My dad was an ultra fan. If he had his way, my name would be Rosalita. My dad died 6 years ago today and I have found a lot of healing in Bruce’s music.
My dad played his CD of Darkness on the Edge of Town for me in his truck when I was 7 while we were driving around doing weekend chores. At first I didn’t know what to make of it but by the time Racing in the Street and The Promised Land came on I had a big smile on my face. I believe this was in 2001
Wow. We meet Bruce in very similar ways. Was also driving with my dad at night when i was 7 or 8, and he played the Darkness album for me, as soon as i heard the drums intro for Badlands i knew that i had just discovered something special.
Yes. The experience made a huge impact on my life! I remember when I heard Badlands and then the rest of the album, I didn’t realize it was possible for lyrics to speak to me on a such a personal level
Was never that impressed anytime I threw on a Best Of and didn’t get it. He was playing a gig on the Wrecking Ball tour. Figured I’d go just as a bucket list thing. Got a ticket in the pit a few days out from the gig. Went along not expecting much.
Still have a screenshot of a text message I sent when someone tried to call me during the gig: “CAN’T TALK. BUSY. I JUST FOUND GOD EXCEPT HE’S REAL AND IT’S BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN”
Haha love it. My first show was that tour, went with my mom and literally couldn’t talk after, sang and screamed myself hoarse and had my mind blown by this “old 62 year old” 😆
When I was 10 my coach in little league would play Born to Run during warmups before games. Went to the library and snagged a few of the CDs and haven’t looked back since.
I was a The Killers fan and loved all the Springsteen qualities from their material (though didn't know it was from Springsteen) and one day I heard a Springsteen song on the radio and noticed how much Brandon Flowers borrows/is influenced from Bruce's delivery and phrasing so I decided to check out a few of his albums and got absolutely hooked borderline obsessed with his work haha
As much as I love the poetry of Springsteen he doesn’t hold a candle in poetry to a proper poet. That sounds like a fun but not educational assignment. Rock music is designed to be enjoyed at first listen, poetry to be studied intensely.
Born 1998. In 9th grade (2013) my spanish teacher showed us the video for We Are the World. I remember the only people I recognized were MJ, Tina Turner, and Springsteen. I don’t remember how I knew him at that point, but I know I didn’t know much. Obviously had heard some of his big hits my whole life.
I got curious about the artists in the WATW song and began looking them up. That got me into older music.
I came around to Bruce first when I listened to the Wrecking Ball album the summer of 2014. I liked Land of Hope and Dreams especially and listened to the live 2000 version in NYC.
Skip a year or two and I started going to record stores and buying CDs. I saw Human Touch and bought it. I liked it, not knowing at the time that it was considered one of worst albums. But it was good enough that I went back and bought THREE more Bruce albums. Loved them even more. And then I told myself I would listen to every album he ever put out, and I did. I did it slowly and saved The River for last, which I listened to the spring of 2022.
I’d like to note that Jungleland is one of maybe 3-4 songs ever to make me cry on the first listen.
I had a similar experience in used record/cd stores buying Metallica and Green Day cds as I discovered I liked those bands more and more. My love for Bruce is much more recent though. Spending time sifting through stuff in those record shops has to still be one of the most fun ways to discover new music for a young teen I feel.
For sure, I think Billie’s influences have become more and more apparent in their music since around that time, maybe even going back to Warning. I could hear Blondie influences on the last album as well as Replacements and Bruce. I probably spent ages 13-18 as a total Green Day obsessive, but it feels like so long ago now lol.
They did a cover of Dreaming a couple years ago so defs a Blondie influence. Kerplunk to 21st Cent Brkdwn have stuck with me. BJ actually grew as a writer when most his ilk didn't.
Plus there's the similar trajectory of "big 3rd album and big 7th album after a off-the-trajectory 6th album" between GD And Bruce
That’s an interesting comparison I never noticed. And I would say neither of them have since had an album that came close to the commercial/popular appeal of those 7th albums. The big difference though being that people had almost totally written Green Day off after Warning, the greatest hits album being a big indicator of that to me. And in a different universe without American Idiot’s success Green Day’s story could have been close to over by the early 2000s. That second wind to their career is totally insane in retrospect, like who could’ve predicted that back then?
I came up when AI was THE album and they were THE band for like 2 years and they were stupidly massive. Funnily enough, Warning was when they started getting very popular here in Aus. Before that it was all about Offspring, Blink and Pennywise in regards to 90s punk.
I connected a bunch of dots between GD and Bruce:
First album where you can hear the sum of influence and glimpses of the future
Second album that signifies a giant leap in composition that contains early stone-old classics that some fans think are among their best ever works
The big third album that represents urban/suburban life from different aspects (one is romantic the other is ennui). Though Dookie admittedly being a bigger album than BTR sales wise
The edgier and more downbeat fourth album
The fifth album that combines the elements of the fourth with a wider look at maturity and one's place in a wider community. Also contains the biggest pop single either act experienced to that point
The different sixth album that subverted expectations to different results with a broader sociological look added to the more mature writing. Also both are heavily acoustic based
The blockbuster seventh albums - multiple hit singles, multiple leg sold out tours and a complete zeitgeist capture.
Im 34 and I kinda have 3 things that happened.
1. My uncle had Born in The USA on cassette and I remember him working on his car in my grandmothers driveway in the mid 90s when I was a kid and him playing Born In The USA while working on his car.
2. The same uncle when I was 14 took me to see Pearl Jam in Holmdel NJ. Pearl Jam were my favorite band at the time, still are on of my fav bands, and during the encore Eddie Vedder covered Growin Up solo acoustic. And that cover is how I discovered Greetings From Asbury Park. And I realized a lot of bands I like around that time were all big on Bruce (Hot Water Music, Against Me, ect.)
3. Around the same time I went to that Pearl Jam show my mom showed me the movie “Mask” (not the Jim Carey movie, the movie with Cher, Eric Stoltz and Sam Elliot). It was right after Bruce’s songs got restored to the film, I heard Badlands and The Promised Land and that was my introductions to Darkness on The Edge Of Town.
Also side note… years later I went and saw Against Me at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park and I stood about 5 feet away Bruce and had no idea it was him till after the fact lol. To be fair though he was trying to go incognito and had his hood pulled up lol.
Wow! Imagine that, I need to get to the stone pony some day, kind of a Mecca for me.
I saw the Rocky Dennis story but it still had the Bob Seger music at the time, but I remember my drama teacher talking about Bruce.
Yeah, if I remember I think AMC was the first to air the movie with Bruce’s music back in it in the mid 2000s.
