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Copyright © 2002-2004
by James P. Hauser except where otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.

The Blues Connections of

Bruce Springsteen (page 3)

Still More of Bruce's Blues Connections:

Quarter to Three!

Bruce Springsteen was deeply influenced by the music of rhythm and blues singer Gary U.S. Bonds. During one point in his career, Bruce performed Bonds's number one hit "Quarter to Three" (considered by some folks to be the all-time greatest party record) as an encore at every single one of his concerts. "Quarter to Three" and other music by Bonds was the type that kept real, honest-to-goodness rock and roll alive during sort of a dark period for the music. This dark period began in the late fifties around the time of Buddy Holly's death and the big payola scandal and ended in 1964 with the emergence of the Beatles and the British Invasion of America. During these years, Little Richard got religion and quit rock 'n' roll, Chuck Berry was in trouble with the law and was headed to prison, and Elvis abandoned rock and roll for Hollywood.

The establishment in the music industry--record executives, radio programmers, promoters etc.--saw all this as their chance to regain control of their business and also clean up its image. They felt uncomfortable with, and even threatened by, the wildness, unpredictability, and rebellion introduced to their work by the original rock and rollers. So they created a safe, tame, clean-cut (and very white) alternative--the teen idol. They began creating stars out of good-looking (and often not too talented) guys like Fabian and Frankie Avalon, who were about as threatening as Grandma's old toothless and declawed pussycat. If you want to categorize Dion as a teen idol, then he was one of the few who had what it took to be a real rock 'n' roll star. Most of the others had nuthin' but face, flash, and fiction.

During these dark days, there was still great music being made by performers like Roy Orbison, producers such as Phil Spector, and writers like Gerry Goffin and Carol King. But, in general, if you wanted something wild, raw, or a little crazy, or something with ture power or passion, you found it on the R&B charts from artists like Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown, Ray Charles, and Hank Ballard. The big rock beat was heavily subdued as the recording industry concentrated on manufacturing "rock" music and "rock" stars in the studio rather than on discovering the real thing growing wild in the country or singing and dancing in the city streets. In this business environment, it was a minor miracle that in 1961, a record as wild, exciting, and unpolished as Gary U.S. Bonds's "Quarter to Three" became a number 1 hit on the pop charts. But somehow it happened. Making it to #1on the R&B charts would have been nothing unusual--but how did it get to #1 on the ultra-squaresville pop charts which earlier in that same year had Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta" in the top slot? ....... Somehow it happened...SOMEHOW!

Back in the days when Bruce Springsteen was resurrecting this old long-forgotten hit in his concerts, he performed a lot of other oldies too. But "Quarter to Three" was the only one he performed every single night. This wasn't just because it made for a great encore song--there had to be another reason. It was as if this old song served as a symbol of the rock and roll spirit that burned deep inside Bruce. It was as if he was saying that this music is alive and well and no matter what the new trend is and no matter how much things will change...it's rock and roll, baby, and IT WILL STAND!

The hits stopped for Gary U.S. Bonds in 1962 and he faded into obscurity. But he continued working as an oldies act, totally unaware that a rising star, Bruce Springsteen, was playing "Quarter to Three" at every one of his own shows. In 1978, after years of performing this song, Bruce finally got a chance to step on stage and jam with his idol. At that time, Bonds still hadn't heard of Springsteen even though the Boss had sold millions of records by then. But that night on stage together resulted in a friendship.

A while later, Springsteen helped produce Gary's 1981 comeback album Dedication. Bruce wrote a group of songs for the LP including the hit "This Little Girl" and he appeared on the album singing a great duet with Bonds on the classic Cajun tune "Jole Blon". Gary recorded several more Springsteen tunes for his next album, On the Line, including a minor hit "Out of Work". By 1984, Bonds had faded from the national scene again.

