Bruce Springsteen turns 76 today

Although Bruce Springsteen has fewer fans in Ukraine than, say, Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger, he is one of the most respected rock musicians in the United States. His 20 Grammy Awards, the musical equivalent of the Oscars, are proof of this. Not counting composers, symphony orchestra conductors, and rappers, only Beyoncé, Chick Corea, U2, and Stevie Wonder have won more.

Springsteen's debut album was released when he was 23, and just two and a half years later, his third album made him famous. It was widely believed that Springsteen had achieved the near-impossible – combining 1950s-style rock 'n' roll with the thoughtful lyrics of Bob Dylan. To do this, he also had to revive rock 'n' roll in the minds of listeners – after all, it was 1975, when hard rock and progressive rock, infinitely removed from the spirit of the American 1950s, reigned supreme.

Підписуйтеcь на наш Telegram-канал Lenta.UA - ЄДИНІ незалежні новини про події в Україні та світі

Incidentally, Springsteen wasn't alone in this – many years later, in 2003, Paul McCartney released a new version of the famous Beatles album Let It Be - Let It Be... Naked, removing the choir and orchestra added by producer Phil Spector. It's no coincidence that Bruce and Phil sang several Beatles songs at one of the concerts.

Springsteen's next breakthrough was the now-legendary album Born in the USA, released in 1984. Seven songs from it were released as singles and reached the top 10 of the US sales charts.

In 2020, Springsteen became the first musician in history to have a top-five Billboard 200 album every single year for six decades. This explains why, in December 2021, Sony Music acquired the rights to his entire catalog for $500 million. At the time of the deal, this was a record sum in the history of the music industry.

Unlike many musicians, Springsteen continued to work actively during the pandemic and even released a new album. The reason for this was that he was given an acoustic guitar. He played several of his new compositions on it, recorded them on his iPhone, and then reassembled his old band, the E Street Band, with whom he produced the aforementioned legendary album, Born in the USA, and proposed that they make a new album. Moreover, like Born in the USA, Letter To You was recorded live in the studio, without any overdubs.

The studio for recording Letter To You was rented for five days, but they finished it in four, so the fifth day was spent simply listening to the finished product. According to music critics, the resulting album is even more raw and powerful than its 1984 predecessor. Naturally, three and a half decades later, Springsteen's work has embraced new age-related themes. A documentary about the recording process was also made, available on Apple TV.

When the pandemic ended, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began a world tour. Unlike, say, Taylor Swift, Springsteen had to interrupt the tour from time to time. However, the musician denied rumors that he and the E Street Band were stopping touring, stating that they "could go on forever." Incidentally, if we continue the comparison with Taylor Swift, it's worth remembering the uproar that ensued when she became a billionaire. After all, Springsteen crossed that milestone almost simultaneously.

It's also worth noting Springsteen's political activism, which can only be compared to that of Robert De Niro, with both campaigning for Democrats and tirelessly criticizing Donald Trump.

Photo: Wikipedia