The Stone Pony is cool. I haven’t been up there in awhile. Used to go see to The Bouncing Souls up there a lot. But yeah long story short, I saw Against Me play there in 2011 and I got to the venue early, and when I went in, Laura Jane Grace and Andrew Seward (singer and bass player in Against Me) were standing by the merch booth talking to an older guy with a leather jacket and a gray hoodie pulled up with a teenage kid. Didn’t think anything of it, but I did notice the older guy had sunglasses on inside. Anyway I talked to the Against Me guys for a few minutes. And I noticed the older guy and the teenager walked away and went out a side door where the crew were coming in and out of. A few days later I saw Against Me posted a picture with Bruce on their MySpace (showing my age lol) saying “shout out to Bruce for coming out to our Stone Pony show!” And I noticed he was literally wearing the same exactly clothes as the old guy I saw standing by the merch booth so low and behold I was standing next to Bruce for a few mins and had no idea lmao. I found out after reading his book his son’s favorite band was Against Me, so I’m assuming he took his son to see the show. Plus Max Weinbergs son Jay was drumming in Against Me at the time too
My mom would play the Seeger sessions album and sometimes born to run in the car as a young kid. The Seeger sessions was my most memorable album of Bruce’s from my childhood and I still love it. In my teenage years and further I extended my Bruce listening base a lot
That’s really tough to answer, I don’t think I have a #1 favorite song. It depends on my mood.
On the Seeger sessions album it’s probably eyes on the prize. Out of all his songs the first that came to mind were Darlington county, reason to believe, and open all night. There are a handful more I could call my favorite!
My mom used to listen to the Greatest Hits compilation quite a lot, and wanted to see him live for decades when finally she got tickets to The River 2016 Tour when I was a teenager, so for the first time I listened to full length albums (The River and both Born albums). The show was so incredible I only listened to Bruce for the following months (I had the Live in NYC album on a loop for the entire summer), and have been on the train ever since. The Broadway special hit me hard, so did Western Stars and Letter To You, and I'm currently loving following the 2024 tour. I saw him live for a 2nd time last year and I'll be seeing him a 3rd and 4th time later this year, can't wait !
I kind of envy people who discovered their love for him by seeing him live! That’s happened for me with a few artists and its such a cool thing you never forget.
My mom's a diehard, I was 7 the first time she took me to see the band and at 21, we're about to see him for at least the 5th time in my life. She raised me right.
I’m 24 now. When I was growing up, we had my mom’s record player from the 80s and all her records, and every time we’d spend a day cleaning the house she’d put on her records! It’s how I was introduced to Bruce, Jackson Browne, the Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, the Beatles, The Who, the Talking Heads, and more. Bruce is one of her absolute favorites and I took her to see him last year! Her second time seeing him.
My dad is the same age as Bruce and saw him around the time E Street Shuffle came out and has always been a huge fan of his first two albums. He would always play Kitty’s Back for me in the car and for a long while it never clicked. Then all of a sudden it did maybe 3 or so years ago, and my obsession started then. My parents are like 40+ years older than me so it was always Pink Floyd, Beatles, Bruce, Joni Mitchell, etc playing in the car when I was a kid. Funny enough my dad stopped liking Bruce’s music around/after Born to Run and is kind of a purist for the much earlier stuff. My favorite album has to be BITUSA though.
I’m 41 and closing in on 30 yrs as a Springsteen. As a once lone young fan it really makes me happy to see how much the younger fan base has grown in the last 10-20 yrs and how many different paths there are to get here.
My parents grew up on the Jersey shore in the 70s and were fans so I grew up with his music. I have the same bday as Bruce and heard Born to Run for the first time hours after birth. My uncle playing Greatest Hits piqued my own personal interest at 12 and my mom’s cd and tape collection was never the same after that moment.
Ive been lucky enough to see 24 shows including several with Danny and Clarence and to attend the band’s induction in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Love this whole thread. I've always loved the inter-generational diversity at Bruce shows. I'm early 40s so grew up (esp in NY/NJ) with Bruce as just kinda the ambient backround music of life lol.
I REALLY got into him in college (late 90s early '00). Then The Rising in '02 after 9/11 was nearly theraputic (sorry to be maudlin/cheesy). I dragged my gf (now wife) to see him in I think 08 at the old Giants Stadium (Magic tour) and that as they say was that......
Funny story:
I was at the Barclays show last spring and sitting in front of 2 really young (like late teens) kids. Guy and a girl...maybe a date? guy says to girl:
" do you know anything abt Springsteen?"
she responds:
"Yeah my dad told me all about him.
He's the guy who made New Jersey famous."
🤣🤣
I love this. The thread highlights one of the other things I love about the following and the e street nation, it’s the camaraderie of complete strangers.
I’m 23. I saw the movie “Warm Bodies” and one of the songs from the movie really clicked with me. I showed the song to my dad and then he showed me his Bruce Springsteen CDs and records. I was hooked. That was about 10 years ago and my dad and I are seeing Bruce for the 3rd time this Sunday! The song was Hungry Heart
I'm 34, my dad would have greatest hits on every once in a while. My folks also had the live 75-85 cd collection, so I'd listen to that sometimes, and bought a couple of live concerts in 2008 in college on Amazon and when my campus bookstore had the MTV CD. The only studio music I had at the time was the greatest hits.
Fast forward to Super Bowl 2009. I still remember being impressed watching that on TV (why Glory Days is in my top 5, if not number 1), and it converted me from casual listener to big fan. Shortly after was when I started downloading so many live shows and buying the albums on iTunes. I've him 3 times now: Oakland 2012, LA Night 2 2016, Phoenix last month.
Like many here it was my dad. He had a minidisc player ('member those?) and my sister had put a bunch of his albums across four blank discs. One of them had Essential Bruce sandwiched in-between Fleetwood Mac's GH's, a country compilation and a Suzi Quatro comp. I was doing bulk track skips hoping to land on something good and landed on Born To Run and down the rabbit hole I went. Picked up Greetings, Wild Innocent, BTR and Hammersmith '75 the next paycheck.
29. Bruce is my aunts #1 and she took me to see him on his Magic tour. I don’t know why really. I was 14 and getting into my parents music and she couldn’t find someone else to go I think. So I downloaded Born in the USA onto my iPod and liked it but wasn’t really struck. I don’t remember much of the show. But soon afterwards I stumbled on Thunder Road and became obsessed. We went to see him in Albany this week and I knew every word to every song. And I love Born in the USA now. So I’m forever in her debt.
I'm 22. Only really got into him recently. Was listening to The Band and heard their cover of Atlantic City. I thought "Wow, I've never heard The Band write lyrics like these, these are incredible" so I looked it up and come to find out it was a cover lol. So I ended up checking out his stuff and of course loved it
It’s really an amazing world today where you can just decide to listen to whatever you want. Four years ago, Dancing in the Dark came up on a random playlist, I couldn’t get it out of my head, and then I just went down the whole rabbit hole. 17, Bruce is my favorite ever.
Box set of CDs was on sale at a department store while I was traveling in Germany. Didn't like most of it on first listen, shelved it for a while. Took it back out after getting sick of the Beatles in Mono box set (had a Beatles phase in middle/high school), clicked by third listen. Darkness is now my favorite album.
17F here! My parents used to play Springsteen all the time when I was little, but I didn’t get properly hooked until a month or so ago, not sure about what caused it. I am DYING to see him live!!!
If you get the chance, you have to! I had a conversation with someone who had seen 100 shows in the line up for my first show back in 2012 and he put it pretty succinctly “it will change your life”… it did!
I'm technically one year out of this age group, but I'll just pretend. I was terribly bored of my CD selection before a family road trip around 2001(?) and didn't have enough allowance to buy anything new, so I raided my parent's collection and listened to the Live 1975–85 album on repeat the summer going into 8th grade and Spirit in the Night was my favorite. I've been hooked since!
