Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, by Columbia Records. Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, the album was recorded in New York City with the E Street Band over two years between January 1982 and March 1984. Some of the songs originated from the same demo tape that yielded Springsteen's previous album, the solo effort Nebraska (1982), while others were written after that album's release. The sessions yielded between 70 and 90 songs; some were released as B-sides, some later saw release on compilation albums, while others remain unreleased.
Born in the U.S.A. is a rock and roll album with a more pop-influenced sound than Springsteen's previous albums. Its production is typical of mainstream 1980s rock music, with prominent use of synthesizers. The lyrics contrast with the album's livelier sound and continue the themes of previous records, particularly Nebraska. Topics include working-class struggles, disillusionment, patriotism, and personal relationships, while several tracks incorporate humorous lyrics. The cover photograph of Springsteen's behind against a backdrop of the American flag is considered one of his most iconic images and has appeared on lists of the best album covers ever.
Accompanied by a vast promotional campaign that featured seven singles, five music videos, and three dance remixes, Born in the U.S.A. was a massive commercial success, becoming the best-selling album of 1985 and topping the charts in nine countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. All seven of its singles, including "Dancing in the Dark", "Born in the U.S.A.", "I'm on Fire", and "Glory Days", reached the U.S. top ten. The album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it Springsteen's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Upon its release, music critics praised the album's storytelling and musical performances, while others criticized the use of similar lyrical themes as Springsteen's previous albums. Springsteen and the E Street Band supported the album on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour.
Born in the U.S.A. transformed Springsteen into a worldwide superstar and brought him his largest amount of success to date as a recording and performing artist. He later expressed reservations about the album itself and the fame it brought him. Nevertheless, retrospective assessments consider Born in the U.S.A. one of the best albums of Springsteen, of the 1980s, and of all time, appearing on such lists by Rolling Stone and NME. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012.
Background
Springsteen in 1981
Following the conclusion of the River Tour in September 1981, Bruce Springsteen rented a ranch in Colts Neck, New Jersey.[1][2] While there, he spent time writing new material,[2] including a song called "Vietnam", about a Vietnam veteran returning home from the war to an unenthusiastic response.[3] During the tour, Springsteen read Born on the Fourth of July, a 1976 autobiography by Ron Kovic, an anti-war activist who was wounded and paralyzed during the Vietnam War.[4] Kovic's story inspired Springsteen to meet various Vietnam War veterans in Los Angeles, California, which affected him more and inspired the writing of several tracks that centered on or included themes about the Vietnam War:[2] "Vietnam", "Shut Out the Light", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "Highway Patrolman", and "Brothers Under the Bridges".[5]
As Springsteen continued developing "Vietnam", the director Paul Schrader asked him to write music for an ultimately unmade film called Born in the U.S.A. The screenplay concerned a Cleveland factory worker who works during the day and plays guitar in a bar band at night.[6] Springsteen, fascinated with the title, revised the lyrics and music of "Vietnam" to create "Born in the U.S.A."[a][7][8][9]
In late January 1982, weeks after recording the demos in Colts Neck, Springsteen and the E Street Band were at the Hit Factory in New York City recording a session for Gary U.S. Bonds' album On the Line, which Springsteen had written seven songs for and was co-producing with Van Zandt.[14][15][16] During the session, the band recorded "Cover Me", a song Springsteen had written for Donna Summer. His manager-producer Jon Landau convinced Springsteen to keep it for his next album after hearing the finished recording;[17][18] Springsteen subsequently wrote Summer another song, "Protection",[15] and recorded a version with the E Street Band.[19]
Springsteen (center, kneeling) and the E Street Band in February 1977
