Bruce Springsteen’s favourite member of The Beatles
The emergence of The Beatles transformed the global cultural landscape, and millions of lives all over the world, including Bruce Springsteen’s, were never the same again. They were more than just a band; they represented a bright new dawn and a hopeful future.
Although most of their young fanbase wasn’t born during World War II, they still grew up in the shadow of the conflict. However, the world slowly began to move forward, and the Fab Four played a vital role in filling the air with a sense of optimism, which was hugely alluring.
Springsteen, born in 1949, was the perfect age to admire The Beatles and follow their rise. As a young, impressionable teenager, when they first emerged onto the scene, they introduced him to the powers of rock ‘n’ roll, which would change his life forever. Of course, he owes a tremendous amount to The Beatles because of their impact on him. The singer-songwriter credits the Fab Four with starting his love affair with music, placing him on the path to becoming a history-maker.
Since they entered his world, nothing has ever been the same for Springsteen. Furthermore, he can still vividly recall his introduction to The Beatles, once stating, “The keeper was in 1964, ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ on South Street with my mother driving. I immediately demanded that she let me out, I ran to the bowling alley, ran down a long neon-lit aisle, down the alley into the bowling alley’.”
The Boss continued: “Ran to the phone booth, got in the phone booth and immediately called my girl and asked ‘Have you heard this band called The Beatles?’ After that, it was nothing but rock ‘n’ roll and guitars.”
Suddenly, Springsteen had a purpose and a reason to get up in the morning. Even if his desires for rock superstardom didn’t amount to fame or fortune, he’d still have been content with rocking out at dive bars in New Jersey. Thankfully, life had other plans for him.
Furthermore, Springsteen has been fortunate enough to share the stage with Paul McCartney throughout his career, including when McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Festival in 2022. However, in terms of creative preference, he was always more of a John Lennon fan, his favourite band member.
Springsteen revealed this when he disclosed his list of all-time favourite singers to Rolling Stone. Sent in as a ballot of 20, Springsteen selected his most cherished vocalists, which Ray Charles topped. Lennon was placed fourth by Springsteen, and surprisingly, he couldn’t find space anywhere on his list for McCartney.
Naturally, he was devastated by Lennon’s death in 1980. Hours after the tragic murder shocked the world to its core, Springsteen spoke about the late Beatle’s impact on him at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
According to historian Tim English, who told radio station NJ 101.5: “Bruce said, ‘You know, if it wasn’t for John Lennon, a lot of us wouldn’t be here tonight’, and he said ‘Twist and Shout’ was the first song he ever played on guitar and of course during those years he often encored with ‘Twist and Shout.’ At the beginning of that show at the Spectrum, Bruce said, ‘It’s tough to come out here tonight, but there’s nothing else to do.'”
Unfortunately, Springsteen didn’t get the opportunity to meet his hero. Nevertheless, Lennon was seemingly a fan of his work, and he encouraged him in one of his final interviews.
In the conversation, Lennon condemned the media for regularly building artists up before tearing them down again. The Beatles singer witnessed this first-hand during his own career and saw it happen to The Rolling Stones. At the time, Bruce couldn’t do anything wrong in the eyes of the masses, but the former Beatle felt it wouldn’t stay that way forever.
“And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he’s no longer God,” he told Rolling Stone. “I haven’t seen him, but I’ve heard such good things about him. Right now his fans are happy”.
Lennon added: “He’s told them about being drunk and chasing girls and cars and everything, and that’s about the level they enjoy. But when he gets down to facing his own success and growing older and having to produce it again and again, they’ll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.”
Comments such as the one above are precisely why Lennon was many people’s favourite member of The Beatles. He was unafraid to use his platform for good, whether condemning the Vietnam War or protecting young voices in the music industry like Springsteen. Furthermore, as an artist, he was a world-class talent with imitable songwriting skills and vocal abilities.
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