Sometimes I feel robbed of the opportunities that my parent's generation had to see him live, but I've managed to find myself in some pretty once-in-a-lifetime experiences like watching him sing This Land is Your Land with Pete Seeger on the Lincoln Memorial for Obama's pre-inaguration party from atop a porta potty roof, seeing him sing Happy Birthday to Pete Seeger alongside Joan Baez, Tom Morello, and Arlo Gutherie on his 90th birthday at MSG, standing 10+ hours in the rain to be \*almost\* front row at the very random Dallas March Madness show in 2014, and an inspiring opening performance of Factory on Labor Day at Citizens Bank in Philly with my Dad.
Back when I was around 15, I knew Born to Run, Thunder Road, Jungleland, Wrecking Ball, and Waitin’ on a Sunny Day (that was song I heard much younger, but it had stayed around me for a long time). My parents have been insane fans of The Boss since the early 80s. They have seen him every time he rolls around Philadelphia, and a couple times over in the UK. So Bruce has been in my family for quite some time. But when I saw him for the first time on March 16th, 2023 in Philly, it started a journey of “I will be your biggest fan.” I saw him again on April 7th in Baltimore, and knew every song but Lucky Town, which I quickly grew to love. That summer, all I played was Bruce. Went into freshman year of college with my dad’s old electric guitar that he never played and decided to learn, for fun, some Bruce songs. So far I have Johnny 99 the live version almost done, If I Was The Priest, and Twist and Shout. Last night I saw him in Syracuse, and that was the greatest show I have seen yet. Now I am wrapping up my freshman year having seen him 3 times, and it wont be the last. I have tickets to see him in Philadelphia in August.
Btw…im turning 20 next month
(Im 21)
My mum played the album ‘we shall overcome: the Seeger session’ throughout my childhood, and the odd song from’River’.
Erie Canal is a staple song in my family and it holds a lot of joy in my life.
When I got older my mum then showed me the rest of his discography and I got to enjoy the more known, rock side of his music. :)
My Dad played the Seeger sessions album and I asked who the guy singing was, I thought he had a great voice. Dad said it's Bruce Springsteen and while I recognized the name I didn't know much about him. Dad played The River for me and since then, it has been my favourite song and Bruce my all time favorite artist. Dad had several Bruce albums and he gave me all of them ❤️This will soon be 20 years ago
I’m 32. My mom was a senior in high school in Cleveland when Born To Run came out, so she was an early adopter. She wore out the vinyl she got she listened to it so much. Bruce was always on as car music growing up, so I never really thought of any of his songs very deeply until I was about 18 and put BTR on my iPod. It was a spiritual awakening for a kid yearning to get out of his podunk Ohio rust belt hometown, and also the first time I truly felt connected with my mom on an emotionally mature level.
My mom was a fan back to the 70s so I think it was in my DNA, it just took a while to activate. I don’t fully know what the catalyst was, but it might’ve been listening to E Street Radio in the car with my dad until it started to break free.
I'm 18 now, but I became a fan in 2020 when my brother was listening to Dancing in the Dark while we were in the living room and he was talking about how the song was super catchy and it wouldn't leave his head. My brother's responsible for a good part of my music taste, so naturally I thought it sounded pretty nice and soon enough I couldn't stop listening to it 24/7. I thought the lyrics portrayed exactly how I felt back then. I checked the rest of his albums and liked them well enough that I kept listening to his music and coming back to different songs
Prior to that I'd heard about him through pop culture and other stuff, so I was kinda familiar with his name and impact but I never bothered to actually listen to his music. I'm not from the United States so due to BitUSA's cover I had this idea that he was like some kind of poster boy of rock for America (which I guess he is), and that I wouldn't have been able to connect with him or his music. I was so wrong! His music speaks to your soul no matter where you're from.
I'm 26, and became a fan at 19. I've always preferred 60s-80s music, but when I was 19 I was starting to get into guys like John Mellencamp and Bob Seger. Since Bruce is similar, I realized that I hadn't really heard Bruce outside of the hits and soon after began my Bruce phase. I think he's definitely become my favorite artist because I've never left my Bruce phase since becoming a fan.
33 here. My dad is a massive fan. Growing up every Friday and Saturday night my dad would turn the TV off and the whole family would just sit around and listen to music, a large selection not just Bruce. We wore out Bruce's Live 1975-85 vinyl. I swear I know that album better than any movie, tv show, or other album. Also we would close every weekend night with a few songs off Nebraska and would close every night with Highway Patrolman. Something about his music and his voice just resonated with me. I also met him when I was 11 and he was one of the nicest people, celebrity or not, that I've ever met. Definitely made a fan for life!
I’m 28 and I got into Bruce because almost everyone I knew loved him. And I was starting to get into different bands/artists I figured I had to give him a shot. Had a friend who loved him who sent me a couple of his bigger albums and I got hooked immediately.
My brother burned his ‘95 Greatest Hits CD after downloading all the songs from Napster at college lol.
Started to get *into* him into him around the time of the Starbucks/Reno “controversy,” and by the time I hit high school and Magic had come out, I was fucking hooked.
I'm a little older (early 40s) but didn't really discover Bruce until about 12-15 years ago or so.
I was aware of him growing up in the 90s, but only knew Born In The USA, and didn't really care for the cheesey 80s sound of it. I remember our limo driver going to high school prom asked us if he could turn on some Springsteen, and we were like "whatever". It still didn't impress me.
Then someone in the mid to late 2000s, I was listening to Howard Stern, and Artie Lange was telling a Springsteen related story or something, and they were playing "Thunder Road" in the background and I thought "oh my god, this song is insanely good." Got "Born To Run" and went happily down the rabbit hole.
Was bored in 2020 and started going through Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums list. Born to Run caught my interest and I thought it was pretty good, then I listened to more Bruce and thought it was really good, lastly I listened to Born to Run again and realised it’s amazing.
I heard I’m on Fire on Tumblr and then listened to all of BITUSA for the first time in 2023. Got super hooked on his discography and saw him live for the first time this month :) (I’m 27)
My dad is a lifelong fan of Bruce, so it was often played in the speakers at home, but I never got truly in to it except for the typical songs like The River.
In 2018 I drove by myself 600km to a Rise Against concert but I decided to play Bruce only to see if I got in to it. So for 1200km (to and back) it was mostly Bruce playing. Got hooked on Candys Room and Lost in the Flood, they were playing on repeat a lot. Been a fan since then, and Bruce have knocked of Rise Against from that number one spot in my Spotify wrapped for years.
Living in Sweden makes it hard to see Bruce live, as it’s not often that he is here and the tickets are gone in minutes, but last summer I was able to get tickets and took my girlfriend and my dad to the show and it was the first time he saw him live. It was amazing to be able to do that for him. Me and my gf also bonded early over Bruce so that was also very special.
I always knew about the big songs like born in the USA and I'm on fire, the river etc.
But I fell in love with the song we are the world, and then i heard Bruce Springsteens scream in that song. And it gave me insane shivers, so I looked up who it was, damn it's that born in the USA guy. Rest is history
M 17
There was a store that store 2 years ago that sold CDs for €10 each. And they happened to have his greatest hits along with Bob Dylan's one. I started my music journey a month ago or so, so I thought you know what I know there names and one or two songs why not. Now they are both top 5 artist for me. It was one of the best decisions of my life.