In April, Springsteen and the E Street Band regrouped at the Power Station to record the demos as full-band versions for release on the next album.[12][20] Production was handled by Springsteen, Landau, Van Zandt, and The River's mixer Chuck Plotkin, while Toby Scott returned from the Hit Factory sessions as engineer.[21] The band spent two weeks attempting full-band arrangements of the Colts Neck tracks, including "Nebraska", "Johnny 99", and "Mansion on the Hill", but Springsteen and his co-producers were dissatisfied with the recordings.[20][22][23] Plotkin described the performances with E Street as "less meaningful... less compelling... less honest" than the demo recordings.[24] Other songs from the tape, including "Born in the U.S.A.", "Downbound Train", "Child Bride" (now rewritten as "Working on the Highway"), and "Pink Cadillac", proved successful in full-band arrangements.[25] According to the author Dave Marsh, the night the band recorded "Born in the U.S.A." was when "they knew they'd really begun making an album."[26] Over the next few weeks into May,[26] the band's productivity increased as they recorded material absent from the Colts Neck tape, including "Darlington County", "Frankie", "Glory Days", "I'm Goin' Down", "I'm on Fire", "Murder Incorporated", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "This Hard Land", "None but the Brave", and "Wages of Sin",[25][27] as well as a new recording of "Cover Me".[b][29]
Despite the band's productivity and excitement about the recorded material, Springsteen remained focused on the rest of the Colts Neck songs.[30] Realizing the tracks would not work in full-band arrangements, he decided to release the demos as is.[31][32] Springsteen briefly considered releasing a double album of acoustic and electric songs before deciding to release the acoustic ones on their own to give them "greater stature".[33] The album, Nebraska, was released in September 1982.[34] It featured nine songs from the original demo tape,[35] and "My Father's House", recorded by Springsteen at Colts Neck in late May.[36] The album was a commercial success, reaching number three in the U.S. and the U.K. charts,[37] and was praised by music critics as "a brave artistic statement".[38] Springsteen himself did not promote the album; he conducted no interviews and, for the first time after an album release, did not tour,[39][40] instead vacationing on a cross-country road trip to California.[41]
Further demos and continued sessions
In late 1982, Springsteen and his assistant Mike Batlan constructed a studio in the former's new Los Angeles home. There, he spent time recording new demos that were stylistically similar to the Nebraska tracks,[21][40][42] albeit with a drum machine. Songs demoed included "Shut Out the Light", "Johnny Bye-Bye", "Cynthia", "One Love", "Richfield Whistle", "Fugitive's Dream", "County Fair", "Unsatisfied Heart", "Little Girl Like You", "Seven Tears", "Sugarland", "Don't Back Down", "The Klansman", "My Hometown", "Betty Jean", "Delivery Man", and "Follow That Dream", a reworking of the 1962 Elvis Presley single of the same name.[21][43][44][45] Like the Nebraska tracks, Springsteen felt the new material would not work in a band setting; he considered releasing another solo acoustic album before scrapping the idea.[43][38][46] During this period, Springsteen made numerous lifestyle changes, including therapy and working on his physique with a weight-training program.[41][43][47] In April 1983, he departed California and traveled back to New York to record more material with the E Street Band.[43]
Springsteen and the E Street Band resumed recording at the Hit Factory between May and June 1983.[21] These sessions featured re-recordings of the new solo material Springsteen had demoed ("Cynthia" and "My Hometown"), as well as work on other tracks such as "Pink Cadillac", "Car Wash", "TV Movie", "Stand on It", and "County Fair".[48][49] These were the first sessions without Van Zandt, who departed the E Street Band in June the year prior and had started a solo career, performing under the name Little Steven.[50][51] According to the author Fred Goodman, Van Zandt departed due to personal clashes with Landau,[52] although other sources state Van Zandt had felt trapped in the E Street Band and was ready to perform solo.[50][53] By the summer of 1983, Van Zandt was touring supporting his second solo album, Voice of America.[41][54] Springsteen's friendship with Van Zandt inspired the writing of two new songs, "Bobby Jean" and "No Surrender".[55]
By July 1983, Springsteen and his co-producers had over fifty tracks to choose from for the album.[56] The amount of tracks recorded encompassed dozens of different styles, including R&B ("Lion's Den", "Pink Cadillac"), rockabilly ("Stand on It", "Delivery Man"), hard rock ("Murder Incorporated", "My Love Will Not Let You Down"), and country and folk ("This Hard Land", "County Fair", "None but the Brave").[57] Using the working title Murder Incorporated,[38] Springsteen asked Plotkin to develop a rough mix of the album in August that included "Born in the U.S.A.", "Glory Days", "My Hometown", "Downbound Train", "Follow That Dream", "Shut Out the Light", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", and "Sugarland".[56] Plotkin dismissed the tentative list as "a conceptual mess"; he felt the album should begin with "Born in the U.S.A." and end with "My Hometown", and include "Working on the Highway" and "I'm on Fire".[57]
Final sessions, mixing, and mastering
Born in the U.S.A. was mixed by Bob Clearmountain (pictured in 2017).
