Outside E Street: 4 Non-Springsteen Albums Lifted by the Talents of Keyboardist Roy Bittan

You can point to many different critical moments on Bruce Springsteen’s path to stardom. But the addition of Roy Bittan to the E Street Band was undeniably crucial. “The Professor’s” ability to toggle between stately melodies and driving rhythm work on keyboards helped define Springsteen’s classic sound.

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Other artists heard it and wanted Bittan’s brilliance on their records as well. These four fantastic albums all benefit greatly from the instrumental work he delivered.

‘Faster Than The Speed Of Light’ by Meat Loaf

You don’t have to strain too hard to hear the similarities between Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell. Jim Steinman, who wrote the songs for Meat, admired Springsteen and favored a similarly verbose style. Perhaps hoping that some of the Boss’ magic would rub off, Steinman hired E Streeters Bittan and Max Weinberg to play on the album. Bittan shared piano duties with Steinman while also tackling many of the keyboards. Steinman had already instilled in the songs a great sense of pomp and grandeur. Having Bittan embellish on that took the recordings of those songs to another level.

‘Making Movies’ by Dire Straits

Not only did the artists who worked with Bittan love him, but the folks behind the scenes also realized his greatness. When Mark Knopfler heard Patti Smith’s version of “Because The Night”, he wanted that kind of musical drama for the songs he was writing. That meant hiring producer Jimmy Iovine, who had done engineering work for Springsteen. Iovine brought Bittan along with him from E Street. He realized that Dire Straits needed piano on their songs to add the cinematic quality for which Knopfler was striving. You can hear the melodic richness Bittan adds to rocking Making Movies tracks like “Tunnel Of Love” and “Hand In Hand”.

‘Bella Donna’ by Stevie Nicks

Once again, the Jimmy Iovine connection paid off for an artist. At the time Stevie Nicks made Bella Donna, she was dating Iovine. And Iovine not only used his Springsteen contacts to get Bittan on board, but he also snagged Benmont Tench to play on the album based on his production work with Tom Petty. When you have a pair of geniuses like Bittan and Tench complimenting each other on the keys, it’s hard to go wrong. Bittan’s efforts on the album were integral to coaxing the dark drama out of ominous Nicks songs like “Edge Of Seventeen”, helping establish Stevie as the solo star she was destined to be.

‘Faster Than The Speed Of Night’ by Bonnie Tyler

Remember how we told you that Jim Steinman and Roy Bittan worked together on Bat Out Of Hell? Well, by the early 80s, the connection between Steinman and Meat Loaf had frayed somewhat. It meant that the mad songwriting genius needed different outlets for his creations. In the Scottish chanteuse Bonnie Tyler, Steinman found a raspy vocalist ideal for conveying the tortured emotions present in his work. And he convinced Bittan to add his magic touch on piano to the big hits on Faster Than The Speed Of Night. You simply can’t imagine “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” and “Holding Out For A Hero” without Bittan’s dramatic flourishes on the keys.

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