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by James P. Hauser except where otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.

The Blues Connections of

Bruce Springsteen (page 2)

More of Bruce Springsteen's Blues Connections:

Chuck Berry: Bruce Springsteen borrowed some lyrics from the Chuck Berry song "Bye-Bye Johnny" to write a new song entitled "Johnny Bye Bye". Both songs are about a man leaving his home for a new land. Berry's was about a young musician leaving home to become a big star, while Springsteen's was about an older musician, a man who had already left home and become a rock and roll star and then--because he couldn't deal with stardom--died an early death. That man was the man who inspired Bruce to play rock'n'roll--Elvis Presley. Although Elvis was one of his boyhood heroes, Bruce's song doesn't try to tidy up the ugly circumstances of his idol's death. Elvis's story is a tragic story which has made Springsteen very wary of his own stardom. On a more uplifting note, Springsteen also paid tribute to Presley by reworking an old hit "Follow That Dream" (from the Elvis movie by the same name) into a beautiful, haunting new song. "Johnny Bye Bye" was initially released as a non-album "B" side to the "I'm On Fire" 45, and it also appears on the Tracks boxed set. Bruce's version of "Follow That Dream" has not been released, but he has sung it in concert.

Charles Brown: Springsteen's playful interpretation of the blues tune "Merry Christmas, Baby" appeared as the "B" side of the single "War" in the year 1986. West coast rhythm & blues singer Charles Brown recorded THE classic rendition of this song using his cool, laidback vocal style to great effect. Another Charles Brown Christmas tune, "Please Come Home for Christmas", was covered by Springsteen's longtime friend from the Asbury Park, NJ club scene Southside Johnny Lyon. Southside's version of this song can be found on the Home Alone soundtrack.

Bo Diddley: During the mid to late 70s, Springsteen concerts often included a performance of Bo Diddley's R&B classic "Mona". He would often perform "Mona" in conjunction with his own composition "She's the One", and this combination resulted in sort of a rock mini-opera. Even if you haven't heard Bruce perform this, you surely are familiar with the story that he tel--a desperate, young guy falls for and then can't break free of his relationship with a girl who is more sophisticated than he is and whose irresistible charms seem to somehow make her nothing but...well...shall we say?...nothing but big trouble and smaaaall paradise.

Even if the story is a bit of a cliche, it all works to great effect because Springsteen is the master musical storyteller. He uses "Mona" as an introduction, singin' the blues and slowly building up the tension until you almost can't stand it. And then he releases it with a pounding, rock'n'roll nirvana rendition of "She's the One". It gives the Ol' Blueskat chills just thinkin' 'bout it. With stuff like this, the Boss's concerts could make any boy feel glad to be alive and wishin' for a third ear! Rock and Roll brothers and sisters! ROCK AND ROLL!!!

Ma Rainey: Bruce Springsteen has often performed "C.C. Rider" (also known as "See See Rider") in concert as part of the Mitch Ryder "Detroit Medley". C.C. Rider is a very old country blues song which was first recorded around 1924 or 1925 by Ma Rainey. Ma was THE FIRST real blues star, male or female, and is known as the "Mother of the Blues".

Bruce's live performances of the "Detroit Medley" are what inspired Blueskat to invent the Rock'n'Roll Energy Richter Scale. At one end of the scale, ya got Kat-atonic. At the other end, ya got Kat-astrophic. And clean off the scale, rooted deep in the heart of Jersey, ya got... now, are ya ready for this?... Bruce-ATOMIK!!!

Sonny Boy Williamson II (a.k.a. Rice Miller): Springsteen took Sonny Boy Williamson's blues "Cross My Heart" and rewrote it extensively by changing the lyrics and substituting his own melody for Sonny Boy's. The song appears on Bruce's Human Touch album. This was the first Springsteen album that contained songs which were not written soley by Bruce. (Besides sharing song composer credits with Williamson on "Cross My Heart", Springsteen also cowrote two other Human Touch songs, "Roll of the Dice" and "Real World", with E Street band member Roy Bittan.)

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