With Springsteen still unsatisfied, recording continued into the new year.[21][48] Mixing began around this time by Bob Clearmountain, who had mixed The River's "Hungry Heart".[48][58] In October 1983, the band recorded "Bobby Jean" and "No Surrender",[59] while November yielded "Brothers Under the Bridge". By December, Springsteen and his co-producers had tentatively settled on "Born in the U.S.A.", "Glory Days", "Downbound Train", and "This Hard Land" as final choices for the album.[56]Born in the U.S.A. was decided as the album title by January 1984.[60] Around this time the band recorded "Rockaway the Days" and "Man at the Top".[61]
In February,[58] Landau felt the album was still missing a lead single that would introduce Springsteen to a newfound pop audience. After an initial disagreement about the need for another song, Springsteen came in the next day with "Dancing in the Dark" written entirely;[62][63][64] it was recorded shortly after.[65] The sessions ended in March.[66] Springsteen struggled with the final track-list, but he was convinced by Landau and Plotkin to stick with a selection of material largely from the May 1982 sessions.[46] He explained in his 2016 autobiography Born to Run: "By that time, I'd recorded a lot of music... But in the end, I circled back to my original groups of songs. There I found a naturalism and aliveness that couldn't be argued with. They weren't exactly what I'd been looking for, but they were what I had."[67] Eleven songs were selected by April.[68] When Van Zandt heard about the final track listing, he urged Springsteen to include "No Surrender",[52][69] as he felt it acted as a bridge between Springsteen's earlier and current works.[68] Springsteen complied, bringing the final track count to twelve.[66] The album was mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk in New York City.[70]
Released outtakes
After over two years of recording, the Born in the U.S.A. sessions yielded between 70 to 90 songs.[21][71] Five were released as B-sides between 1984 and 1985: "Pink Cadillac", "Shut Out the Light", "Johnny Bye-Bye", "Stand on It", and "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart". All five later appeared on the 1998 compilation albumTracks.[72] Other outtakes that appeared on Tracks included "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "Wages of Sin", "Cynthia", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "This Hard Land", "Frankie", "TV Movie", "Lion's Den", "Car Wash", "Rockaway the Days", "Brothers under the Bridge" (titled "Brothers Under the Bridges '83"), and "Man at the Top".[73][74] "Murder Incorporated" was later released on Greatest Hits (1995),[75] while "County Fair" and "None but the Brave" appeared on the limited edition bonus disc of The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003).[76]
Music and lyrics
Born in the U.S.A. is a rock and roll,[77][78][79]heartland rock,[80] and pop album,[41][81] with elements of folk and rockabilly.[82] The album's sound and production has been described as characteristic of mid-1980s mainstream rock, featuring prominent synthesizers, "slamming" guitars, "massive" drums, and "front-and-center" vocals.[c] Some critics noted that Springsteen inputted various electronic textures into the album but remained true to his traditional rock and roll roots.[77][87] The author Geoffrey Himes wrote that the album was unified by "pop pleasure"; songs such as "Born in the U.S.A.", "Glory Days", "Dancing in the Dark", "I'm Goin' Down", and "I'm on Fire" were earworms, featuring melodies and rhythms that "resonated with emotions as basic as lust, loneliness, anger, and yearning and gave them shape."[88] Most of the songs are built around only two or three chords.[77]
My Born in the U.S.A. songs were direct and fun and stealthily carried the undercurrents of Nebraska.[89]
Contrasting with the album's livelier sound, Born in the U.S.A. continues several of the lyrical themes from Springsteen's previous records, particularly Nebraska.[84][85] The author Peter Ames Carlin wrote that Born in the U.S.A. "filtered the dystopian gloom of the Nebraska songs into the living world of love, work, and the hobbled pursuit of happiness."[60] Springsteen's characters are married, in their mid-'30s, and dealing with parenthood and recession.[90]AllMusic's William Ruhlmann analyzed the album as an apotheosis for Springsteen's reoccurring characters, saying that for the first time ever, his characters "really seemed to relish the fight and to have something to fight for". Following their journeys through Springsteen's first six albums, from being "romantic young boys" to living "the working life" to "fac[ing] despair" on Nebraska, the characters on his seventh album were alive "with their sense of humor and their determination intact".[91]Consequence of Sound's Gabriel Fine described the album as "optimistic", seeming to argue that "one can both love America and rage against its brokenness".[80] Several critics also noted the presence of humor.[78][80][87][92] By contrast, for Stephen Holden, the main theme throughout Born in the U.S.A. is "the decline of small-town working class life in a post-industrial society".[77] Holden noted that against the mostly upbeat music is "a sad and serious album about the end of the American dream – of economic hope and security, and of community – for a dwindling segment of our society."[77]
Side one
"Born in the U.S.A." is an energetic, rock and roll song, driven by synthesizer and pounding drums.[66][93][94] A protest song,[93][95][96] it dissects the cruel mistreatment of Vietnam veterans upon their return home after the war.[66][80] The song's message is widely regarded as misunderstood,[69][97] as many Americans, including president Ronald Reagan, interpreted it as a patriotic anthem;[93][95][98] several have also noted the song's supposed "jingoism".[41][80][99] Margotin and Guesdon discuss the juxtaposition of the verses, which express "the somber reality of a soldier", with the chorus, which "loudly and proudly proclaims the glory of American civilization".[95] AllMusic's Mike DeGayne argued that while the song would have been effective as an acoustic ballad, similar to Nebraska's "Atlantic City" or "My Hometown", "it's the fervor and the might of Springsteen in front of a bombastic array of guitar and drums that help to drive his message home".[93]
