On this day (August 25) in 1975, Bruce Springsteen released Born to Run. Springsteen co-produced the album with the goal of breaking into the mainstream. To reach that goal, he took a two-pronged approach. First, he lyrically tapped into the moral compass of a generation. Then, he pulled inspiration from incredibly popular production styles to make the album’s eight tracks sound like hits.
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Despite being hailed as a rock and roll legend today, Springsteen’s career got off to a slow start. His first two albums–Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle–weren’t commercially successful. His debut peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200. Springsteen’s sophomore release peaked at No. 59. Born to Run gave him his first hit, peaking at No. 3 on the chart.
Singles from Born to Run also brought Springsteen his first charting singles. His first three–two from his debut and one from his sophomore album–failed to chart. “Born to Run” peaked at No. 23, giving him a top 40 hit. The album’s second single, however, didn’t do as well. It peaked at No. 83. However, this was still a win for the Boss.
Born to Run Was a Make or Break Record for Bruce Springsteen
After two albums that didn’t sell well and some personnel changes at Columbia Records, Bruce Springsteen was on shaky ground. At that point, the label was ready to drop him if Born to Run didn’t sell well. Fortunately, he went into the studio with a vision and worked for months to make it real.
“I had enormous ambitions,” he told Rolling Stone. “I wanted to make the greatest rock record that I’d ever heared and I wanted it to sound enormous and I wanted it to grab you by your throat and insist that you take the ride, insist that you pay attention, not just to the music, but just to life, to feeling alive, to being alive,” Springsteen explained.
Featured Image by Steve Morley/Redferns
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