“It Just Shot Straight Through to My Brain”: The Elvis Presley Song That Changed Bruce Springsteen’s Life

Bruce Springsteen‘s music is an amalgamation of many different artists. The Boss has never been shy of expressing his love for his fellow musicians. Unsurprisingly, one such artist beloved by Springsteen is Elvis Presley.

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You can’t be a musician of Springsteen’s generation and not give props to Presley. When he debuted in the rock scene, he shook the world. Young boys and girls–like Springsteen–fell instantly in love. While not all of his young fans were moved to start their own careers in music, Springsteen followed in Presley’s footsteps. All it took was one spark, and Springsteen was locked onto the music industry. What was that spark? Find out which Presley song changed Springsteen’s life, below.

The Elvis Presley Song That Changed Bruce Springsteen’s Life

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
Cryin’ all the time
Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
And you ain’t no friend of mine

One of Presley’s most famous performances was his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, wherein he played “Hound Dog.” Presley’s cover of this R&B classic helped to shape rock as we know it today. Countless people were moved by this particular performance, including Springsteen.

“When I heard it, it just shot straight through to my brain,” Springsteen recalled. “I realized, suddenly, that there was more to life than what I’d been living. I was then in pursuit of something, and there’d been a vision laid out before me. You were dealing with the pure thrust, the pure energy of the music itself. I was so very young, but it still hit me like a thunderbolt.”

“I Crawled Back Into the Grave”

“It wasn’t just the way Elvis looked,” he continued elsewhere. “It was the way he moved that made people crazy, p***ed off, driven to screaming ecstasy and profane revulsion. That was [the power of] television. I had to get a guitar the next day. I stood in front of the mirror with that guitar on, and I knew that that was what had been missing. But then I crawled back into the grave or something until I was thirteen.”

Though we can’t be for sure, we may not have seen Springsteen’s career at all if he hadn’t witnessed this TV performance. Just one more thing we can thank Presley for.

Well, they said you was high-classed
Well, that was just a lie
Yeah, they said you was high-classed
Well, that was just a lie
Yeah, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
And you ain’t no friend of mine

The Song Bruce Springsteen’s Wrote for Elvis

I’m driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I’m pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don’t like it
But girl, I know you’re a liar
‘Cause when we kiss
Oh, fire

Springsteen took his fandom of Presley one step further towards the end of The King’s life by writing a song for him. A Springsteen deep cut, “Fire”, was originally written with Presley’s voice in mind. Unfortunately, Presley passed away before The Boss could get him to record the song–which would have been the fulfillment of many dreams for the rock icon.

Learn more about “Fire” and Springsteen’s love of Presley, HERE.

Well late at night
I’m takin’ you home
I say I wanna stay
You say you wanna be alone
You say you don’t love me
But you can’t hide your desire
When we kiss

(Photo by Al Pereira/WireImage)