"Cover Me" is a straightforward rock song,[69] with elements of pop,[66]disco,[96] and funk.[15] Lyrically, it describes a love story wherein the narrator, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, pleas for his lover to stay with him and protect him from the outside world.[15][69] "Darlington County" is an upbeat rock song that some critics compared to the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival.[66][100] It tells the story of two New York friends who embark on a road trip. Upon their arrival in the titular Darlington, South Carolina, they plan to find jobs but instead spend their time with women.[69][100][101] The author Rob Kirkpatrick said the song "steeped in countrified blue-collarism".[101] "Working on the Highway" is a rockabilly track[66][102] that sets upbeat music against more downbeat lyrics.[78] It tells the story of a highway worker who runs away to Florida with his girlfriend against her father's wishes. When he gets there, he gets arrested and sentenced to forced labor.[103] Originally "Child Bride" from the Nebraska demo tape, the final track retains the same story and several lines from the original lyrics.[102]
"Downbound Train" is a minimalist rock ballad featuring synthesizer.[80][104] Called the album's saddest song by Billboard's Caryn Rose,[69] the lyrics include themes of disillusionment and loss.[104] It follows a man who has lost everything:[77] after losing his job at the lumberyard, his wife leaves him, after which he struggles to make a living working at a car wash. Distressed, he dreams of his now ex-wife.[101][104] The song's narrator is similar to other tracks on Nebraska and "Stolen Car" from The River. "Downbound Train" originated from a Nebraska demo called "Son You May Kiss the Bride".[101]
"I'm on Fire" is a minimalist[105] ballad featuring only synths, picked guitar, and brushed drums.[66] Musically inspired by Johnny Cash,[105] the song is an ode to adulterous lust,[106] in which the heroine expresses an obsessive and uncontrollable desire for the narrator.[96][105] Analyzing the song's placement in the track listing at the end of side one, Fine wrote that the song leaves "a hushed, solemn interlude in the center of a mostly upbeat, ebullient album," further arguing that "it seems symbolic, both structurally and musically, as if marking a turning point in Springsteen’s career from middle-America heartland rocker to synth- and dance-influenced mainstream star."[80]
Side two
Springsteen wrote "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean" as tributes to his friend, the guitarist Steven Van Zandt (pictured in 1983),[69] who had departed the E Street Band in June 1982.[50]
"No Surrender" is an upbeat[66] 1950s/1960s-style rock song with a "dense, rich, and heavy sound".[107] Lyrically, the song is a statement of friendship,[69] freedom,[107] and "youthful defiance with allusions to blood brotherhood and forced warlike metaphors".[52] "Bobby Jean" is a rock and roll[108] ballad[69] with an accented rhythm and near-dance groove.[109] Lyrically, the song memorializes a lost youthful friendship;[77][110] the narrator visits the title character in another city, causing his memories of them to come back in a nostalgic tone.[111] Commentators have interpreted the title character's gender as intentionally ambiguous and could refer to the name of any close friend the singer had known since he was a teenager.[41][52] Both "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean" have deen described as tributes to Steven Van Zandt and his friendship with Springsteen.[41][111]
"I'm Goin' Down" is a rock song[112] with elements of rockabilly.[113][78] Its upbeat music contrasts with the lyrics, which tell a melancholic story about a couple on the verge of a break-up.[69][96][98] The narrator's girlfriend's former passion is lost and turned to indifference.[114] "Glory Days" is an energetic synth-rock song that follows a protagonist speaking with old high-school classmates – a former baseball star and a popular girl now divorced with two kids – in a bar reflecting on the "glory days" of their youth with sadness.[69][115][116][117] It was partially based on a true story of Springsteen meeting an old friend at a bar who could have been a professional baseball player in the early 1970s.[116] Commentators have argued the song opposes nostalgia rather than embracing it, as the protagonist pities the former high-school heroes.[96][115]
"Dancing in the Dark" is an upbeat synth-pop and dance-rock song led by synthesizer.[d] Its protagonist struggles with life – he is bored with himself, cannot look at himself in a mirror, and feels trapped – and wants to change his daily routine by finding a spark that will reignite his imagination. He asks his romantic partner to help him find the "spark", as for now the two live life "without a purpose", or "dancing in the dark".[65][118] Kirkpatrick argued the song examines its author's creative process, showing Springsteen struggling to live up to expectations as both a songwriter and a performer.[118] The song ends with a jazzy saxophone solo from Clemons.[65]
"My Hometown" is a folk ballad[66] driven by synthesizer.[41][119] Throughout its four verses, the narrator grows up and experiences hardship living in his hometown.[120] Based on Springsteen's personal experiences in his own hometown growing up in the 1960s,[119] the song returns to the social issues present throughout the album's first side, containing themes of centered on working-class life, racial tensions, violence, and economic strife.[41][120][121]Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky argued the song "captures what 'Born in the U.S.A.' failed to: the tragedy of the American dream, the brutality and injustice that is fundamental to American citizenship, and the complicated, intractable love for one’s home that still manages to take root in the midst of it all."[41]
Artwork
