Bruce Springsteen, also known as “The Boss,” has been rocking out for half a century. The six-two-year-old heartland rocker was born in New Jersey and has been singing songs about struggles of daily American life, American sentiments, politics, activism, and more. Springsteen’s mother bought him his first guitar when he was thirteen and old teachers have commented that as a young man all Springsteen wanted to do was play guitar. He escaped serving during the war in Vietnam when he failed the physical examinations during induction.
Springsteen signed a record deal in 1972 with Columbia Records and brought with him band members that would later become the E Street Band. Springsteen’s debut studio album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” was released in 1973 and won him critical success even though album sales were sluggish. Springsteen’s second studio album, “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,” enjoyed more critical success but again flopped on sales. Commercial success didn’t come until 1975 with the release of “Born to Run,” which rose to the number three spot on the Billboard 200. The 1980’s for Springsteen were filled with long tours and albums focused on working-class life.
Springsteen is best known for his seventh studio album, “Born in the U.S.A.,” which he released in 1984 and has become one of the best-selling albums of all time. The title anthem was a commentary on how Vietnam veterans were treated- a topic dear to Springsteen’s heart since they included some of his friends and bandmates. The worldwide tour and huge success of “Born in the U.S.A.” represented a period of Springsteen’s life that he reached the broadest audience and enjoyed extreme visibility in popular culture.
On March 6, 2012 Bruce Springsteen (backed by the E Street Band) will release his seventeenth studio album, “Wrecking Ball.” Although the album has gotten mixed reviews, Springsteen makes attempts to update his sound on “Wrecking Ball.” What remains the same, however, are the themes of America, war, the economy and revolution. A review featured in the Chicago Tribune indicates that the album “is a big record in every sense of the word: it’s Springsteen with a large band and cruising on musical growth hormones, filled with muscle and bellowing out phrases loudly.” Check out the track list below!
Track List
We Take Care of Our Own
Easy Money
Shackled and Drawn
Jack of All Trades
Death to My Hometown
This Depression
Wrecking Ball
You’ve Got It
Rocky Ground
Land of Hope and Dreams
We Are Alive
Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale)- Bonus Track
American Land- Bonus Track
Do you have any of Bruce Springsteen’s other albums? Would you like to see your favorite artist spotlighted? Share your comments in the box below!