Bruce Springsteen’s five favourite songwriters of all time
If you are making any point about American and live music or drawing from the history of rock music in any way, it’s impossible not to bring Bruce Springsteen into the conversation. He is one of the most loveable, forward-thinking, and talented frontmen ever to pick up a guitar, bringing people music and performances that will be remembered for generations.
The secret behind his live show is simple: excellent musicians, energy and a genuine love for his work. The enigma of his recorded music is a bit more complicated, as Springsteen is the by-product of several different influences he wears before applying his circumstances and creativity to what he likes about them.
He can write about many things that connect with fans worldwide, whether that’s socio-political issues, love, hate, or something more concept-driven, like in Nebraska. Regardless of what it is, talent is a driving factor, but an ability to keep his favourite songwriters in mind when creating is also a massive part of his process.
Despite him being someone who is constantly listening to new and old music, there are five songwriters whom The Boss talks about incredibly highly and whose influence can be heard prominently within his music.
Bruce Springsteen’s favourite songwriters:
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen always had a lot of respect for Bob Dylan and never shied away from making it known to the public. He openly says that Dylan was one of the musicians who influenced the kind of music he wanted to make and how he should write songs. “Bob Dylan is the father of my country,” he said, talking about the albums Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home, “They were the first time I can remember being exposed to a truthful vision of the place I lived.”
Springsteen can make people feel nostalgic, even if it is for a time they didn’t live in, and he can voice political views in a way that is not as aggressive as punk music. The way that Dylan accurately reflects his surroundings in his lyrics was one of his biggest influences. He inducted Dylan into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he spoke about when he and his mother listened to the folk legend for the first time. “She sat there for a minute,” he said, “she looked at me, and she said, ‘That guy can’t sing.’ But I knew she was wrong, I sat there, I didn’t say nothing, but I knew that I was listening to the toughest voice that I ever heard.”
John Lennon
Springsteen owes one of his first introductions to rock music to The Beatles. “The keeper was in 1964, ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ on South Street with my mother driving,” he recalled, “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. 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.”
He was particularly a fan of John Lennon and his songwriting ability and was massively impacted by his death in 1980. He went on stage that night and gave a heartwarming speech about how influential Lennon was not just for him but for everyone in that room, directly and indirectly. He even hesitated to perform in light of the news, saying, “It’s tough to come out here tonight, but there’s nothing else to do.”
Paul McCartney
A good songwriter doesn’t just get inspired and continue working on the same music forever. They allow themselves to evolve depending on where they are in their life, which is why he has begun to identify more with the work of his friend Paul McCartney. McCartney admits when he first met Springsteen, Springsteen described his music as “soppy”, but that changed in later life.
“He said, ‘I didn’t get it, but I really get it now, man,’” recalled Paul McCartney, “And it’s something that happens. He’s fallen in love, he’s had kids, and he’s more able to accept that thought, which bothered a lot of people at the time.” The Boss is a big fan of McCartney’s ability to write about the complex emotions surrounding love and articulate them in a way which is as sweet as the feeling itself.
Roy Orbison
Bruce Springsteen was more than a fan of Roy Orbison, as he credits him with changing music forever. Springsteen has always been keen on stretching the bounds of creativity with his music, and it is likely Orbison’s influence is a significant part of his freedom when writing. He credits Orbison with throwing out the handbook and creating much darker and more complex pieces.
“Roy’s ballads were always best when you were alone and in the dark,” he said, “Roy scrapped the idea that you needed verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus to have a hit. His arrangements were complex and operatic; they had rhythm and movement, and they addressed the underside of pop romance. They were scary. His voice was unearthly.”
Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer was another massive influence on Springsteen, even though Strummer didn’t rise to fame until Springsteen was already an established and successful musician. One of the things that has kept Springsteen at the forefront of music for so long, though, is that he is happy to continue taking inspiration from those new and old.
Strummer fronted The Clash, one of the world’s most pioneering punk bands, and given the themes of Springsteen’s music, it’s not surprising he identified with punk so much. When Strummer died, Springsteen wrote, “Joe Strummer, my great, great departed friend and brother that I never had. You have been my inspiration for the past 40 years.”
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