The cover photograph for Born in the U.S.A. was taken by the rock photographer Annie Leibovitz,[122] a former photographer for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines. In the photo, Springsteen stands with his back to the camera against the stripes of an American flag. He is wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, with a red baseball cap tucked into his right back pocket.[e][50] Springsteen said the flag was included on the cover because the first track was called "Born in the U.S.A." and the record's overarching theme reflected his writing of the past six or seven years.[21][122] The cover was designed by Andrea Klein.[70] It was initially controversial; some commentators believed Springsteen was urinating on the flag,[41] which Springsteen asserted was inaccurate, telling Kurt Loder in Rolling Stone that "the picture of my ass looked better than the picture of my face" and there was no "secret message".[123]
The inside of the sleeve contained a black-and-white photograph of Springsteen, another of him with the E Street Band, and song lyrics.[21] The sleeve also included Springsteen's farewell words to Van Zandt written in Italian: Buon viaggio, mia fratello, Little Steven ("Safe travels, my brother, Little Steven").[50] The cover is considered iconic and has appeared on lists of the best album covers of all time.[124][125]
Release and promotion
Columbia Records released Born in the U.S.A. on June 4, 1984.[69][126][127] The album was the first compact disc manufactured in the United States for commercial release, and was manufactured by CBS (Columbia's international distributor) and Sony Music at its newly-opened plant in Terre Haute, Indiana in September; Columbia's CDs were previously manufactured in Japan.[66][128]
The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 Albums chart during the week of June 23, 1984,[129] topping the chart two weeks later on July 7,[130] it stayed in the top 10 for 84 consecutive weeks and on the chart itself for almost three years.[131][132] It was also a commercial success in Europe and Oceania; in the United Kingdom, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two on June 16, and after thirty-four weeks, on February 16, 1985, it reached number one and topped the chart for five non consecutive weeks;[133] it was present on the chart for 135 weeks.[133] It also topped the album charts in Australia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.[f] The album reached number two in France, Italy, Spain, and on the European Top 100 Albums chart.[142][143][144][145] It also reached number six in Japan.[146]Born in the U.S.A. was the best-selling album of 1985 and of Springsteen's career.[131][147]
By 1984, the music industry had become reliant on singles and music videos for success following the rise of MTV in the U.S. The success of Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982) ensured record labels wanted to turn albums into "mega-albums". The music industry historian Steve Kropper stated that Thriller created a "video-driven blueprint" for keeping an album high in the charts for at least an entire year.[154] Springsteen and Landau had only envisioned one or two singles from Born in the U.S.A., but Columbia felt the album contained "at least half a dozen" possible singles, each accompanied by dance remixes and music videos[154] to broaden airplay, both on the radio and in clubs.[122] The initial singles were intended to attract new fans to Springsteen, while the later ones continued promoting the album and tour.[154] Sodomsky later wrote: "MTV had evolved into a legitimate arm of the music industry, and Springsteen's new look [muscular with a bandana] helped him gain traction in an image-centric medium."[41] Springsteen also conducted interviews with media outlets including People and Entertainment Weekly.[155]
The producer Arthur Baker (pictured in 1984) created extended dance remixes of three of the album's seven singles.[156]
Born in the U.S.A. was supported by a record-tying seven top ten singles.[g][26][66] The first, "Dancing in the Dark" with "Pink Cadillac" on the B-side,[65] was released on May 9, 1984.[158] It peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and spent 21 weeks on the chart.[69] Elsewhere, it topped the singles charts in Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and also reached number four in the U.K.[65] The 12" single featured three dance remixes of "Dancing in the Dark" by the producer Arthur Baker;[159] it was the best-selling 12" single of the year.[160] "Cover Me", featuring a 1981 live recording of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl" as the B-side,[161] was released as the second single on July 31.[15] It spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100,[69] reaching number seven, as well as number two on Billboard'sMainstream Rock chart.[15] A dance remix by Baker appeared on a 12" single.[156] "Born in the U.S.A.", backed by "Shut Out the Light", was issued as the third single on October 30.[95] It spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number nine.[69] Elsewhere, it topped the charts in Ireland and New Zealand, and peaked at number two in Australia, and number five in the U.K.[95] A dance remix by Baker appeared on a 12" single in January 1985.[162]
"I'm on Fire", backed by "Johnny Bye-Bye",[161] was released as the fourth single on February 6, 1985.[163] It peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 20 weeks.[69] "Glory Days" followed on May 13,[164] with "Stand On It" as the B-side.[116] It spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five.[69] The sixth single, "I'm Goin' Down", was issued on August 27,[165] backed by "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart".[114] It reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100,[69] and also charted in Sweden and Italy.[114] The seventh and final single, "My Hometown", was released on November 21,[119] with a 1975 live recording of the Christmas song "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" as the B-side.[161] It reached numbers six and nine in the U.S. and the U.K., respectively.[119] CBS compiled the three extended dance remixes, two other singles, the five exclusive B-sides, and several songs from Springsteen's previous albums for release on The Born in the U.S.A. 12" Single Collection, released in the U.K. in 1985.[156]
Music videos
The filmmaker John Sayles (pictured in 2008) directed three of the album's five music videos.
