Bruce Springsteen has had the same favourite song since 1964: “After that, it was nothing but rock ‘n’ roll”
The day is June 4th, 2025. An Anfield buzzing with anticipation holds its breath as Bruce Springsteen takes to the stage. Before a note is played, he grabs the mic: “Hello Liverpool, for us, this is where it all began.”
That night, Bruce Springsteen didn’t just give fans a good rock performance, rather, he played a show that was a quintessential culmination of everything he stands for. We all saw the headlines, the majority of which revolved around his politics, given that he dedicated a great portion of the show to criticising Donald Trump and the political landscape in America. While a lot of fans of Springsteen didn’t see these comments as anything outside his usual remit, there were many people who met his critique with controversy.
Blame Bob Dylan for Bruce Springsteen’s outspoken ways. The Boss has never been one to hesitate when laying his societal views out within his music, and it was the work of Dylan that showed him how effective such a move could be. From a young age, upon listening to Dylan for the first time, Springsteen effectively understood how music could be used to convey important meaning.
“I want people to get the same experience from listening to one of my records as I had when I listened to Highway 61 Revisited,” admitted Springsteen. “The idea that something was revealed to them that was fundamentally true and essential, and gave you a view of your world, your country, your town, your neighbours, your family.”
Of course, while the political opinion of Springsteen was big news, and the speeches he gave throughout the evening cut through that Anfield atmosphere like a sharpened guitar pick, the biggest takeaway from the whole show was the fact that Springsteen remains one of the world’s greatest rock performers. It didn’t matter what kind of song he was playing, regardless of whether he was knocking out a classic like ‘Dancing in the Dark’ or one of his more political, slowed down songs such as ‘Long Walk Home’, Springsteen delivered the goods in the only way he knew how.
Dylan inspired his live shows as well, sure, but it was The Beatles who really drilled into Springsteen this unrelenting adoration of rock ‘n’ roll. The Fab Four left no stone unturned when they took over the States in 1964, inspiring people everywhere with their new style of music, and one of those inspired minds was Springsteen’s.
Kids around America were blown away by the four lads from Liverpool, one of whom was a young Springsteen, sitting in the car with his Mum at the time. So, when The Boss took to Anfield and said Liverpool was “where it all began”, he was referring to one band, and one band only.
“‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ came on the radio in 1964,” recalled Springsteen. “That was going to change my life because I was going to successfully pick the guitar up and learn how to play.”
The Beatles. ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’. Truly an astonishing moment in rock history, and one that Bruce Springsteen found himself on the right side of. That music, those lyrics, the way the whole performance came together, they all stay at the heart of what he does, despite the decades that have passed since his first listen.
“I saw Elvis on TV, and when I first saw Elvis, I was nine, but I was a little young, tried to play the guitar, but it didn’t work out, I put it away,” Springsteen remembered. “The keeper was in 1964, ‘I Want To 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 bowling alley into the bowling alley. 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.”
That song still remains close to Springsteen’s heart, and The Beatles continue to be one of his favourite bands, despite six decades passing since he first heard them. Talk about impact.
