
“Born To Run” remains an exciting part of Springsteen’s stage show to this day. Clarence Clemons’ contributions on sax were always a highlight of the song and will be sorely missed in future.
This excellent “Born To Run” video features a live audio from the mid-80s “Born In The USA” tour and a compilation of clips from that tour:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – “Born To Run”
Authorship
The words and music to “Born To Run” were written by Bruce Springsteen.
Recording date/location
“Born To Run” was recorded at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York over several months. The final session was on August 6, 1974.
Musicians
The following musicians featured on “Born To Run”:
- Bruce Springsteen – guitar, vocals
- Clarence Clemons – tenor saxophone
- Danny Federici – organ
- David Sancious – keyboards
- Garry Tallent – bass guitar
- Ernest Carter – drums.
This was the only Bruce Springsteen track on which Ernest Carter appeared, although he did gig with the band for several months in 1974. Vini Lopez had played on Springsteen’s first two albums and Max Weinberg would take over drumming duties on the rest of the “Born To Run” album.
Chart performance
The “Born To Run” single peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was Springsteen’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and would be his highest placing on that chart until “Hungry Heart” reached number five in 1980.
The album “Born To Run” reached number three on the Billboard album chart and number 17 in the UK.
Covers
Melissa Etheridge – “Born To Run”
The great Melissa Etheridge had performed “Born To Run” at the Concert for New York City in 2001 and would also rock the house with her version during a concert to honour the 2009 Kennedy Center Award recipients in 2009. Sat next to President Obama and the First Lady, Springsteen clearly enjoyed Etheridge’s performance.
Amy Macdonald – “Born To Run”
Scottish songstress, Amy Macdonald, performs solo acoustic versions of both “Born To Run” and “Dancing In The Dark” as part of her stage show. The latter also appeared as a hidden track on her second album “A Curious Thing.” These are genuine tributes from Macdonald, who is a big fan of Springsteen.
There will be a new Song of the Week on June 27.
“Born To Run” is on the album “Born To Run,” which is available as a single disc edition and as part of the highly recommended 30th anniversary deluxe set that includes the original album remastered, the Grammy-winning documentary, “Wings For Wheels,” and a DVD of Springsteen’s Hammersmith Odeon show from November 18, 1975.
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Born To Run (CD) |
Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | |
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Born To Run 30th Anniversary Edition (CD/2 DVDs) |
Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | |
Tags: born to run, Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, The E Street Band
Posted in American Rock, Song of the Week |
