A Very Happy (Belated) 2008 Video Birthday To The Boss, Bruce Springsteen

by Robert Wilkinson

I composed this yesterday, but due to a lack of connectivity I couldn't get it posted. Anyway, I wouldn't want this time to pass by without offering a very Happy Big One to Bruce Springsteen, since he's truly one of the best. Libra all the way, he's another icon in the pantheon of Libra musician archetypes that include John Lennon, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, and many more. I've Been hip to this guy and his music since the early 70s. For your consideration, a happy birthday assemblage of a few pieces.

Thanks for being the workingman's voice all these years. I was once told that very few good things come from New Jersey, and that you were definitely one of them. You've proved that true over the years. Thanks for everything, and on with the video party! Some of these take forever to load, and you may have to put some on pause so that there aren't numerous interruptions.

THE song that woke a lot of the world up! A great performance of Born To Run

From my recent post, Chimes of Freedom. The link to the video is at the bottom of the article. Please take a moment to reread the post, since the Chimes of Freedom are flashing for all of us.

The ever incredible Thunder Road from the 1979 No Nukes concert.

Another magnificent performance of Thunder Road from 1976 (when he made the covers of Time AND Newsweek on the same week!)

Here's Youngstown done live in Youngstown.

The song he says Patti Smith "stole" from him, in that she definitely made it a major hit on her own before Bruce's version, the awesome Because the Night from a 2007 European performance.

Backstreets

Here's his rocking version of the Gary U.S. Bonds mega-hit A Quarter To Three

A 1975 version of Rosalita one of the first of his many tunes that let me know he was a force majure.

Here's Prove It All Night, another great turn from his early days.

We close this brief Happy Birthday celebration with him doing one of my favorite tunes of all time, All Along The Watchtower. Dylan wrote it, Hendrix did the definitive version, and Springsteen keeps it alive!

Copyright © 2008 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Damien]

I've always felt a spiritual connection to Bruce, is definitely a bro.

[Irth]

Robert,

I was doing some reading about the Pluto in Capricorn influence. Would it be correct to say that if one has a stellium in Capricorn that the next 16 years will bring some major transformation in a person's life with this placement? Being a sun sign Sagittarius and having just gone through about 13 years with Pluto in that sign it is a bit disconcerting to think about what this would mean.

All input appreciated.
Irth :-)

[Monica Starr]

Hey, I love it when astrology bloggers go "off message." Great compilation!
I'm not familiar with Springsteen's chart but I would say he epitomizes the Libran concern for social justice.

[william]

whats so great about bruce? any of those others
are ten times greater... I always thought the bruce thing a lot of hype... (don't want to be negative tho' ) what am I missing? (I never liked anything from the 80's,
well maybe he's more 70's. still didn't think much of it. (working man? um, is that it?) working men must be pretty desperate for a hero then...(sorry)
(don't pay any attention to me) great, celebrate it, happy b'day bruce, for sure.

[Micheline]

Robert, you know all i have ever heard from Bruce was this really mainstream rock and rol pop stuff, but, now i get it, i always thought he was good but now I think he was cool after seening Rosalita.....very mind opening, my guitar teacher is teaching me Chan Chan from the Bueno Vista Club album, are you familiar with this cuban stuff, its pretty groooovyyyy
ttyl
thanks for opening my mind

[Micheline]

some day i must meet you and your family i feel a kindred connection
i would feel honoured to hang out with you
lots of love peace and love to all of you and your familly
micheline

[Robert]

Hi Damien - Some of his early autobiographical tunes are grounded in experiences that many share, and he was the first in a long time to tell stories of the working class and what it's like to live that life.

Hi Irth - Off topic. The short answer is yes, that being will move through times and conditions that are Plutonic in nature. But if they have Pluto strong, then they could become a part of the larger tendency.

Hi Monica - Well, if you've checked out the archives you'll note that I celebrate the lives and birthdays of many great musicians each year. They are a part of global culture, and I try to have a little fun so this cantina doesn't become dry as dust. And yes, Bruuuuuce is definitely a global voice for social justice and more ideal conditions for many people in many lands.

Hi William - Well, he's a story teller and voice of the "common man" along the lines of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and other American bards. I would hesitate to say any of the others are "ten times greater," since they all have/had their flaws and they all have offered our world a voice for more ideal conditions and forms of social justice. The hype came from the media. Bruce just did his New Jersey thing, found lightning in a bottle, and wrote some of the most memorable songs in history. That's why I included many of his best 70s songs here, though if you go through his discography you'll find some amazing works all the way to the present.

As for working men, why don't you listen to "The River?" That story tells it for millions. Or "Glory Days." These are common experiences, and not the usual love songs or attitude songs or the other stuff that dominates the airwaves. "Thunder Road" is still one of the all-time break loose, break free songs I've ever heard, as is "Badlands." And if you've never heard it, please check out "The Promised Land." I saw him perform it with Jackson Browne in Central Park in 1982 at the biggest antinuke gathering in the history of the world, and heard a million people roar. It shook the ground, a living earthquake of humanity gathered together to one intention that changed our world for the better for years. That's the power Bruce has. He sings for us all.

Hi Micheline - I knew those who hadn't heard Rosalita would be delighted, since it has been one of the best for 36 years. And yes, I'm very familiar with the Buena Vista Social Club, having been a Ry Cooder fan for years. (If you don't know Ry's work, check it out - you'll be delighted!) The BVSC documentary is great! Old men having a lot of fun doing amazingly classy music. And of course, I also would love to meet you someday if we're ever in the same part of the world.