This Outta Tide You Over

Your friendly neighborhood spider-man, er, trivia blogger, is going to be out of town for a few days, so this extra long (some might call it "boss") post will have to suffice for a few days.

Enjoy!


Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949

Springsteen was inspired to take up music at the age of seven after seeing Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show. At 13, he bought his first guitar for $18.

Bruce is mostly known for playing guitar and harmonica however, he also knows how to play the mandolin, organ, piano and percussion.

Ronald Reagan wanted to use the song "Born in the USA" for his campaign, but Bruce refused because he felt that Reagan was misinterpreting the song's meaning. Reagan offended him by quoting the song in campaign speeches anyway.

Bruce wrote "(41 Shots) American Skin" about Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant who was fatally shot by four white police officers in New York. Although many people appreciated the song, including Diallo's parents, the NYPD was offended and urged people to boycott Bruce's New York concerts.

After Hurricane Katrina, Bruce re-wrote an old folk song called "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live" and added lyrics specifically about the disaster in New Orleans and the inadequate government response. He performed the song several times with the Seeger Sessions band and dedicated it to "President Bystander."

Bruce has covered the Tom Waits song "Jersey Girl" in concert several times and it is included on his "Live 1975-1985" album. He performs it in honor of the Jersey girl that he married.

Bruce won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Streets of Philadelphia" from the movie "Philadelphia."

In July 2006, Bruce’s oldest son, Evan, was pulled from Lake Placid in New York. He had been kayaking and the kayak overturned. Fortunately Evan was not injured. [blogger's note: Lake Placid is right next door to my home town]

Released as a single prior to the album's release, the song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1984 (and was kept off the #1 spot by that year's song of the summer, Prince's "When Doves Cry"). It was also the first of a record-tying seven Top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A.

Although the song only peaked at #5 in Australia, it remained on the charts for most of 1984 and was that country's highest selling single of the year. It spent a total of 64 weeks in the Top 100.

"Dancing in the Dark" won Springsteen his first Grammy Award, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance.

Further trivia here and here.