When Bruce Springsteen First Heard Himself on the Radio
Bruce Springsteen recalled the emotional moment when he first heard one of his songs on the radio.
The Boss said he remembered where he was and what he was doing when the notes of a song from his debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., began ringing out one day in 1973.
“I was in Connecticut, standing on a street corner,” Springsteen recently told BBC Radio 1. “A car pulled up, and the guy had his window down and ‘Spirit in the Night’ was coming out of his car radio. ... I wanted to run over to his car and say, ‘Hey, that’s me!’ but I didn’t do it. I just stood there in shock and ecstasy.”
Having recently resumed his Broadway run, Springsteen confirmed plans to present more shows. “We’ll be touring next year, if everything goes well," he said. "The E Street Band will be back on the road, you know – depending, of course, on the virus and what’s opening up.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Springsteen reflected on the experience of making the Renegades podcast series with Barack Obama. “It was his idea initially,” he explained. “I thought, ‘Wait a minute, you’re the president – I’m a New Jersey high school diploma guitar player. Are you sure this is a good idea?’”
By that point the pair had spent time enjoying long conversations, so when the politician suggested a show in that style, the musician agreed. “And he came to my farm, and we sat in my studio and days would go by and we’d just talk,” he said.