“We learned more from a three-minute record baby
than we ever learned in school.”

It’s amazing to me that, Springsteen circa 1984 set the basis for some of my favorite music ever, even though I didn’t really give Born In The USA props until I was in my early twenties. He’s directly influenced most of the artists in this Rock N’ Roll Means Well series, and his was one of my favorite shows ever. Shortly after returning from Vietnam in 2007 I sneaked in to see him play at the Oracle Arena in Oakland during the Magic tour, and it was, AH-HEM, amazing.

The biggest surprise by far was him busting into “No Surrender” early into the set. This 1984 song about busting out, hitting the road, and seeing what was outside your small town (and was also about Steven Van Zandt leaving the E-Street Band) continues to inspire artists around the world.

Bruce Springsteen: “No Surrender”

Needless to say, I lost my shit when he played that song. It was, simply, goosebump-inducing incredible. Here’s an acoustic version done in France 15 years after the song came out for an Amnesty International concert:

Still the same effect. Born In the USA may have been the greatest album of the 1980’s.