Five of the album's seven singles were supported with music videos. The video for "Dancing in the Dark", Springsteen's first true music video,[h][167] depicts a live performance of the song by Springsteen and the E Street Band. Directed by Brian De Palma, it was shot at the St. Paul Civic Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota on June 28 and 29, 1984.[i] In the video, Springsteen pulls a young fan, played by the then-unknown actress Courteney Cox, on stage to dance;[65][160] Springsteen recreated the bit frequently with young female fans throughout the tour.[127] De Palma's video introduced Springsteen to the MTV generation and helped Springsteen reach the audience he had always wanted since his signing to Columbia in 1972.[167][169] The filmmaker John Sayles directed the videos for "Born in the U.S.A.", "I'm on Fire", and "Glory Days".[170] For the title track, Sayles interspersed concert footage of Springsteen singing the song with footage of small-town America.[162]
"I'm on Fire" was Springsteen's first narrative video.[171] Starring Springsteen himself as an auto mechanic captivated by a young woman in a white dress, the video won the award for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1985.[105] The video for "Glory Days" starred Springsteen as the song's titular baseball player, working on a construction site and practicing baseball pitches alone, reflecting on his "glory days". It transitions to a performance of the song at a club with the E Street Band, featuring both Steven Van Zandt and replacement guitarist Nils Lofgren, and new backing vocalist Patti Scialfa. The video ends with Springsteen's character playing a game of catch with his son until his wife, played by Springsteen's first wife Julianne Phillips, picks them up.[69][116][172] The video for "My Hometown" depicts a live performance of the song.[131] It was directed by Arthur Rosato and was shot towards the end of the tour at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[119][173]
Born in the U.S.A. received favorable reviews from music critics on release.[79] The album was praised as an accessible record with new musical elements[181] that a few, including Robert Hilburn and Sandy Robertson, believed would please longtime fans and attract new ones.[84][178] Writing for Shreveport, Louisiana's The Times, Marshall Fine wrote: "It's a superb effort, an album of rich musical and lyrical textures that can only enhance Springsteen's reputation as a rock 'n' roll original."[113] Some critics described Born in the U.S.A. as a more accessible version of Nebraska, one that is more easily digestible for a wider audience.[182][174] In Rolling Stone, Debby Miller said Born in the U.S.A. was as well thought-out as Nebraska, but with more sophistication and spirit.[87]
Springsteen's storytelling drew particular attention, Miller saw Springsteen creating "such a vivid sense of these characters" by "[giving] them voices a playwright would be proud of".[87]Cash Box anticipated Born in the U.S.A. would find success on album-oriented rock radio due to Springsteen's "special" ability to convey the lyrical messages of every song.[183]Saturday Review's John Swenson commended Springsteen for "championing traditional rock values at a time when few newer bands show interest in such a direction",[176] while Robert Christgau of The Village Voice praised his evolution as an artist.[180] In The New York Times, Stephen Holden highlighted Springsteen as "one of a very small number of rock performers who uses rock to express an ongoing epic vision of [America], individual social roots and the possibility of heroic self-creation."[77] Others praised the instrumentation, Springsteen's vocal performances,[184] and the performances of the E Street Band.[115][184][175]
Not all reviews were positive. Several reviewers criticized the use of similar lyrical themes as prior albums;[115][177][184][185] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote: "The problem is that Springsteen's taken us down these mean sidestreets and through these badlands all too often since 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town."[185] Robertson took less issue with the similar themes, arguing that Springsteen was "polishing and perfecting his craft" that meant Born in the U.S.A. was his best work yet.[178] Other critics, such as Harrington and NME'sCharles Shaar Murray, were more negative, calling the music "deadly dull" and "dry", respectively.[90][185] Harrington said that "Springsteen has become a brooding, boorish visionary, with no respite of working class advocacy or the resilient spirit of youth,"[185] while Carr argued: "By abandoning all that 'rebel triumphant' blabber'n smoke, Springsteen displays the kind of moral and artistic integrity that rock music rarely shows any more."[90] He summarized: "No-one's going to get high on fantasy or rebellion from listening to Born in the U.S.A."[90]