Then, in 1998, he reappeared in the Blues Brothers 2000 movie doing a remake of his very first hit "New Orleans". This song closes out the movie and wraps up an inkkkkredible battle of the bands sequence with an all-star cast of blues, soul, R&B, and rock 'n' roll musicians including B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Charlie Musselwhite, Isaac Hayes, Steve Winwood, Koko Taylor, Bo Diddley, Lou Rawls, Jimmie Vaughan, Billy Preston, Dr. John, and the big man himself, Springsteen's saxophone player, Clarence Clemons. Man, if this stuff don't get you out of your seat and dancin' in the aisles, then somebody better call a doctor or the undertaker whichever will do ya the most good!

Inspired by the Blues

As pointed out earlier on page 2, Springsteen's "Cross My Heart" and "Johnny Bye Bye" were inspired by Sonny Boy Williamson and Chuck Berry songs. There are other Springsteen compositions that seem to have been based upon or inspired by old blues and R&B songs including "Ain't Got You", "Cover Me" and "The Fever". "Ain't Got You" probably sprang from the song "I Ain't Got You" which was first recorded by bluesman Billy Boy Arnold. Arnold's recording inspired The Animals and The Yardbirds to do cover versions of the song in the sixties. Springsteen, who was a boyhood fan of both these bands, most likely heard "I Ain't Got You" through their versions. Although not the same musically, the lyrical theme and structure of Arnold's song and Springsteen's are very similar--the verses in both songs consist of a laundry list of all the things the singer has "got" and each verse concludes with the line "I ain't got you".

Springsteen's composition "The Fever" was no doubt inspired by "Fever", a classic rhythm 'n' blues tune first set to wax by the incredible Little Willie John. Not only do both songs share the exact same theme, but Bruce's recording manages to evoke the same sweaty (full-moon-at-midnight-she's-drivin'-me-crazy-I'm-losin'-my-mind-and-I- can't-do-nuthin'-'bout-it-but-at-least-I'm-gonna-try-to-act-cool) lust of Little Willie John's recording--a lust which the singer has grown weary of fighting and is now about to surrender to completely.

Now this might be stretching things a bit, but Springsteen's song "Cover Me" is similar enough to a song with the same title by the great R&B vocalist Percy ("When a Man Loves a Woman") Sledge that there may be a connection. Again, the songs are not alike musically, but are similar lyrically. In Bruce's song, he asks his woman to hide and protect him, i.e. "cover me", from the cold, hard world. And in Sledge's song, he asks the same thing of his lover, except he wants to be hidden and protected from the temptation of other women. Listening to either song will probably give you the impression that the singer is one sick puppy and terrified of his own shadow. By the way, a song entitled "Warm and Tender Love" has appeared on Springsteen bootlegs and Percy Sledge made a great recording of a song with the same title--this could be another Springsteen-Sledge Blues Connection.

Springsteen's borrowing from other songs to write his own music is an example of what music scholars call "the folk process". In the folk process, musicians build on the works of those who preceeded them. Bruce's carrying on of this tradition is not a sign of a lack of songwriting ability or originality. An artist's building on what has preceeded him is only natural and also unavoidable. After all, "someone" originally came up with the idea of art and it's impossible for anyone who has followed that person to be completely original. To illustrate this point, here are two more examples of music created by great rock songwriters which was inspired by the music of the past, and from the blues in particular.

First there's the Bob Dylan song "Pledging My Time". This song was actually based upon the Delta bluesman Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen". It appears on Dylan's great Blonde on Blonde album, an album made during a period which many rock critics consider to be Dylan's creative peak. A second example of a musician finding inspiration from and building upon the past is Chuck Berry, possibly rock's greatest songwriter. In his autobiography, Berry explained how certain Muddy Waters records served as the inspiration for his hits "Johnnny B. Goode" and "Memphis" (also known as "Memphis, Tennessee").

So when Springsteen finds inspiration in an old Sonny Boy Williamson tune or a Chuck Berry song, he's most definitely in fine company. Here is another way of looking at it--each generation's guitar wizards have invented their share of great new guitar riffs, but they still play--and find inspiration in--the old Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry riffs too. That old time rock and roll sure ages well. It's got legs. And it will stand!

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