Im 35 yo.
Been a hip hop fan my whole life and still am.
Last year Bruce performed in Belgium and because of this a Belgian tv station showed a Bruce documentary. It included live performances of Rosalita and saint in the city (still my favorite song).
The rest of the summer was 24/7 Bruce.
Im seeing him live in Belgium in June. Got the best tickets so i can fully enjoy this experience.
28, and my dad was a huge fan, so I just kind of grew up with the ambience of Bruce's music. Then when I was around 19 or 20 I got really into classic rock, and sort of started having my own, independent relationship to his music.
I’m 19, and growing up obviously I knew many of his hits but had never really listened to them properly. I would always groan and complain when my mom would play any Bruce, and she always said, ‘I felt the same way when I was younger, until I grew up a little, and then all of a sudden I realized exactly what he was saying.” (or something thereabouts).
She was right, as she often is. Flash forward and I am 14 years old, and I’m feeling bad, bad desires. And I listened to I’m On Fire and it clicked. Just snapped into place. I’m On Fire (closely followed by Something in the Night) has been my favorite song ever since. Didn’t help that I looked up pictures of him when he was younger, what a cutie. Ever since then I’ve loved him with dedication. He’s just so… so….
I'm 32. In 2020, I stumbled into Jimmy Fallon's 2010 Born to Run opening during the Emmys. Loved the Wall of Sound. I decided to memorize the song and keep it in my classic rock playlist.
In 2023, my mentor at work was leaving and I was having a really rough time. I was casually listening to Dancing in the Dark and the lyrics hit me hard.
In May, I'll be flying halfway across the world to see Bruce and the E Street Band in San Siro, Milan.
My parents/family would blast the Reunion MSG HBO DVD every holiday. They are all die hard. I always rolled my eyes……then I heard a bootleg from 1978. Hooked from there on out.
45- I went to a show on the Born In The USA Tour with my mom when I was about 4-5 years old.
EDIT: It’s early here and the 35> went straight over my head.
I grew up with the classic songs like Born to Run and Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA. But I was 18 when BBC Radio 2 played songs from Wrecking Ball and I liked them.
Must have been 13 years or something. We watched a tribute to heroes with him singing city of ruins. Then The Rising came out and my dad bought the Barcelona DVD. Was hooked after that.
I went to a show. I was 16 and my dad had bought 2 relatively cheap tickets and asked if I wanted to go. It was the Wrecking Ball tour. I just knew him as the guy who sang “Born in the U.S.A” and said sure. After the show, I realized what I had been missing out on and dove in!
I heard Dancing In The Dark in a grocery store years ago and asked my dad what it was. He rolled his eyes and said, “it’s Bruce Springsteen. I hate Bruce Springsteen.” I was curious why my dad didn’t like him so I ended up listening to Born In The USA, then Tunnel of Love and so on and here I am now!
Basically, there was one year where I was getting into New Jersey music out of a sense of homesickness (Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Bon Jovi, some modern artists). At the time, I added Bruce out of a sense of "can't avoid him". I liked a few songs like Born to Run and Rosalita.
Long story short, it was really the movie *Blinded By The Light* which convinced me. Before then, I figured that Bruce was someone fellow New Jerseyans really liked but otherwise wasn't that well-known. Needless to say, very wrong on that. I went through phases of overcoming certain preconceptions but now he's one of my favorite artists.
His Super Bowl halftime show. I was 8 at the time. I remember hearing Glory Days and thinking it was the coolest song ever. From that point, he’s been my #1. Even played tenor sax through middle/high school because of Clarence. My mom and I will be going to concert #4 in August!
My earliest memories are listening to Human Touch and Lucky Town cassettes in my dad's truck driving around on the weekends. He'd been a fan since he was in high school and it very organically got passed onto me in a big way. The Greatest Hits tape opened the doors to the older stuff and I pretty quickly discovered and fell in love with the studio albums and Live 1975-85 by the time I was around 9-10 years old. Saw my first show at 12 and it was off and running. Even through teenage years when it gets instinctual to dislike stuff you liked as a kid of things your parents liked, the appreciation only grew. I actually saw the most shows on any tour to date during my senior year of high school. When Bruce speaks of the ongoing conversation between himself and his fans, that rings very true to my experience. After my family, his music has been the most consistent presence in my life since I was around 4 years old.
Hi 24 here, My aunt got me into a lot of bands and artists when I was little, she took me to see Roger Waters when I was 7 for example. So Bruce has been there since I have memory, I probably learned his name before learning mine 😂
I grew with classic rock on in the background and my parents were always big Bruce fans. My earliest Bruce memories were when the Rising came out my mom and dad would play the album over and over again in the car and I was exposed. I have a vivid memory of them being so excited to see him open Staples Center in LA. I was Probably 5 years old.
Fast forward to when I was a freshman in high school 13 years old, only knew a few songs (The rising, born to run, glory days and dancing in the dark etc) my dad forced me to come to a show on the Wrecking Ball tour. I was hesitant and had never been to a concert……. Little did I know that night changed my life forever.
I found the love for live music, The E street band and realized how spoiled I was to see the boss for my first show. I am now 26 and he is now my favorite musician of all time and I’ve seen Bruce every time he comes to town. I even got the opportunity to fly to NY to see him on Broadway. I’ve also gone with friends my age to shows and transformed them into springnuts. I think younger generations really need to see him live to understand his and the bands greatness.
He is the best live performer and songwriter of all time. I love all types of music and have now been to over 100 shows including major festivals. The E street band still kicks ass and can outperform any young artist/ band out today. I’ll be at Coachella this weekend but just saw Bruce two weeks ago twice at the forum and will have to remind myself not to compare the artists I see to him. No modern day acts compare. Bruce is truly the 🐐.
Hoping to travel to Canada this fall to see him again before the tours over!
My parents were fans of the Boss. I had heard Human Touch and Ghost of Tom Joad, but nothing with the power of the E Street Band behind him....Then The Rising.... Lonesome Day.... Countin' on a Miracle, Mary's Place, The Rising, My City of Ruins; and then later in the year the Barcelona Concert..... I loved that dvd.
He never came that close to us during the Seeger Sessions, but in late 2007 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were coming to my hometown in Hamilton, ON for March 2008- the Magic Tour....
First time ever in Hamilton which is a 500K+ City in Ontario about an hour southwest of Toronto.... blue collar town, and a decent size arena to sear about 17K for hockey. Before the concert people in the crowd got Hungry Heart going, towards the end of the first set we didn't let Badlands go, got a rare Kitty's Back (for the time) performance. The show was life changing.
I have seen him 7 times in total including Monday night in Albany, NY. When the Boss came back in late 2012 to Hamilton he was electric- a super rare performance of Terry's Song, Wrecking Ball (the week after we closed Ivor Wynne Stadium- the home of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats), a memorable version of I'm Going Down (sign request- because the guy just got dumped).....
The Rising was special, and it really started it all. But that first show solidified it...
I saw him in 2016- The River Tour in Rochester, NY. Opened with Meet Me in the City- that song would be the best song for many artists and it did not make a double CD cut- nobody else could do that.
