Top Ten Songs by Bruce Springsteen
First, in 1980 Bruce Springsteen had his first top ten hit with “Hungry Heart”. The song rose to number five on the U.S. charts. The song was featured in the movie “Risky Business” with Tom Cruise, making it the first Springsteen song ever used in a film.
The year 1984 is when Bruce really got recognition with fans and music critics with his release of the “Born in the U.S.A.” album. The album produced 7 top-ten hits, including the title track “Born in the U.S.A.” The song which reached number 9 on the U.S. charts is one of Springsteen’s favorite songs, but it bothers him that the lyrics are oftentimes misinterpreted. The song is about a Vietnam veteran’s cold reception after coming home from the war, but most people think the song is simply about patriotism.
Also off of Bruce’s “Born in the U.S.A.” album was the song “Dancing in the Dark” that hit number 2 on the U.S. charts. The song was the last one written for that album, but won Bruce his first Grammy for Best Male Vocal. The “Dancing in the Dark” video featured future “Friends” star Courtney Cox.
“Glory Days” was another one of the “Born in the U.S.A.” album’s successes. The song reached number 5 on the U.S. charts. Talk show host David Letterman, a long-time Springsteen fan, had Bruce perform this song in his first Letterman appearance in 1993. The show that he performed on was actually Letterman’s last show that aired on the NBC network. Apparently Bruce made quite an impression on Dave because he’s had several appearances since on Dave’s CBS show.
“Cover Me” was also one of the hits from the 1984 album that reached number 7 on the U.S. charts. Originally, Bruce wrote the song for Donna Summer, but decided to keep it for himself. With its wild success, I’m sure he was happy with his decision.
“I’m On Fire” burned up the charts to number 6, following the trend of many other “Born in the U.S.A.” tracks. The song’s music video was the first time Springsteen had acted in a video. The video portrayed him as an auto mechanic who was lusting after a high class woman. Eighties icon Billy Joel also used that theme for his video for “Uptown Girl”. However, Springsteen’s video ended up winning Best Male Video at the 2nd annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1985.
Bruce Springsteen kept busy writing songs for himself and others all through the eighties and early nineties. In 1992, he found a hit with the title track from his “Human Touch” album. It reached 16 on the U.S. charts and it is the only song from the “Human Touch” album that appears on his greatest hits collection.
Bruce’s next huge success was the song “Streets of Philadelphia” that reached number 9 on the U.S. charts and was used in the Tom Hank’s film “Philadelphia”. Not only did Bruce open the Grammy’s with a performance of this song, but it took home the Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Male Vocal, and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television honors.
“Secret Garden” was a hit for Bruce Springsteen in 1995. The song was featured in the movie “Jerry Maguire” starring Tom Cruise and Rene Zellweger. The song was widely played on the radio after a DJ mixed some of the movie’s signature dialogue with the song. It reached number 19 on the U.S. charts.
As I said earlier, Bruce Springsteen has written songs for other artists to sing as well. In 1998, he released his song “Pink Cadillac” on “Tracks” which was a collection of Springsteen outtakes. The song originally was performed originally by Natalie Cole in 1988 and her version reached number 5 on the U.S. charts.
While Springsteen is a great performer, I think that I mostly admire him for his song writing talents. Whether it is a song about lust like “I’m on Fire” or a song with a social message like “Born in the U.S.A.”, Springsteen writes the kind of hits that stay in the hearts of music fans forever.
