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Springsteen and the rest of the band had basically lived off the grid for years, not making much money and not paying any taxes. Watch a live performance of "Badlands" at: In Bruce: His 100 Greatest Songs, published by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine in 2013, "Badlands" was listed as Springsteen's second greatest song, behind only "Born To Run". Although "Badlands" was not a big hit, only reaching # 42 when released as the album's second single, it has remained a favorite of Springsteen and his fans over the years, and is remains a staple of his concert performances. From there Springsteen composed the chorus but it required hours for him to come up with a single verse. Springsteen was initially inspired by the guitar riff on the Animals' hit, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The first song on the album was "Badlands". The title cut, "Darkness at the Edge of Town", dealt with the idea that the setting for personal transformation is often found at the end of your rope. "Adam Raised A Cain" used Biblical images to summon up the love and bitterness between a father and son. He tried to steer away from any sense of escapism and set his characters down in the middle of a community under siege. Springsteen has said that the songs were difficult to write because he wanted the characters to feel weathered and older, but not beaten. Listen to "Prove it All Night" at: "Darkness on the Edge of Town" LP The songs were leaner and less grand than its predecessor, and the album did not produce any major hit singles although "Prove It All Night" made the Top 40 at # 33. "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" was released in June of 1978, and although the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, it was not quite as big a hit as "Born To Run", and it peaked two notches lower at # 5. Those influences, along with his own experience of witnessing the stress and tension of his parents' lives that came with trying to make ends meet, had an effect on his songwriting. He also discovered Hank Williams and admired his songs that dealt with adult topics. He was influenced by the Animal's hits "It's My Life" and "We Gotta Get Out of this Place", examples of pop songs infused with class consciousness. During 1977, he was living on a farm in Holmdel, New Jersey, and this is where he wrote the songs that appeared on the album. In addition, "Fire" was covered by the Pointer Sisters 11 months after Robert Gordon, and they scored a Top ten hit with their version.įor his new album, "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", Springsteen wanted to write about life in the close confines of the small towns he grew up in. Bonds had his biggest hit in 19 years with "This Little Girl". Patti Smith had the only hit single of her career with "Because the Night", and Gary U.S. Only 10 would be used on next album, and several of the unused cuts became hits for other artists.
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Now free to return to the recording studio after a nearly three-year absence, Springsteen had written over 70 songs during that period. Eventually, Appel would sell back to Springsteen every piece of his music that he owned. Springsteen and Appel had been musical brothers and, after the war was over and a good deal of time passed, he and Appel reconnected. The divorce cost Springsteen a great deal of money, but the music was primarily his and he could now choose his career path unobstructed.
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A settlement with Appel was finally reached in late 1977. Instead, the song was given to neo-rockabilly singer Robert Gordon after Springsteen saw him perform at a gig with Link Wray.ĭuring the legal battle, Springsteen kept the E Street Band together by touring extensively across the country. Sadly, Elvis died that summer before Springsteen could send him the demo. After seeing Elvis Presley perform at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in the spring of 1977, he wrote "Fire" for his first rock and roll idol. While the depositions, motions, and hearings over his contract with Mike Appel dragged on for well over a year, Bruce Springsteen continued to write new songs.