“He’s won audience and critical acclaim, but is still unknown to the bulk of the public.”
That’s Rolling Stone talking about a 26-year-old kid from Freehold, New Jersey, back in 1975. His name was Bruce Springsteen, and his third album, “Born to Run,” had just been released.
When Springsteen’s first album, “Greetings from Asbury Park N.J.,” was released in early 1973, his record company promoted him as “the new Dylan.” Though the album included such now-classics as “Blinded by the Light,” “Growin’ Up,” and “Spirit in the Night,” it was folky and wordy, giving us such Dylanesque lyrics as “[T]he gallows wait for martyrs whose papers are in order” and “Madison Avenue’s claim to fame in a trainer bra with eyes like rain.” It sold about 120,000 copies upon release.
Late that same year, album number two came out — “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.” Influenced by Van Morrison’s groundbreaking “Astral Weeks” (which “was like a religion to us,” according to longtime Springsteen guitar player Steve Van Zandt), it was more diverse and rock-and-rolling than its predecessor. It gave us “Rosalita” and of course “The E Street Shuffle,” but sold only slightly better than “Greetings,” and according to a record company PR man at the time “it was pretty much dead on arrival.”
As a measure of Springsteen’s renown up to that point, in July of 1974, he was the opening act for Dr. John at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium — and when saxman Clarence Clemons played a long solo introduction to one song, kids in the back started yelling “Boogie!!!”
Then came “Born to Run,” and that changed everything. Springsteen reportedly said that he wanted the album to sound like “Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan, produced by [Phil] Spector.” Indeed, the production is lavish and the songs are superb: “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Meeting Across the River,” and more, not to mention the iconic title track, which became the anthem of its era — much like “My Generation” in the ’60s and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the ’90’s. More than one critic has hailed it as “the greatest rock and roll album ever made.”
That was just the (real) beginning, of course. On came “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The River,” “Nebraska,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” and on and on up through (so far) this year’s “Western Stars” — 19 studio albums in all.
Along the way, Springsteen has given us such indelible creations as (besides those mentioned above and the title songs from many of his albums) “Badlands,” “Racing in the Street,” “Back Streets,” “Atlantic City,” “The Promised Land,” “Jungleland,” “Prove It All Night,” “I’m on Fire,” “State Trooper,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Streets of Philadelphia” — the last of which won Springsteen a Song of the Year Grammy in 1995 (one of a stunning 20 he has accumulated altogether since 1984). This is every song of the year since the Grammys started.
Click here for Bruce Springsteen’s 50 greatest songs.
Springsteen got his nickname, “The Boss,” back in his Asbury Park club days on the Jersey Shore, because he was the one who collected money at his band’s gigs and distributed it to the group. (New Jersey has spawned numerous celebrated musicians, including Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, and Count Basie, but Springsteen might be the best-known of all. These are the most famous bands from every state.)
That “unknown to the bulk of the public” 26-year-old turns 70 on September 23, and in the course of his brilliant 44-year career, he has become indisputably “The Boss” of modern American popular music.
To determine the 50 best Bruce Springsteen songs, 24/7 Tempo generated an index based on the total number of plays each song has received on streaming service Spotify as of September 20, 2019, popularity on Apple Music, and performance on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart when applicable. Songs that only appeared on live albums were removed from consideration.
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
50. There Goes My Miracle
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 4.0 million
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Source: Getty Images / Getty Images
49. Lonesome Day
> Album: The Rising
> Year: 2002
> Spotify streams: 6.7 million
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Source: Jemal Countess / Getty Images
48. The Wayfarer
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 2.5 million
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
47. Out in the Street
> Album: The River
> Year: 1980
> Spotify streams: 7.9 million
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Source: wellesenterprises / Getty Images
46. Nebraska
> Album: Nebraska
> Year: 1982
> Spotify streams: 6.4 million
Source: Ross Land / Getty Images
45. The Ghost of Tom Joad
> Album: The Ghost of Tom Joad
> Year: 1995
> Spotify streams: 10.6 million
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Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images
44. Adam Raised a Cain
> Album: Darkness on the Edge of Town
> Year: 1978
> Spotify streams: 4.2 million
Source: Jemal Countess / Getty Images
43. Hitch Hikin’
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 2.7 million
Source: Kena Betancur / Getty Images
42. Growin’ Up
> Album: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
> Year: 1973
> Spotify streams: 4.1 million
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Source: Monty Fresco / Getty Images
41. Darkness on the Edge of Town
> Album: Darkness on the Edge of Town
> Year: 1978
> Spotify streams: 8.1 million
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
40. Western Stars
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 3.8 million
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Source: Getty Images / Getty Images
39. Working on the Highway
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 6.3 million
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
38. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
> Album: The Wild, the Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
> Year: 1973
> Spotify streams: 5.8 million
Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
37. She’s the One
> Album: Born to Run
> Year: 1975
> Spotify streams: 4.0 million
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Source: Ilya S. Savenok / Getty Images
36. Spirit in the Night
> Album: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
> Year: 1973
> Spotify streams: 6.4 million
Source: Harry How / Getty Images
35. Darlington County
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 5.3 million
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Source: Buda Mendes / Getty Images
34. Bobby Jean
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 6.7 million
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Source: Chris Jackson / Getty Images
33. Tucson Train
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 4.2 million
Source: Pete Souza / Wikimedia Commons
32. Hello Sunshine
> Album: Western Stars
> Year: 2019
> Spotify streams: 6.3 million
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Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images
31. Prove It All Night
> Album: Darkness on the Edge of Town
> Year: 1978
> Spotify streams: 6.1 million
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
30. Tougher Than the Rest
> Album: Tunnel of Love
> Year: 1987
> Spotify streams: 22.2 million
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Source: Jemal Countess / Getty Images
29. Downbound Train
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 8.7 million
Source: Brian Ach / Getty Images
28. Backstreets
> Album: Born to Run
> Year: 1975
> Spotify streams: 7.5 million
Source: Brian Ach / Getty Images
27. Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
> Album: The Rising
> Year: 2002
> Spotify streams: 20.0 million
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Source: Frank Micelotta / Getty Images
26. No Surrender
> Album: Born in the USA
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 9.7 million
25. Blinded By the Light
> Album: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
> Year: 1973
> Spotify streams: 11.1 million
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Source: Jacob Silberberg / Getty Images
24. The Rising
> Album: The Rising
> Year: 2002
> Spotify streams: 16.1 million
Source: Columbia Records / Wikimedia Commons
23. Jungleland
> Album: Born to Run
> Year: 1975
> Spotify streams: 10.2 million
Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images
22. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
> Album: The Wild, the Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
> Year: 1973
> Spotify streams: 12.2 million
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Source: Peter Keegan / Getty Images
21. Atlantic City
> Album: Nebraska
> Year: 1982
> Spotify streams: 21.0 million
Source: William Thomas Cain / Getty Images
20. Fade Away
> Album: The River
> Year: 1980
> Spotify streams: 3.0 million
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Source: fotoguy22 / Getty Images
19. Badlands
> Album: Darkness On the Edge of Town
> Year: 1978
> Spotify streams: 21.8 million
Source: Ross Land / Getty Images
18. Human Touch
> Album: Human Touch
> Year: 1992
> Spotify streams: 14.7 million
Source: Larry Busacca / Getty Images
17. One Step Up
> Album: Tunnel of Love
> Year: 1987
> Spotify streams: 5.8 million
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Source: Laura bland / Wikimedia Commons
16. Tunnel of Love
> Album: Tunnel of Love
> Year: 1987
> Spotify streams: 5.8 million
Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
15. Secret Garden
> Album: Greatest Hits
> Year: 1995
> Spotify streams: 18.4 million
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Source: Thomas Uhlemann / Wikimedia Commons
14. Thunder Road
> Album: Born to Run
> Year: 1975
> Spotify streams: 56.3 million
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Source: Shayne Kaye / Flickr
13. Cover Me
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 12.3 million
Source: Rick Diamond / Getty Images
12. I’m Goin’ Down
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 15.3 million
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Source: EJ Hersom / U.S. Department of Defense
11. Brilliant Disguise
> Album: Tunnel of Love
> Year: 1987
> Spotify streams: 17.6 million
10. My Hometown
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 13.7 million
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Source: Laura / Flickr
9. The River
> Album: The River
> Year: 1980
> Spotify streams: 78.9 million
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Source: nautilus_shell_studios / Getty Images
8. Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (Live at C.W. Post College, Greenvale, NY – December 1975)
> Album: In Harmony 2 (compilation)
> Year: 1982 (released)
> Spotify streams: 72.2 million
Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images
7. Glory Days
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 51.8 million
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Source: Carl Lender / Flickr
6. Hungry Heart
> Album: The River
> Year: 1980
> Spotify streams: 75.1 million
Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
5. Streets of Philadelphia
> Album: Philadelphia (soundtrack)
> Year: 1994
> Spotify streams: 103.9 million
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Source: Carl Lender / Flickr
4. Born to Run
> Album: Born to Run
> Year: 1975
> Spotify streams: 128.3 million
Source: Sean Garnsworthy / Getty Images
3. I’m On Fire
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 137.7 million
Source: Roger Kisby / Getty Images
2. Born in the U.S.A.
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 154.3 million
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Source: Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images
1. Dancing in the Dark
> Album: Born in the U.S.A.
> Year: 1984
> Spotify streams: 197.4 million
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