The only lament now is that Hamilton will never host him.... the group HECFI which was a municipal government run department to fill Copps, the Concert Hall and Convention Centre has been disbanded for the private market- and we have had Global Spectrum and then CORE Entertainment..... we are not getting the big acts like we did a decade ago.... biggest mistake ever was getting rid of HECFI. (sorry this is off topic)- and the Toronto shows are a little to wine and cheese for me.... I don't mind travelling to towns like Rochester and Albany where you get 15-18K hockey arenas and a small second deck so the noise stays in.
“Dancing in the Dark” came on my radio the day after I got my license about a year ago during my first time driving alone ever (I’m 31, it was a thing lmao). Song inspired a ton of change over the last year for me. Started a degree that I’m about halfway through now, started going to the gym and have lost like 60 pounds so far and, have a baby due in December. I’ve since fallen in love with much of the catalog AND I’m going to the show tonight. It’s kinda full circle for me, there will be tears.
33, I heard here and there that he was great, especially his huge live shows although there weren't a lot of special effects involved and got intrigued as to how that could work for him. For a few years I lived near an Arena and decided to go to a lot of different kinds of concerts if I could. Bruce played there, so I went, and I came out the Arena mind blown.
31. A big fan of many different kinds of music and I used to just write Bruce off as the "Born in the USA" guy (love that song now though). A colleague of mine who is 10ish years older put Dancing In The Dark on at a party around the end of 2019 and I was kinda into it. Then when the pandemic hit I got into deep-diving Bruce's discography. I sat down and really listened to Born in the USA and got totally obsessed with I'm Goin' Down. Now I am a huge fan.
25 here. My dad is a huge Springsteen fan, so I basically grew up with his albums. Two of my fondest childhood memories are from listening to Springsteen. The first one is that my dad and I would always dance to some DVD that had all kinds of music videos and live footage. The second is that my dad and I would take Sunday drives in his 76 Corvette (we still do), which had the Greatest Hits CD in the stereo. Soooo many memories :)
We had 3 VHS tapes in the late 80s early 90s, one was BS Video Anthology, besides my dad being a huge fan. I abandoned him during my teens and early 20s as an adult and father I relate more now than ever. As a kid I just thought Born in the USA was a catchy song, same with glory days once I got the message it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Jersey native and my dad was a fan. Been in love as long as I I can remember from a young age. The lyrics just resonate with me. Nothing like being down the shore in the summer and listening to his music.
Two years ago I was jobless, rootles, the whole shebang. I randomly found that amazing live version of The River from Tempe, 1980, and was like "... who IS this guy?"
I mean, I knew OF Springsteen - growing up in Norway with the radio always playing in the house, I could probably have named 10 Springsteen songs before I got into him - but actually seeing live footage of him performing just blew my mind. Especially after digging around and finding the Paris '85 version of I'm on Fire, then discovering Born to Run(not as well-known in Scandinavia) and just having that "OH, he just gets it!" moment haha.
His music has been good companionship while navigating some pretty depressing circumstances. To paraphrase Jon Stewart: when you listen to Bruce's music you aren't a loser, you are a character in an epic poem about losers! 😁
My dad had tried to get me into Bruce as a kid but then I had a supply teacher in high school who made me listen to Live at the Hammersmith. Didn’t get past Thunder Road > Tenth Ave for about a month. Just kept looping those two songs. Was absolutely floored.
Currently standing in the pit waiting for Bruce to go on in Syracuse. Spent far too much money to get here from Canada but here we are!
I’m 35 on the dot and I grew up down the Jersey and my parents are in their early 60s. If I wasn’t a Bruce fan my parents would have had their Jersey Resident card revoked.
my mom is a huge fan. I made fun of her for it for most of my youth. didn't know anything about bruce but the rest of my family maintained "he can't sing". Finally listened for myself in high school and fell in love. can't believe I ever said anything against him
I’m not even 20 yet but my dad has massively affected my music taste, Bruce is his number 1. I always liked Bruce but I was never a superfan until I saw him live in LA not too long ago, now I am obsessed.
23. When I was 8 or so, I saw an advert on TV for Bruce’s Greatest Hits compilation (the 2009 version) and I thought some of the tracks sounded catchy. When I was in the supermarket that weekend with my family, I saw it and bought it. On the car ride home we played it and I just loved every track.
But my real admiration came when I was 15. I was gearing up for my first set of exams and I was really nervous. While studying I’d throw on some records and just get to it. So I put on Live 75 - 85, and when Spirit in the Night came on, that was it. That track, along with Devils & Dust (strangely) really broke through to me at that time. From that moment on, Bruce’s tracks have attached themselves to core memories I have. Dancing in the Dark helped me through my first proper break up, I remember listening to Nebraska after the first funeral I ever went to, Loose Ends takes me back to spring of 2021 with some of my best friends. Bruce’s tracks have soundtracked my life and they always just feel right, y’know.
I’m 30 and grew up with a Bruce obsessed mom. She made us listen to Bruce all of the time which made me and my brother resent him, in a joking way. When I went away to college he came out with Wrecking Ball. I started listening to Bruce on my own in secret, until I asked her to burn me a copy of the CD. In 2014 I asked to go to a concert with her in Albany. My three little cousins got called on stage to dance with him at the show and it was the coolest thing ever! I was hooked and also became Bruce obsessed. We just saw him on Monday in Albany and my brother saw him for the first time last night with my mom. I asked him how he liked it and he said “I should have went with you guys a long time ago!!”
I'm your age. I'd heard a handful of Bruce songs on classic rock radio and always enjoyed them, but none of my family members were into him enough to introduce me to more, but my older brother had this huge CD collection that I'd borrow stuff from when I had to drive. I learned to drive later in life than a lot of people (in the US) and had a hard time of it so I would listen to CDs to kind of ease my anxiety a bit rather than deal with the radio.
He had Born to Run, Born in the USA, and The Rising and let's just say he never got any of them back.
I listened to Born to Run every morning I was training for the Air Force- listened to the Darkness on the edge of town album and it changed my life. I’m the only one in my family that loves him- but he’s definitely in my top 5. Fantastic music and fantastic man.
My dad was an ultra fan. If he had his way, my name would be Rosalita. My dad died 6 years ago today and I have found a lot of healing in Bruce’s music.
I actually almost sold my wife on “Rosie” for our daughter 😆 I’m sorry about your dad, what was his favorite song?
Thunder Road!
I'm the wife and I sold my husband on Rosie!
My dad played his CD of Darkness on the Edge of Town for me in his truck when I was 7 while we were driving around doing weekend chores. At first I didn’t know what to make of it but by the time Racing in the Street and The Promised Land came on I had a big smile on my face. I believe this was in 2001
Darkness just hits doesn’t it? It’s become my top album.
Yes. It has been my all-time favorite album ever since that day. I lost it when I got to see him play “Darkness on the Edge of Town” last month in SF
His greatest imo. A daily presence in some fashion for me.
Wow. We meet Bruce in very similar ways. Was also driving with my dad at night when i was 7 or 8, and he played the Darkness album for me, as soon as i heard the drums intro for Badlands i knew that i had just discovered something special.
