#1 Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen
I have no idea how my life would have turned out had Springsteen not recorded and released this album in 1975, but I do know things would have been very different. The closest parallel situation that I can relate is the story of Puccini first encountering a raw and untrained Enrico Caruso, who auditioned for a role in the La Scala debut of La Boheme. A few bars into the audition, Puccini stopped playing the piano, looked up and asked Caruso “Who sent you to me? God?”
The three central themes of this record to me are:
• Face Your Fears (Thunder Road)
• Follow Your Passion (Born To Run, She’s The One)
• Even when things don’t work out, the joy is in the journey (Meeting Across the River, Jungleland, Backstreets).
Song after song, Bruce tells us to acknowledge what you’re feeling (“no matter where you go tonight or how far you run- she’s the one.”) learn your lessons (“after all this time to find we’re just like all the rest”) reconcile with your past (” you can blame it all on me, Terry it don’t matter to me now”) and move forward (from “so Mary climb in” to “tramps like us, baby we were born to run”). This was the message I desperately needed to hear and understand in 1975.
I was sitting in my room after midnight, contemplating the rapidly arriving unknown that was my future after high school, and listening to Livermore radio station KKIQ the first time I heard Born to Run. I immediately called the station, asked who sang the song and asked the DJ if he’d play it again. I may have been the only one listening to that station at that time. Minutes later, the DJ obliged me.
I bought the album a couple of days afterward. That was unusual for me. For primarily financial reasons, I usually did not purchase records before I had heard the whole album. But I just knew this one was going to be different, and it proved to be true. Every time I’d listen to that record, my focus became clearer and my resolve got stronger. I felt like Bruce was singing to me. I excitedly told everyone I came in contact with about this album. Most people thought I was nuts.
A lot of people thought Bruce could not sing and his music didn’t appeal to some at first. While I acknowledge that Bruce is not Caruso, for me, the music, with its relentless drive and theatrical flair, has always matched his overriding message- stop crying, get off your ass and do something about it. Knowing each verse of these songs so well, the music alone gets me motivated and moving. Just the musical ending of the songs Thunder Road, She’s the One and Jungleland or the long introduction to Backstreets drive me to action.
(Regarding theatre, I’ve often thought of Jungleland as Bruce’s West Side Story.)
There have been many times in my life that I have needed to rev myself up to face my fears, follow my passion, and remind myself that the joy is in the journey. While I have found sources other than Bruce to help me with those moments, to this day a good dose of Born to Run never hurts.
