Top Ten Songs by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen has never had a #1 hit on the Billboards Top Ten list, but people adore him and his music. He also doesn’t produce the number of albums that other artists do. Bruce believes in his music and the message he wants to send with his music. If he has nothing to say, he will keep working on his music until he compiles an album worthy of being released. He believes each album must count and mean something. He isn’t one of those artists who releases an album just to have a new album out.
Bruce Springsteen’s career began in 1965 when he joined the Castiles. The Castiles were a local band who played malls, battle of the bands gigs, and were also a cover band.
In 1968 the Castiles broke up and Bruce formed his own band called Earth. This is also the year that Bruce met Steve Van Zandt and enrolled in college. He soon discovered that college wasn’t for him.
Bruce semi-lived in a surfboard factory in Asbury Park during that time of his career. Asbury Park would later become one of his best albums and the base for creating his music style.
In 1969 Bruce formed the band Steel Mill and they had a good local audience sometimes ranging in the thousands for outdoor gigs. Bruce broke up this band in 1971 and began work on his own band which finally became Bruce Springsteen Band.
Bruce spent that year performing local clubs and gigs, then in the summer of 1972 he formed the band later known as The E Street Band and recorded Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. The following spring the group began touring both the East and West Coasts. Some band members came and went their separate ways but ended with the popular E Street Band that we all know and love. The rest, as they say, is history.
Many fans and critics alike rave about the powerhouse performance that Bruce delivers on stage. His fans are blown away and leave knowing they got more than their money’s worth.
Bruce wrote numerous songs about drag racing, war-whether real or inner, growing up, getting out, running to find yourself, running away from yourself. He’s covered just about every topic that we’ve all felt at some point in our lives.
Bruce Springsteen is one of the great writers and great poets of our time. He relays his stories through music but you can still vividly see the scene unfold before your eyes. His music is like that great novel you can’t put down until you’ve read the next chapter.
This Top Ten list of Bruce Springsteen songs is compiled mostly of his earlier works. It was those early years that defined the man and his music.
1. “Born to Run“, title track from the 1975 album “Born to Run“.
2. “Thunder Road“, also from the 1975 album “Born to Run“.
3. “Badlands“, from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town“.
4. “The River“, title track from the 1980 album “The River“.
5. “Lost in the Flood” from the 1973 album “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.”
6. “Spirit in the Night“, also from the 1973 album “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.”
7. “Racing in the Street” from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town“.
8. “The Promised Land” also from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town“.
9. “Born in the USA”, title track from the 1984 album “Born in the U.S.A.”
10. “Glory Days” also from the 1984 album “Born in the U.S.A.”
“Born in the U.S.A.” is the album that introduced Bruce to my generation. That led many of us to listen to his earlier albums and we became Bruce Springsteen fans.
Bruce Springsteen has many great songs and a Top Ten list could not do his music justice. He may not have dozens of albums under his belt, but the ones he does have speaks more volume than many artist could accomplish in two lifetimes.
Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest songwriters and story tellers of all time. If music disappeared from the face of the earth and only the words remained, future generations would still be awed by his stories.