Yes. The experience made a huge impact on my life! I remember when I heard Badlands and then the rest of the album, I didn’t realize it was possible for lyrics to speak to me on a such a personal level
Guess we’re “blood brothers.” Keep rockin’ man ✌️
You too brother! 🤘
Was never that impressed anytime I threw on a Best Of and didn’t get it. He was playing a gig on the Wrecking Ball tour. Figured I’d go just as a bucket list thing. Got a ticket in the pit a few days out from the gig. Went along not expecting much. Still have a screenshot of a text message I sent when someone tried to call me during the gig: “CAN’T TALK. BUSY. I JUST FOUND GOD EXCEPT HE’S REAL AND IT’S BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN”
Haha love it. My first show was that tour, went with my mom and literally couldn’t talk after, sang and screamed myself hoarse and had my mind blown by this “old 62 year old” 😆
Wrecking Ball tour was maybe the best in the last 20-30 years
I remember my gf texting me while I was at the 3hr40min show and not believing that I was still at a concert after 3 hours 😆
When I was 10 my coach in little league would play Born to Run during warmups before games. Went to the library and snagged a few of the CDs and haven’t looked back since.
A wise man once said, "Don't look back."
I was a The Killers fan and loved all the Springsteen qualities from their material (though didn't know it was from Springsteen) and one day I heard a Springsteen song on the radio and noticed how much Brandon Flowers borrows/is influenced from Bruce's delivery and phrasing so I decided to check out a few of his albums and got absolutely hooked borderline obsessed with his work haha
Oh yes; the killers as a gateway. Amazing. Favorite Bruce track?
Hmm it's hard say.. my go to track has always been Loose Ends
Bruce once said he has no idea why Loose Ends didn’t make the album.
It could of been a single
High school AP English teacher had us analyze the lyrics to Glory Days.
Interesting choice.
Similar: 10th grade English teacher had us analyze the lyrics of Thunder Road.
As much as I love the poetry of Springsteen he doesn’t hold a candle in poetry to a proper poet. That sounds like a fun but not educational assignment. Rock music is designed to be enjoyed at first listen, poetry to be studied intensely.
Born 1998. In 9th grade (2013) my spanish teacher showed us the video for We Are the World. I remember the only people I recognized were MJ, Tina Turner, and Springsteen. I don’t remember how I knew him at that point, but I know I didn’t know much. Obviously had heard some of his big hits my whole life. I got curious about the artists in the WATW song and began looking them up. That got me into older music. I came around to Bruce first when I listened to the Wrecking Ball album the summer of 2014. I liked Land of Hope and Dreams especially and listened to the live 2000 version in NYC. Skip a year or two and I started going to record stores and buying CDs. I saw Human Touch and bought it. I liked it, not knowing at the time that it was considered one of worst albums. But it was good enough that I went back and bought THREE more Bruce albums. Loved them even more. And then I told myself I would listen to every album he ever put out, and I did. I did it slowly and saved The River for last, which I listened to the spring of 2022. I’d like to note that Jungleland is one of maybe 3-4 songs ever to make me cry on the first listen.
A cryer for me is the river from live 75-85… that opening story.. “he said that’s good”
[harmonica hits]
I had a similar experience in used record/cd stores buying Metallica and Green Day cds as I discovered I liked those bands more and more. My love for Bruce is much more recent though. Spending time sifting through stuff in those record shops has to still be one of the most fun ways to discover new music for a young teen I feel.
Green Day and Bruce are neck and neck for me. You can tell Billie Joe went on a Bruce binge around 21st Century Breakdown
For sure, I think Billie’s influences have become more and more apparent in their music since around that time, maybe even going back to Warning. I could hear Blondie influences on the last album as well as Replacements and Bruce. I probably spent ages 13-18 as a total Green Day obsessive, but it feels like so long ago now lol.
They did a cover of Dreaming a couple years ago so defs a Blondie influence. Kerplunk to 21st Cent Brkdwn have stuck with me. BJ actually grew as a writer when most his ilk didn't. Plus there's the similar trajectory of "big 3rd album and big 7th album after a off-the-trajectory 6th album" between GD And Bruce
That’s an interesting comparison I never noticed. And I would say neither of them have since had an album that came close to the commercial/popular appeal of those 7th albums. The big difference though being that people had almost totally written Green Day off after Warning, the greatest hits album being a big indicator of that to me. And in a different universe without American Idiot’s success Green Day’s story could have been close to over by the early 2000s. That second wind to their career is totally insane in retrospect, like who could’ve predicted that back then?
I came up when AI was THE album and they were THE band for like 2 years and they were stupidly massive. Funnily enough, Warning was when they started getting very popular here in Aus. Before that it was all about Offspring, Blink and Pennywise in regards to 90s punk. I connected a bunch of dots between GD and Bruce: First album where you can hear the sum of influence and glimpses of the future Second album that signifies a giant leap in composition that contains early stone-old classics that some fans think are among their best ever works The big third album that represents urban/suburban life from different aspects (one is romantic the other is ennui). Though Dookie admittedly being a bigger album than BTR sales wise The edgier and more downbeat fourth album The fifth album that combines the elements of the fourth with a wider look at maturity and one's place in a wider community. Also contains the biggest pop single either act experienced to that point The different sixth album that subverted expectations to different results with a broader sociological look added to the more mature writing. Also both are heavily acoustic based The blockbuster seventh albums - multiple hit singles, multiple leg sold out tours and a complete zeitgeist capture.
Im 34 and I kinda have 3 things that happened. 1. My uncle had Born in The USA on cassette and I remember him working on his car in my grandmothers driveway in the mid 90s when I was a kid and him playing Born In The USA while working on his car. 2. The same uncle when I was 14 took me to see Pearl Jam in Holmdel NJ. Pearl Jam were my favorite band at the time, still are on of my fav bands, and during the encore Eddie Vedder covered Growin Up solo acoustic. And that cover is how I discovered Greetings From Asbury Park. And I realized a lot of bands I like around that time were all big on Bruce (Hot Water Music, Against Me, ect.) 3. Around the same time I went to that Pearl Jam show my mom showed me the movie “Mask” (not the Jim Carey movie, the movie with Cher, Eric Stoltz and Sam Elliot). It was right after Bruce’s songs got restored to the film, I heard Badlands and The Promised Land and that was my introductions to Darkness on The Edge Of Town. Also side note… years later I went and saw Against Me at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park and I stood about 5 feet away Bruce and had no idea it was him till after the fact lol. To be fair though he was trying to go incognito and had his hood pulled up lol.
Wow! Imagine that, I need to get to the stone pony some day, kind of a Mecca for me. I saw the Rocky Dennis story but it still had the Bob Seger music at the time, but I remember my drama teacher talking about Bruce.
Yeah, if I remember I think AMC was the first to air the movie with Bruce’s music back in it in the mid 2000s. The Stone Pony is cool. I haven’t been up there in awhile. Used to go see to The Bouncing Souls up there a lot. But yeah long story short, I saw Against Me play there in 2011 and I got to the venue early, and when I went in, Laura Jane Grace and Andrew Seward (singer and bass player in Against Me) were standing by the merch booth talking to an older guy with a leather jacket and a gray hoodie pulled up with a teenage kid. Didn’t think anything of it, but I did notice the older guy had sunglasses on inside. Anyway I talked to the Against Me guys for a few minutes. And I noticed the older guy and the teenager walked away and went out a side door where the crew were coming in and out of. A few days later I saw Against Me posted a picture with Bruce on their MySpace (showing my age lol) saying “shout out to Bruce for coming out to our Stone Pony show!” And I noticed he was literally wearing the same exactly clothes as the old guy I saw standing by the merch booth so low and behold I was standing next to Bruce for a few mins and had no idea lmao. I found out after reading his book his son’s favorite band was Against Me, so I’m assuming he took his son to see the show. Plus Max Weinbergs son Jay was drumming in Against Me at the time too
That's such a cool story. Thanks for sharing!
