One note saved Bruce Springsteen’s legendary ‘Born to Run’: “The single most important thing”
Often perfectionism is the thief of great art, but then sometimes, one note alone stands between a good and a great song, and we’re reminded why even the smallest details make a difference. As for Bruce Springsteen, that vital note didn’t come from a frustrated strife but from a complete accident.
In the wise words of one of rock and roll’s greatest guitarists, “Solos come and go, riffs last forever”, which is Keith Richards’ one golden rule for writing great songs, and, in particular, for writing songs that hook into your mind and stay there.
In his eyes, solos are self-indulgent. They might serve the player, but not really anyone else, as he said, “We’re not playing for geniuses,” caring less about impressing other guitarists with technicality or fast fingers, but about playing to the arena. He always wants to be playing riffs that get the crowd going, prioritising repeating themes or guitar sections that serve the big picture of the song, rather than stealing the spotlight away from it.
All of that is relevant because it’s the exact ethos held by Springsteen and his E Street Band. Since their formation, the frontman’s backing band has been a traditional unit that simply cares about making music for the people. Part of the reason why Springsteen became ‘The Boss’ is that he seems to specifically create music for the working man to cut loose to, making accessible and approachable tunes that could move anyone.
Riffs are a huge part of that. Like Richards, he largely rejects flashy guitar solos to instead keep the energy going, keep the band rocking as a unit, and keep the crowd in it. One of the most famous examples surely has to be the riff from ‘Born to Run’, which has become one of Springsteen’s biggest and most widely recognised hits, but it was almost different. Like most of his tunes, ‘Born to Run’ sticks with the classic, so-called ‘campfire chords’, keeping things simple, yet, when guitarist Steven Van Zandt first played the riff, it led to an argument with his boss about how to play it.
“We are making ‘Born to Run’. He [Van Zandt] comes into the studio. He sits down. I play it for him, and he goes, ‘Man, I love that riff. The way you go to the minor’,” Springsteen recalled, which confused the man as there was no minor.
When he wrote it, it was major chords through and through for a rising and optimistic song. He was sure he was “bending the note up”, while Van Zandt was sure it was a minor, adding in what he saw as a kind of Roy Orbison or The Beatles influence, a switch up of tone, incorporating something dynamic and intriguing.
To Van Zandt, zeroing in on a moment of darkness makes sense. While the song sings of freedom, it’s definitely a naive kind with this reckless voice being hungry to run free into the world without really considering the consequences or if that is doable. So with that one minor moment, that tinge of doubt comes in, seeming to match the more in-depth emotions at the base of the track with the tune.
Luckily, Springsteen heard him out and made the decision to play it the way his guitarist thought it already was, putting in that minor chord. Years on, he sees that one note change as the key to a whole future, as the thing that might have changed everything. “Steve has done many great things in service for the E Street Band and my work, but this may be the single most important thing he has ever done,” he claimed.
