Bruce Springsteen ranks his favorite songs ever – Bob Dylan pips The | Music | Entertainment | EUROtoday

A musical icon whose profound impression on rock music spans over 5 a long time, Bruce Springsteen is thought for his heartfelt storytelling and commanding stage presence.

Over the years, he has develop into some of the revered musicians on the earth, and launched quite a few chart-topping albums and earned a number of Grammys and an Academy Award.

Springsteen’s affect just isn’t confined to his personal music alone. He has additionally been deeply impressed by a variety of artists, from the rock ‘n’ roll pioneers of the Fifties to the soul legends of the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies.

In 2016, followers had the possibility to be taught a bit extra about a few of these influences, when the star appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs – a present the place company are requested to choose eight songs they love a lot they’d carry them when stranded on a desert island.

Hound Dog – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ is likely one of the most iconic rock-and-roll songs in historical past. Released in 1956, it grew to become a cultural phenomenon and reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts, cementing Presley because the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Springsteen recalled his first time listening to the tune: “When I was relatively young, probably 7 or 8 years, 7 years old or something, when I heard it, it just shot straight through to my brain. And I realised suddenly that there was more to life than what I’d been living. I immediately went out, rented a guitar, tried to play the thing, couldn’t quite get to playing it. But I was then in pursuit of something, and there had been a vision laid out before me. It was just an incredibly meaningful record”.

He added: “Elvis was considered a novelty act. He wasn’t deemed to have a lot of cultural significance initially at all. […] And it’s funny because I was so very young, but it still hit me like a thunderbolt. And still sounds great to this day”.

I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles

The Beatles revolutionized trendy music, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ is certainly one of their quintessential tracks that showcases the band’s pop brilliance. Released in 1963, it was the tune that first launched the Beatles to American audiences, sparking the start of “Beatlemania”.

For Springsteen, this was “another song that just changed the course of my life. The harmonies were very unusual. It was a very raucous-sounding record when it came out of the radio in 1964. And once again, I went for another shot at the guitar, and this time I kept playing it”.

“And it was really the song that inspired me to play rock & roll music, to get in a small band and to start doing some small gigs around town. But it was a life-changing, it’s still a beautiful record, once again, the way it sounds, and it was just a life-changing piece of music”.

It’s All Over Now – The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones’ ‘It’s All Over Now’ is certainly one of their early R&B-infused rock tracks. Released in 1964, the tune grew to become the band’s first primary hit within the UK, and it’s extensively considered certainly one of their defining moments in the course of the early years.

The tune has a particular place in Springsteen’s coronary heart: “When I got thrown out of my first band, I learned the guitar solo. I went home that night, and I was pissed off, and I went in my room, and I said, all right, I’m going to be a lead guitar player”.

“And for some reason, that solo felt like something I might be able to manage. And so I put the record on, and I sat there all night until I was able to scrape up some relatively decent version of Keith’s solo on ‘It’s All Over Now’. That and also, once again, it’s a great-sounding record, the echo and the way the two guitars blend and mix. And there’s a little country influence in it also, which I always liked coming out of the Stones”.

Madame George – Van Morrison

‘Madame George’ from Van Morrison’s 1968 album Astral Weeks is a haunting and emotionally advanced tune that mixes parts of jazz, folks, and soul.

“Astral Weeks, an extremely important record for me and a lot of other people. It made me trust in beauty. It gave me a sense of the divine”, he defined. “The divine seems to just run through the veins of that entire album. So there was a spiritual side of it that was very, very deep. Of course, it was incredible singing, playing of Richard Davis on the bass, had the jazz influences, and it was trance music”.

What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ is not only a tune – it’s a motion. Released in 1971, the tune addressed the social and political turmoil of the time, together with the Vietnam War, civil rights points, and concrete poverty. The album of the identical title is extensively considered one of many biggest albums ever recorded.

First of all, this whole report is from begin to end is a masterpiece”, Springsteen stated. “It was sultry and sexual while at the same time having a very political point of view, dealing with street-level politics. That had a big influence on me. Along with the idea that it was somewhat of a concept record without being cursed by that name.”

“It was a record that had a thread you could follow from the first song to the last. And it created a world that you could walk into and then come back out of, but bring along with you things you’d learned and energy and a source that you’d found for living. What’s Going On was a record that really struck home for me for all those particular points.”

Out of Sight – James Brown

James Brown’s ‘Out of Sight’ is an lively and electrifying funk monitor that helped outline the style. Released in 1964, it showcases Brown’s distinctive capacity to mix gospel, R&B, and jazz into one thing completely contemporary and thrilling.

Springsteen described it as “Out of sight, pure excitement, pure electricity, pure get out of your seat, move your ass, pure sweat-filled, gospel-filled, raw rock and roll rhythm and blues. That was James Brown. That’s fascinating”.

Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops

The Four Tops’ ‘Baby I Need Your Loving’ is a basic Motown ballad that grew to become a success in 1964. Its heartfelt lyrics and clean supply made it one of many signature songs of the Motown period. The tune’s manufacturing is lush, with a robust orchestral presence that enhances the emotional depth of the lead vocals.

Springsteen joked that he “had to have some Motown” within the listing, “because Motown was an incredible part of my youth”.

“It was also, if you wanted to know how to write, how to structure successful pop records, you could learn it all from Motown. The sound of the band, the importance of a great singer. Motown was just the school where you wanted to go to learn your craft. And this was a song that every little bar band played this one back in the day”.

Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan

Finally, Bob Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ takes the highest spot on Springsteen’s listing. Released in 1965, it was a groundbreaking monitor that reworked rock music. With its sharp, biting lyrics and electrical sound, it represented a shift in Dylan’s profession from folks music to rock. The tune’s scathing critique of a once-privileged particular person now “like a rolling stone” on the streets was revolutionary, each musically and lyrically.

Springsteen crowns it because the “top of the list”, saying: “Like a Rolling Stone is a torrent that comes rushing, rushing towards you, floods your soul, floods your mind, alerts and wakes you up instantaneously to other worlds, other lives, other ways of being. You know, it’s perhaps one of the most powerful records ever made and still means a great, great deal to me, along with all of Dylan’s work”.

He additionally recollects the primary time he listened to it: “It was when it came out of the radio. I didn’t know anything about Bob Dylan’s acoustic music. I was a creature of top 40. So the first time I really heard him was on the radio with this song and it just instantly started to change my life.”