The classic rock band Bruce Springsteen ripped-off for ‘Badlands’: “Easy to blow it”
In the pantheon of the most beloved rock stars in the world, there are certainly some duds. Artists who may get undue praise for their contribution. But there’s no doubting the songwriting credentials of Bruce Springsteen.
The rock and roll icon has made a name for himself as the beating embodiment of America’s heartland for five decades, routinely delivering bombastic albums and the kind of singles that only legendary figures can claim to top. However, like every great songwriter, ‘The Boss’ has borrowed the odd line here and there.
Noted for his effusive devotion to the artists who came before him, routinely noting Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and, of course, The Beatles as the foundational stones of his own music, there is one group from the 1960s that he perhaps owes a little extra concrete thanks to — The Animals.
The Animals are a classic rock band that probably doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Their work as a British invasion band made a whole generation of songwriters quiver. They had a presence, a snarling menace in many ways, that would entice millions of rock-loving kids. Led by Eric Bourdon and Chas Chandler, the British outfit would be an inspiration to countless groups and artists.
Released as part of his enigmatic 1978 record Darkness on the Edge of Town, ‘Badlands’ has become one of the more legendary songs in Springsteen’s oeuvre. While it is certainly built out of the charming rock and roll that had shot Springsteen to the pinnacle of pop music in the 1970s, rich with textured piano, rolling rhythm and potent vocals, it’s the song’s inspirations that have always garnered the most amount of attention from audiences.
As well as being a national park in South Dakota, US, the most obvious connection is the movie of the same name from 1973, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. However, the songwriter claimed to have not seen the movie before writing the track, despite having seen the poster in a cinema lobby. It’s a consequential moment that many feel too obvious to ignore. But The Boss thinks differently.
In truth, Springsteen simply liked the name as a potential title for the song, telling Rolling Stone in 2010: “‘Badlands’, that’s a great title, but It would be easy to blow it. But I kept writing, and I kept writing, and I kept writing and writing until I had a song that I felt deserved that title.”
However, Springsteen would eventually see the movie and set about writing his heartbreaking beauty ‘Nebraska’ based on the film’s adapted story of the murderous Charles Starkweather. It was a reverse-engineering that would end up providing Springsteen with one of his most beloved tunes.
The song reflects on the hopeful lovers of ‘Born to Run’ attempting to turn the treacherous society into something they can be proud of. Taking the characters of the previous album and building upon them, Springsteen used Darkness on the Edge of Town to cement his position as one of the finest songwriters of the moment. However, keen listeners soon picked out something about the song’s opening riff.
Musos worldwide noted the similarities between ‘Badlands’ and The Animals’ hit ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, a cover of Nina Simone’s track. Rather than fighting the accusation, Springsteen quickly claimed the rip-off, sharing how influential The Animals were to him as a young and impressionable listener, happily sharing that he stole the riff from them, twisting the minor-key intro into a major-key and delivering a powerful riff.
Of the band, Springsteen said at his SXSW keynote speech: “For some, the Animals were just another one of the really good beat groups that came out of the 1960s. But to me, the Animals were a revelation. The first records with full-blown class consciousness that I had ever heard.”
Listen to both songs below.
