The Boss and Guests: 4 Times Special Vocalists Enlivened Bruce Springsteen Songs

Bruce Springsteen isn’t the kind of guy who often goes in for stunt casting. You won’t find an “all-star” album in his catalog. He simply doesn’t invite many special guests outside his inner circle. As a result, his voice and/or voices belonging to members of the E Street Band are generally the only ones featured on his records.

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Still, we found a few occasions when Springsteen received a boost from guest vocalists. Here are four of those rare instances that stand out.

Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan on “Hungry Heart”

Springsteen very nearly donated his first major pop hit to The Ramones. He wrote “Hungry Heart” with the punk legends in mind. He was ultimately convinced to give it his own spin on The River. Good thing he kept it around. The song soared into the Top 10, Springsteen’s first-ever hit of that magnitude, in 1980. The Boss and company played up the pop smarts of the song, going so far as to alter his vocals to a slightly higher pitch in the studio. On top of that, “Hungry Heart” benefits from the sighing vocal harmonies of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan. Volman and Kaylan made their mark with The Turtles in the 60s before forging their own path under the pseudonym Flo & Eddie.

Sam Moore on “Man’s Job”

Not many folks would mark out Human Touch for special distinction in the Bruce Springsteen catalog. The 1992 album was the first recorded after The Boss shuttered the E Street Band. If there is one thing about the record that folks might remember fondly, it’s how Springsteen invited a few legendary vocalists to help him with the material. Sam Moore, one half of the legendary Sam & Dave of “Soul Man” fame, sang backup on three of the tracks on the album. Of those, “Soul Driver” is probably the best overall song. But we chose “Man’s Job” here because Moore gets the biggest spotlight, at one point doing a little call and response with Bruce in a fun musical moment.

Bobby Hatfield on “I Wish I Were Blind”

We’re back on Human Touch again, and here we have what we believe is the best song on the record. Much of the album focused on Springsteen writing as autobiographically as he ever has in his career, to the point that it often overwhelmed his sense of what works musically. “I Wish I Were Blind” takes him out of that mode. Instead, he focuses on the melody and the songcraft in a track that seems at least partially inspired by Roy Orbison’s weepers. And since Orbison had already passed away by the time he was recorded, Springsteen managed to nab a stellar replacement as a backing vocalist in Bobby Hatfield, the high voice who balanced out Bill Medley’s low rumble in The Righteous Brothers.

Tom Morello on “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”

If there’s ever been an unofficial member of the E Street Band, it’s Tom Morello. The Rage Against The Machine legend has played live often with Bruce Springsteen through the years. And he even entered the sanctum sanctorum by contributing to Bruce’s albums on several occasions. Morello’s guitar work elevated a couple of tracks on the 2012 album Wrecking Ball. Two years later, Morello’s playing was all over High Hopes, a loose collection of odds and sods that had slipped through the cracks of Bruce’s catalog. Morello even had the chance to add his vocals to “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”, rerecorded in beefed-up electric fashion for the project.

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