21 Years Ago Today, Bruce Springsteen Took What Might Be His Most Audacious (And Controversial) Record to No. 1 With One of His Darkest Songs Ever

Ever since dropping his landmark 1975 album Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen has been a singular force in rock and roll. With 20 Grammy Awards and over 140 million albums sold, Springsteen is constantly reinventing himself, keeping his work fresh without ever straying from the blue-collar sensibilities that first won over fans. On this day (May 8) in 2005, “the Boss” was back on top of the albums chart with Devils & Dust, his third acoustic album and 13th overall of his career.

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Why This Global Corporation Refused to Sell The Album

Bruce Springsteen pared it way back for Devils & Dust, ditching his E Street Band in favor of playing most instruments himself.

“I like writing pop songs, and I like the band playing loud, and I enjoy playing big places,” he told the New York Times. “But there’s something about when an audience comes in, and it’s just them, and it’s just you.”

The album’s 12 tracks—many of which Springsteen had penned a decade earlier—revolve around familiar themes: inner studies of characters battling with “the worst of themselves and the best of themselves.” Rolling Stone lauded the project, calling it Springsteen’s most audacious record since the home-demo American Gothic of 1982’s Nebraska.”

However, one particular song, “Reno”, caused quite a stir. The album’s third track sees a man recounting a lukewarm hotel room encounter with a sex worker. In the second verse, she informs her client of the prices she charges for certain acts.

One line in particular was too much for Starbucks, who backed out of a deal with Columbia Records to stock the album on its shelves. At the time, Starbucks was an emerging force in the music industry, having accounted for a quarter of the sales for Ray Charles’ final album, Genius Loves Company.

“There were a number of factors involved. It [the lyrics] was one of the factors, but not the only reason,” Ken Lombard, then the president of Starbucks Entertainment, told Billboard.

Springsteen shrugged off the controversy, insisting that the lyric was “just what felt right.”

[RELATED: This Story From Bruce Springsteen’s Childhood Is Infuriating, and It’s Easy To See How It Affected His Music]

The Record Marked a First For Bruce Springsteen

Devils & Dust gave Bruce Springsteen the seventh No. 1 album of his career. Additionally, it was the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s first-ever chart-topper that didn’t feature the E Street Band.

Devils & Dust nabbed five Grammy nominations. Springsteen took home the Best Solo Rock Vocal trophy for the title track, which he performed live during the ceremony’s telecast. One of the darkest tracks in Springsteen’s catalog, Springsteen tells the story of a troubled soldier.

In true Bruce Springsteen fashion, he wrapped up his performance with “Bring ’em home,” referencing U.S. troops fighting the Iraq War overseas. He immediately left the stage, never once glancing back at the partial standing ovation he received.

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