The band that put Bruce Springsteen at risk of “ass whippings”
For most people, reminiscing about discovering beloved bands from their youth brings comfort. Yet, for Bruce Springsteen, the experience unfolds a bit differently. He cherished a particular band — the quintessential emblem of the 1960s — so profoundly that he even opted to style his hair like theirs. However, he also hesitated to acknowledge his admiration for them openly.
Springsteen’s world was transformed when he first discovered The Beatles. Their music resonated with him in a way he had never experienced before, igniting an insatiable thirst for more of their sounds. However, despite The Beatles’ widespread popularity, Springsteen’s peers didn’t share his enthusiasm for their music. In fact, he even recounted facing potential physical altercations due to his choice of hairstyle.
In the car with his mother, Springsteen encountered The Beatles for the first time. He immediately sensed he was tuning into something that would profoundly alter his life. “The Beatles. I first laid ears on them while driving with my mom up South Street, the radio burning brighter before my eyes as it strained to contain the sound, the harmonies of ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,'” he wrote in his book Born to Run. “Why did it sound so different? Why was it so good? Why was I this excited?”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen further elaborated on this moment, delving deeper into the track’s profound impact on him. “‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ came on the radio in 1964 — that was going to change my life because I was going to successfully pick the guitar up and learn how to play,” he revealed.
He continued: “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 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.”
During this period, The Beatles made a significant appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, catapulting their fame in America to new heights as Beatlemania swept through the nation. Springsteen stood among the millions who were captivated by the Liverpudlians, their influence converting him to a devotee of rock ‘n’ roll. He holds an enduring gratitude to them for instilling in him a belief in the transformative potency of music.
However, after styling his hair like the Fab Four, his risk of physical assault increased, according to the singer. “The ass whippings, insults, risks, rejections and outsider status you would have to accept to wear it,” he wrote. “In recent years, only the punk revolution of the 1970s would allow small-town kids the ability to physically declare their ‘otherness,’ their rebellion. In 1964, Freehold was redneck ugly, and there was no shortage of guys who were willing to make their rejection of your fashion choices a physical affair. I ignored the insults, avoided the physical confrontations as best I could and did what I had to do.”
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