Born in the U.S.A. was voted the best album of the year in the 1984 Pazz & Jop critics poll.[92] Christgau, the poll's creator, also ranked it number one on his list, and in 1990 named it the ninth-best album of the 1980s.[186][187]NME, in their end-of-the-year list, placed it at number two, behind Bobby Womack's The Poet II.[188] In Rolling Stone, Springsteen and the E Street Band won artist and band of the year, album of the year for Born in the U.S.A., and single and music video of the year for "Dancing in the Dark".[189]
Springsteen and the E Street Band supported Born in the U.S.A. on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, which ran 156 concerts from June 29, 1984 to October 2, 1985.[82] Rehearsals began in early May 1984. By that point, the E Street Band had not performed together in two and a half years.[190] The lineup was Bittan, Clemons, Tallent, Federici, Weinberg,[127] Nils Lofgren, who replaced Van Zandt as a second guitarist,[190] and Patti Scialfa, who was hired by Springsteen as a backing vocalist four days before the tour began.[191][192] Springsteen reworked his image to be "highly masculinized" for the tour; he wore sleeveless shirts to show off his new muscular physique, was clean-shaven, and held his curly hair up with a bandana.[193]
The tour began in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where the video for "Dancing in the Dark" was filmed.[168] With over sixty unperformed songs in Springsteen's repertoire since the end of the River Tour, the shows consisted of material throughout Springsteen's whole career. "Born in the U.S.A." or "Thunder Road" (1975) often started the shows, after which the first set typically consisted of older material (including Nebraska). The second set primarily included songs written after Nebraska's release, such as "Dancing in the Dark", "No Surrender", and "Bobby Jean".[194]
Springsteen attracted political attention during the initial U.S. leg when the conservative political commentator George Will attended the show in Largo, Maryland on August 25. Will published a column about Springsteen the following month, wherein he praised the performer's work ethic and discussed his "presumed patriotism" with the usage of the phrase "born in the U.S.A.".[195][196] Less than a week after the column's publishing, president Ronald Reagan, in the middle of his reelection campaign, praised Springsteen's "patriotism" during a campaign rally in Hammonton, New Jersey. Springsteen himself dismissively responded to Reagan's comments two days later during a show in Pittsburgh.[195][197]
The initial American leg of the tour ran through January 1985.[189] During the break, Springsteen participated in the recording of the charity single "We Are the World" with other recording artists including Huey Lewis, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie.[131][198] The tour continued from late March to July around the world with shows in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the U.K.[189] Springsteen married his first wife Julianne Phillips in May,[199] between the Oceania and European legs.[200] The European leg drew large crowds, including a 100,000 attendance in Ireland, and three sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London.[172] The final U.S. leg ran from August to October 2,[189] ending with four consecutive shows at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[201] The tour's massive success led to the creation of Springsteen's first live album, Live 1975–85, released in November 1986.[66][202]
Legacy
Born In the U.S.A. changed my life, gave me my largest audience, forced me to think harder about the way I presented my music, and set me briefly at the center of the pop world.[89]
Born in the U.S.A. made Springsteen a superstar[86][203] and brought him his largest amount of success to date as a recording and performing artist.[204] Although he had been a well-known star before its release, Larry Rodgers wrote in The Arizona Republic that "it was not until he hit the gym to get buffed up and showed off his rear end in [the] cover photo for Born in the U.S.A. that he became an American pop icon",[205] touching off a wave of what the author Chris Smith termed "Bossmania".[206] The author Bryan K. Garman suggested that this new image helped Springsteen popularize his persona on a new scale, while tying him to certain political and socio-cultural issues, at a time when Ronald Reagan was promoting prosperity and U.S. global influence "within a decidedly masculine framework".[207]Born in the U.S.A. helped popularize American heartland rock, boosting the profiles of artists such as John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and Bob Seger.[189]Stereogum's Ryan Leas later called the album "one of the defining records of the '80s".[208]
Despite the album's massive commercial success, Springsteen discussed his unwariness with his growing fame in a 1984 interview with Rolling Stone'sKurt Loder.[123] He later expressed reservations about Born in the U.S.A. itself. He wrote in his book Songs: "I put a lot of pressure on myself over a long period of time to reproduce the intensity of Nebraska on Born in the U.S.A. I never got it."[209] He further felt the title track "more or less stood by itself" and that "the rest of the album contains a group of songs about which I've always had some ambivalence".[26][209] Gabriel Fine argued that a "central" part of the album's legacy is the title track's misunderstood message and the "struggle" to make that message clear.[80] According to Kirkpatrick, the album's legacy is complicated for longtime fans due to its large success and Springsteen's public image of "muscular patriotism" that surrounded its release and accompanying tour. Nevertheless, the album's success influenced the direction Springsteen took for his next record, Tunnel of Love (1987).[204]
Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the full Born in the U.S.A. album during a show at The Hard Rock Calling Festival in London at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on June 30, 2013. A DVD of the full performance, titled Born in the U.S.A. Live: London 2013, was packaged with Amazon pre-orders of Springsteen's 18th studio album High Hopes in January 2014.[210]
In later decades, Born in the U.S.A. has generally been regarded as one of Springsteen's best records.[k] Himes wrote: "As a total package, combining words and music, drama and comedy, writing and performing, singing and playing, Born in the U.S.A. is, quite simply, the best album of Springsteen's career."[88] Sodomsky called it "the bold, brilliant, and misunderstood apex of Bruce Springsteen's imperial era".[41] Music journalist Matty Karas regarded it as "a quintessential pop album that was also a perfect distillation of the anger and bitterness seething beneath the surface of Reagan-era America."[81]Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph stated: "Born in the U.S.A. remains the most tightly honed of Springsteen's albums," one that "successfully synthesizes the two disparate strands of The River and comes up with something that manages to be both angry and celebratory, often in the same song."[83]
The album still attracts mixed assessments. While one critic felt the album has aged well into the 2000s,[98] others have felt its production dates it to the 1980s,[204] but maintained that it adds "historical value" and that the quality of the songs makes up for it.[216][203] Writing in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin described Born in the U.S.A. as an example of an artist's best-selling work not being their best creative or artistic work.[219] More negatively, Q magazine journalist Richard Williams criticized Springsteen's exaggeration of his usual characters and themes in a deliberate attempt at commercial success. He accused the singer of trying to "exploit the American flag" and "to bury the anti-war message of Born in the U.S.A. beneath an impenetrable layer of clenched-fist bombast", which he felt was "downright irresponsible".[214]
Born in the U.S.A. was first reissued by Columbia on CD in 2000.[229] This was followed by an LP and CD reissue by Sony BMG in 2007 and 2008, respectively.[229] In 2015, Sony Music released a remastered version of the album on both LP and CD.[230][231] On June 14, 2024, Sony Music reissued the album again on translucent red vinyl, featuring a booklet with new sleeve notes by Springsteen archivist Erik Flannigan and a lithograph, to mark its 40th anniversary.[232][233]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Springsteen later provided Schrader a different song called "Light of Day", which was used as the title song for the 1987 film of the same name.[7][8]
^According to Margotin and Guesdon, the January recording was the take used for the final album,[15] while Clinton Heylin states that Springsteen used one of the nine takes recorded on May 12.[28]
^Springsteen's first actual music video, for Nebraska's "Atlantic City", did not feature Springsteen himself, instead featuring black-and-white footage of Atlantic City life shot by Arnold Levine.[166]
^The video was shot over two days. The day before the tour began, De Palma shot close-ups of the band performing with a few hundred extras. This footage was edited together with footage shot during the real concert the following day.[167][168]
^Horowitz, Is (October 6, 1984). "First Domestic CD Plant Opens"(PDF). Billboard. p. 6. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via worldradiohistory.com.
^"Top 200 Albums". Billboard. June 23, 1984. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^"Top 200 Albums". Billboard. July 7, 1984. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^ ab"European Top 100 Albums"(PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 1, no. 23. September 3, 1984. p. 4. Archived(PDF) from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
^ ab"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Born in the U.S.A.".
^ abcSalaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN84-8048-639-2.
^ abStrike, Andy (June 16, 1984). "Big Boss goof"(PDF). Record Mirror. p. 16. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
^ abSwenson, John (November–December 1984). "Championing Traditional Rock Values". Saturday Review. 10 (1–2): 70.
^Christgau, Robert (February 18, 1985). "Pazz & Jop 1984: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
^Christgau, Robert (January 2, 1990). "Decade Personal Best: '80s". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
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