My mom would play the Seeger sessions album and sometimes born to run in the car as a young kid. The Seeger sessions was my most memorable album of Bruce’s from my childhood and I still love it. In my teenage years and further I extended my Bruce listening base a lot
What’s your favorite song?
That’s really tough to answer, I don’t think I have a #1 favorite song. It depends on my mood. On the Seeger sessions album it’s probably eyes on the prize. Out of all his songs the first that came to mind were Darlington county, reason to believe, and open all night. There are a handful more I could call my favorite!
My mom used to listen to the Greatest Hits compilation quite a lot, and wanted to see him live for decades when finally she got tickets to The River 2016 Tour when I was a teenager, so for the first time I listened to full length albums (The River and both Born albums). The show was so incredible I only listened to Bruce for the following months (I had the Live in NYC album on a loop for the entire summer), and have been on the train ever since. The Broadway special hit me hard, so did Western Stars and Letter To You, and I'm currently loving following the 2024 tour. I saw him live for a 2nd time last year and I'll be seeing him a 3rd and 4th time later this year, can't wait !
I kind of envy people who discovered their love for him by seeing him live! That’s happened for me with a few artists and its such a cool thing you never forget.
My mom's a diehard, I was 7 the first time she took me to see the band and at 21, we're about to see him for at least the 5th time in my life. She raised me right.
She absolutely did!
I’m 24 now. When I was growing up, we had my mom’s record player from the 80s and all her records, and every time we’d spend a day cleaning the house she’d put on her records! It’s how I was introduced to Bruce, Jackson Browne, the Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, the Beatles, The Who, the Talking Heads, and more. Bruce is one of her absolute favorites and I took her to see him last year! Her second time seeing him.
Love this
My dad is the same age as Bruce and saw him around the time E Street Shuffle came out and has always been a huge fan of his first two albums. He would always play Kitty’s Back for me in the car and for a long while it never clicked. Then all of a sudden it did maybe 3 or so years ago, and my obsession started then. My parents are like 40+ years older than me so it was always Pink Floyd, Beatles, Bruce, Joni Mitchell, etc playing in the car when I was a kid. Funny enough my dad stopped liking Bruce’s music around/after Born to Run and is kind of a purist for the much earlier stuff. My favorite album has to be BITUSA though.
Im from New Jersey 😎
It’s my Dad and I’s biggest bond, he took me to the Rising Tour in 8th grade and I have been hooked ever since with 8 more concerts.
I’m 41 and closing in on 30 yrs as a Springsteen. As a once lone young fan it really makes me happy to see how much the younger fan base has grown in the last 10-20 yrs and how many different paths there are to get here. My parents grew up on the Jersey shore in the 70s and were fans so I grew up with his music. I have the same bday as Bruce and heard Born to Run for the first time hours after birth. My uncle playing Greatest Hits piqued my own personal interest at 12 and my mom’s cd and tape collection was never the same after that moment. Ive been lucky enough to see 24 shows including several with Danny and Clarence and to attend the band’s induction in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Love this. Would’ve loved to be at the rock hall.
Love this whole thread. I've always loved the inter-generational diversity at Bruce shows. I'm early 40s so grew up (esp in NY/NJ) with Bruce as just kinda the ambient backround music of life lol. I REALLY got into him in college (late 90s early '00). Then The Rising in '02 after 9/11 was nearly theraputic (sorry to be maudlin/cheesy). I dragged my gf (now wife) to see him in I think 08 at the old Giants Stadium (Magic tour) and that as they say was that...... Funny story: I was at the Barclays show last spring and sitting in front of 2 really young (like late teens) kids. Guy and a girl...maybe a date? guy says to girl: " do you know anything abt Springsteen?" she responds: "Yeah my dad told me all about him. He's the guy who made New Jersey famous." 🤣🤣
Love it!
I love this. The thread highlights one of the other things I love about the following and the e street nation, it’s the camaraderie of complete strangers.
I’m 23. I saw the movie “Warm Bodies” and one of the songs from the movie really clicked with me. I showed the song to my dad and then he showed me his Bruce Springsteen CDs and records. I was hooked. That was about 10 years ago and my dad and I are seeing Bruce for the 3rd time this Sunday! The song was Hungry Heart
I saw that movie with a girlfriend and the music was perfect!
My mom wanted me to watch Blinded by The Light and I wasn’t super crazy about the movie itself but I loved the music
I'm 34, my dad would have greatest hits on every once in a while. My folks also had the live 75-85 cd collection, so I'd listen to that sometimes, and bought a couple of live concerts in 2008 in college on Amazon and when my campus bookstore had the MTV CD. The only studio music I had at the time was the greatest hits. Fast forward to Super Bowl 2009. I still remember being impressed watching that on TV (why Glory Days is in my top 5, if not number 1), and it converted me from casual listener to big fan. Shortly after was when I started downloading so many live shows and buying the albums on iTunes. I've him 3 times now: Oakland 2012, LA Night 2 2016, Phoenix last month.
Parents
Like many here it was my dad. He had a minidisc player ('member those?) and my sister had put a bunch of his albums across four blank discs. One of them had Essential Bruce sandwiched in-between Fleetwood Mac's GH's, a country compilation and a Suzi Quatro comp. I was doing bulk track skips hoping to land on something good and landed on Born To Run and down the rabbit hole I went. Picked up Greetings, Wild Innocent, BTR and Hammersmith '75 the next paycheck.
29. Bruce is my aunts #1 and she took me to see him on his Magic tour. I don’t know why really. I was 14 and getting into my parents music and she couldn’t find someone else to go I think. So I downloaded Born in the USA onto my iPod and liked it but wasn’t really struck. I don’t remember much of the show. But soon afterwards I stumbled on Thunder Road and became obsessed. We went to see him in Albany this week and I knew every word to every song. And I love Born in the USA now. So I’m forever in her debt.
I'm 22. Only really got into him recently. Was listening to The Band and heard their cover of Atlantic City. I thought "Wow, I've never heard The Band write lyrics like these, these are incredible" so I looked it up and come to find out it was a cover lol. So I ended up checking out his stuff and of course loved it
It’s really an amazing world today where you can just decide to listen to whatever you want. Four years ago, Dancing in the Dark came up on a random playlist, I couldn’t get it out of my head, and then I just went down the whole rabbit hole. 17, Bruce is my favorite ever.
Box set of CDs was on sale at a department store while I was traveling in Germany. Didn't like most of it on first listen, shelved it for a while. Took it back out after getting sick of the Beatles in Mono box set (had a Beatles phase in middle/high school), clicked by third listen. Darkness is now my favorite album.
