This August 25 will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough album Born to Run. In honor of the milestone, the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) will host a four-day celebration, September 4-7, featuring a variety of commemorative events.
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The various events will take place across the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The school serves as the home of the BSACAM.
According to a press statement, the events will “acknowledge the album’s place in American music history and shed new light on the making of the album and the role it played in Springsteen’s early career.”
Among the planned presentations are a major symposium, an academic conference, and an exhibit focused on Born to Run’s cover. The celebration also will feature a screening of previously unseen 1975 footage capturing the making of the album.
The conference’s participants will include E Street Band members, music historians, legendary music-industry figures, and special guests. More information about the anniversary celebration, including details about purchasing tickets will be announced in June.
Robert Santelli, the BSACAM’s executive director noted that the Born to Run celebration will be one of the institution’s “most ambitious public programs yet.”
He added, “Not only will it bring renewed attention to Springsteen’s masterpiece, it will also demonstrate the kinds of programs the public can expect from the BSACAM once our brand-new home opens next year.”
Springsteen Archives Director Eileen Chapman on Born to Run
Eileen Chapman director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, reflected on the significance of Born to Run.
“Born to Run was THE pivotal album in Bruce’s career,” she said in a statement. “[A]fter disappointing album sales for his first two albums, Bruce Springsteen’s relationship with Columbia Records hung in the balance. It was 1975’s Born to Run, his landmark third album and its resulting tour, that cemented Springsteen as a star.”
Chapman continued, “Born to Run has been hailed as a masterpiece from start to finish, and many consider it to be a perfect album. Resulting legendary shows with the E Street Band at the Bottom Line in New York and the Roxy in Los Angeles and cover stories in both Time and Newsweek magazines during the same week, propelled Springsteen to new heights.”
More About Born to Run
Born to Run was Springsteen’s first commercially successful album. Bolstered by the popularity of its title track, Born to Run reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The song “Born to Run” became Bruce’s first hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 23.
The album was packed with other classic Springsteen songs, including “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Backstreets,” “She’s the One,” and “Jungleland.”
Born to Run has been certified seven-times platinum by the RIAA for equivalent sales of 7 million copies in the U.S.
In 2003, the album was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. That same year, Born to Run was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
In 2023, Born to Run was ranked at No. 21 on Rolling Stone magazine list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”
Springsteen’s 2025 Tour Plans
Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off a 2025 European tour on May 14 in Manchester, U.K. The 16-date trek is mapped out through a July 3 concert in Milan, Italy. The next show on the tour takes place Wednesday, June 7, at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, U.K.
(Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
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