greetings from asbury park, n.j.

Bruce Springsteen fought to record his first album with some of his hometown friends rather than as a solo folk singer.  After years of playing around in different bands along the Jersey shore, he secured a recording contract with Columbia Records after auditioning with legendary A&R man John Hammond who had signed Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holiday.  Springsteen remembers:   “It was a big, big day for me… I was twenty-two and came up on the bus with an acoustic guitar with no case… I was embarrassed carrying it around the city. I walked into his office and had the audition, and I played a couple of songs and he said, ‘You’ve got to be on Columbia Records.’ I knew a lot about John Hammond, the work he’d done, the people he’d discovered, his importance in music, and it was very exciting to feel you were worth his time. No matter what happened afterwards, even if it was just for this one night, you were worth his time. That meant a lot to me. He was very encouraging – simply being in that room with him at the board was one of my greatest recording experiences.”  Impressed with his lyrical vision, Hammond saw Springsteen as a new Dylan and wanted him to record mostly acoustic, while Springsteen wanted to continue with the rock music he had been cutting his teeth on for years:  “The old Dylan was only thirty, so I don’t even know why they needed a fucking new Dylan.”

The sessions for 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.' were produced by Springsteen's manager Mike Appel with Jim Cretecos at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York over two months with Bruce Springsteen on acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clapping, congas, electric guitar, harmonica, keyboards, piano, and vocals; Clarence Clemons on clapping, saxophone, and vocals; Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez on clapping, drums, and vocals; David Sancious on keyboards, organ, piano; and Garry Tallent on bass guitar; with Richard Davis on upright double bass; Harold Wheeler on piano; and Steven Van Zandt on sound effects.  The first two weeks were spent with band recordings. After that Springsteen worked on solo material although he preferred a band record.  His manager Mike Appel agreed with John Hammond about making it a solo record.  Jim Cretecos agreed with Bruce.  As a compromise, the album was initially set with half of the songs ('The Angel', 'Mary Queen of Arkansas', 'Jazz Musician', 'Arabian Nights', and 'Visitation at Fort Horn') solo performances and the other half ('Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?', 'Lost in the Flood', 'For You', 'Growin' Up', and 'It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City') recorded with a band.  

When CBS president Clive Davis heard the tracks he preferred the band recordings and thought the album needed a single.  Springsteen quickly wrote two new songs that had a more commerical sound: 'Blinded by the Light' and 'Spirit in the Night'.  When it came time to record them, he brought in Clarence Clemons.  The two new songs bumped three of the solo tunes.  Although finished for November of 1972, the release of 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.' was held off until the next January.  It received rave reviews; but didn't sell well, going to seventy-one in Australia, sixty in the US, forty-one in the UK, and thirty-five in Sweden.  'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.' has since been certified silver in the UK, gold in Australia, and double-platinum in the US.  The two newly recorded singles did not chart, although 'Blinded by the Light' was taken three years later to number one by Manfred Mann and his Earth Band - Springsteen's only number one song. 








http://brucespringsteen.net/










'Blinded by the Light' on 'Storytellers'




Blinded by the Light - bruce springsteen live by runawaydream


Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-menot whispers daddy's within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny to something strong if you play that song with the funky break
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
He said, do what you like, but don't do it here

Well I jumped up, spit in the air, fell on the ground, asked wich was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep going straight until right, and then boy you're on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
And some kidnapped handicap was complaining that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but he'd figured he'd be all right

He was just blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that's where the fun is

'Spirit In The Night'




'It's Hard To Be a Saint In The City'




'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'
full album:



1.Blinded By The Light 0:00
2.Growin Up 5:05
3.Mary Queen Of Arkansas 8:10
4.Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? 13:32
5.Lost In The Flood 15:36
6.The Angel 20:55
7.For You 24:20
8.Spirit In The Night 29:00
9.It's Hard To Be a Saint In The City 34:00