The record Bruce Springsteen played “over and over again”
He might be The Boss, but Bruce Springsteen knows when he needs to bow to the kings that have come before him. As simply one legend in a lineage of songwriting crafting perfect storytelling odes, he recognises the figures that came before him.
In a conversation with Rolling Stone Magazine, he recounts the moment when pressing play changed his life. Like any music fan, let alone any music maker, Springsteen’s life has been influenced by a series of vital artists that moved him at the right moments and inspired him in an instant. For decades since, there have been hoards of artists that would bestow the honour of influence onto his shoulders, but Springsteen himself was forever changed by the songs that soundtracked his early days.
Amongst them he mentions the likes of The Beatles, claiming the track ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ changed his life. Remembering the moment it first came on the radio, he said, “That was going to change my life because I was going to successfully pick the guitar up and learn how to play.” Also discussing the ways that Elvis impacted his sound, and the moment that punk first hit and shook him up, Springsteen acknowledges that his music really is a tapestry of all the sounds he’s ever loved.
But there’s one record that stands out as a vital piece of the puzzle. “It would have been 1978, I went out and bought Hank Williams’ Greatest Hits and played it on my little stereo in Asbury Park over and over again,” he said. He admits he was a latecomer to the country legend as he added, “I don’t remember what made me run out and buy Hank Williams’ Greatest Hits because it took me quite before I recognised it as being the invaluable piece of music history that it is.”
But even if he was late to the party, he was thankful to have arrived. Perhaps Williams is a key to unlocking a turning point in Springsteen’s career. After the storming breakout success of his earlier albums like Born To Run and Born In The USA, he found Williams right at the turn of a new decade and a new moment. By the time his 1980 record, The River, came around, those two years of soaking up the country star’s influence seemed to be felt.
While The River is still distinctly Springsteen-esque, dealing with small-town stories of suburbia over anthemic rock instrumentals, there is a country twang reminiscent of Williams’ work. The characters of the record has the same charm and charisma thats often found in country and folk songs, there’s also a more universal and traditional approach to emotions, such as on the huge love song ‘Hungry Heart’. As his pen seemed to focus on love, marriage and family life, they’re certainly the arenas that Williams’ brand of country dominates.
Talking about Springsteen’s inspirations is always interesting. As a musician, he often feels like a phenomenon utterly of his own creation. He’s used to describe the sound of hoards of musicians after him, defining that distinctive blue-collar rock sound. But like everyone, he wasn’t immune to inspiration. Clearly boiling down the bits he liked from the records he loved, there’s a little piece of Williams in there somewhere, even if it came later in the game.
