Bruce Springsteen carved out such a unique identity as a performer that it was often difficult to imagine anyone but him recording his songs. That hasn’t stopped artists of all stripes from trying to put their own stamp on his originals.
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Occasionally, these artists even walked away with big hits in the process. Here are five Bruce Springsteen songs that turned into significant hits when covered by others.
“Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – No. 1 in 1977
Barring something unforeseen, this song will remain the answer to the trivia question, “What is Bruce Springsteen’s only no. 1 single on the US pop charts?” Manfred Mann was already on the third incarnation of the band that always bore his name when he recorded it. If ever an artist seemed an odd fit for a prog-rock treatment, it’s the quintessentially down-to-earth Springsteen. And yet, there’s something so wildly entertaining about Mann and co.’s reimagining of Bruce’s shaggy-dog story of youthful misadventure that it’s hard to complain about it.
“Because The Night” by Patti Smith – No. 13 in 1978
Jimmy Iovine had been working on Springsteen’s records for a few years when he started to branch out to produce other artists in the late 70s. That put him in proximity to unreleased material from The Boss. He had heard Springsteen’s earliest takes on “Because The Night”, ones where the music was in place but only a smattering of the lyrics had been written. Iovine gave it to Smith, and she filled in the lyrical gaps. The result was the only pop hit of her career. 10,000 Maniacs’ live “Unplugged” version of the song in 1993 reached no. 11, outdoing Smith’s by a few places on the chart.
“Fire” by The Pointer Sisters – No. 2 in 1979
The Pointer Sisters had been in business for about a decade, with just a smattering of hits to show for it, when Bonnie departed prior to their 1978 album Energy. That left them a trio. They rebounded by singing with Richard Parry, the elite pop producer who had started his own label. Parry brought them “Fire” as a potential single. Springsteen had written it among the bushel of songs he composed for possible inclusion on Darkness On The Edge Of Town. The song would have sounded woefully out of place on that downbeat album. But it sounded wonderful when delivered by the sisters’ soothing harmony vocals.
“This Little Girl” by Gary U.S. Bonds – No. 11 in 1981
Springsteen had long admired Gary U.S. Bonds. He often covered Bonds’ 60s classic “Quarter To Three” in concert. And a few of the more playful, R&B-tinged numbers on Springsteen’s 1980 album The River can also be traced back to Bonds’ influence. When he had the clout to do something about it, Springsteen decided to pay it back. The Boss had written a song called “Ain’t Good Enough For You” that had missed out on inclusion on The River. He retrofitted it for Bonds into “This Little Girl”, produced the record along with Steven Van Zant, and even coaxed a sax solo out of Clarence Clemons. The end result put Bonds back on the pop map for the first time since the 60s.
“Pink Cadillac” by Natalie Cole – No. 5 in 1987
Strange story with this one. Bette Midler wanted to record the Born In The U.S.A,. outtake on a 1983 album. But Springsteen stepped in and prevented its release, even though Midler had done previous covers of his work before. Springsteen allowed his own version of the song to trickle out as the B-side to “Dancing In The Dark”, his huge 1984 hit single. His popularity soared to such an extent at that time that the song received much more airplay than your average B-side. Finally, Cole took a shot at it in 1987 as she was rebuilding her pop career. Mission accomplished: It matched her highest ever pop chart ranking.
Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
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