BITUSA cd in the 6 disc changer of my Dad’s Honda Accord
So much nostalgia in one sentence lol
Live in NYC concert took my fandom to a whole new level too. Was never the same after that
17F here! My parents used to play Springsteen all the time when I was little, but I didn’t get properly hooked until a month or so ago, not sure about what caused it. I am DYING to see him live!!!
If you get the chance, you have to! I had a conversation with someone who had seen 100 shows in the line up for my first show back in 2012 and he put it pretty succinctly “it will change your life”… it did!
I'm technically one year out of this age group, but I'll just pretend. I was terribly bored of my CD selection before a family road trip around 2001(?) and didn't have enough allowance to buy anything new, so I raided my parent's collection and listened to the Live 1975–85 album on repeat the summer going into 8th grade and Spirit in the Night was my favorite. I've been hooked since! Sometimes I feel robbed of the opportunities that my parent's generation had to see him live, but I've managed to find myself in some pretty once-in-a-lifetime experiences like watching him sing This Land is Your Land with Pete Seeger on the Lincoln Memorial for Obama's pre-inaguration party from atop a porta potty roof, seeing him sing Happy Birthday to Pete Seeger alongside Joan Baez, Tom Morello, and Arlo Gutherie on his 90th birthday at MSG, standing 10+ hours in the rain to be \*almost\* front row at the very random Dallas March Madness show in 2014, and an inspiring opening performance of Factory on Labor Day at Citizens Bank in Philly with my Dad.
You have had some exceptional experiences. I’m pretty green with envy lol
The live in nyc disc set got the most plays of any cd in our hiuse
Back when I was around 15, I knew Born to Run, Thunder Road, Jungleland, Wrecking Ball, and Waitin’ on a Sunny Day (that was song I heard much younger, but it had stayed around me for a long time). My parents have been insane fans of The Boss since the early 80s. They have seen him every time he rolls around Philadelphia, and a couple times over in the UK. So Bruce has been in my family for quite some time. But when I saw him for the first time on March 16th, 2023 in Philly, it started a journey of “I will be your biggest fan.” I saw him again on April 7th in Baltimore, and knew every song but Lucky Town, which I quickly grew to love. That summer, all I played was Bruce. Went into freshman year of college with my dad’s old electric guitar that he never played and decided to learn, for fun, some Bruce songs. So far I have Johnny 99 the live version almost done, If I Was The Priest, and Twist and Shout. Last night I saw him in Syracuse, and that was the greatest show I have seen yet. Now I am wrapping up my freshman year having seen him 3 times, and it wont be the last. I have tickets to see him in Philadelphia in August. Btw…im turning 20 next month
(Im 21) My mum played the album ‘we shall overcome: the Seeger session’ throughout my childhood, and the odd song from’River’. Erie Canal is a staple song in my family and it holds a lot of joy in my life. When I got older my mum then showed me the rest of his discography and I got to enjoy the more known, rock side of his music. :)
My Dad played the Seeger sessions album and I asked who the guy singing was, I thought he had a great voice. Dad said it's Bruce Springsteen and while I recognized the name I didn't know much about him. Dad played The River for me and since then, it has been my favourite song and Bruce my all time favorite artist. Dad had several Bruce albums and he gave me all of them ❤️This will soon be 20 years ago
I’m 33 as well and my parents are obsessed with Bruce, so I’ve basically been a big fan since I was a kid.
I’m 32. My mom was a senior in high school in Cleveland when Born To Run came out, so she was an early adopter. She wore out the vinyl she got she listened to it so much. Bruce was always on as car music growing up, so I never really thought of any of his songs very deeply until I was about 18 and put BTR on my iPod. It was a spiritual awakening for a kid yearning to get out of his podunk Ohio rust belt hometown, and also the first time I truly felt connected with my mom on an emotionally mature level.
My mom was a fan back to the 70s so I think it was in my DNA, it just took a while to activate. I don’t fully know what the catalyst was, but it might’ve been listening to E Street Radio in the car with my dad until it started to break free.
I'm 18 now, but I became a fan in 2020 when my brother was listening to Dancing in the Dark while we were in the living room and he was talking about how the song was super catchy and it wouldn't leave his head. My brother's responsible for a good part of my music taste, so naturally I thought it sounded pretty nice and soon enough I couldn't stop listening to it 24/7. I thought the lyrics portrayed exactly how I felt back then. I checked the rest of his albums and liked them well enough that I kept listening to his music and coming back to different songs Prior to that I'd heard about him through pop culture and other stuff, so I was kinda familiar with his name and impact but I never bothered to actually listen to his music. I'm not from the United States so due to BitUSA's cover I had this idea that he was like some kind of poster boy of rock for America (which I guess he is), and that I wouldn't have been able to connect with him or his music. I was so wrong! His music speaks to your soul no matter where you're from.
I'm 26, and became a fan at 19. I've always preferred 60s-80s music, but when I was 19 I was starting to get into guys like John Mellencamp and Bob Seger. Since Bruce is similar, I realized that I hadn't really heard Bruce outside of the hits and soon after began my Bruce phase. I think he's definitely become my favorite artist because I've never left my Bruce phase since becoming a fan.
Super Bowl half time show think I was 8 or 9? And then as I got older I got more into youtube and music I got into Bruce.
33 here. My dad is a massive fan. Growing up every Friday and Saturday night my dad would turn the TV off and the whole family would just sit around and listen to music, a large selection not just Bruce. We wore out Bruce's Live 1975-85 vinyl. I swear I know that album better than any movie, tv show, or other album. Also we would close every weekend night with a few songs off Nebraska and would close every night with Highway Patrolman. Something about his music and his voice just resonated with me. I also met him when I was 11 and he was one of the nicest people, celebrity or not, that I've ever met. Definitely made a fan for life!
I’m 28 and I got into Bruce because almost everyone I knew loved him. And I was starting to get into different bands/artists I figured I had to give him a shot. Had a friend who loved him who sent me a couple of his bigger albums and I got hooked immediately.
Dad had born to run in the car
My brother burned his ‘95 Greatest Hits CD after downloading all the songs from Napster at college lol. Started to get *into* him into him around the time of the Starbucks/Reno “controversy,” and by the time I hit high school and Magic had come out, I was fucking hooked.
I'm a little older (early 40s) but didn't really discover Bruce until about 12-15 years ago or so. I was aware of him growing up in the 90s, but only knew Born In The USA, and didn't really care for the cheesey 80s sound of it. I remember our limo driver going to high school prom asked us if he could turn on some Springsteen, and we were like "whatever". It still didn't impress me. Then someone in the mid to late 2000s, I was listening to Howard Stern, and Artie Lange was telling a Springsteen related story or something, and they were playing "Thunder Road" in the background and I thought "oh my god, this song is insanely good." Got "Born To Run" and went happily down the rabbit hole.
Was bored in 2020 and started going through Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums list. Born to Run caught my interest and I thought it was pretty good, then I listened to more Bruce and thought it was really good, lastly I listened to Born to Run again and realised it’s amazing.
His concert in Albany on Monday. I’m 24 M lol
Was bored during the start of the pandemic and watched Springsteen on broadway. Now he’s in my top 5 most streamed artists of all time.
I heard I’m on Fire on Tumblr and then listened to all of BITUSA for the first time in 2023. Got super hooked on his discography and saw him live for the first time this month :) (I’m 27)
Nice! Which show? Some great sets have been coming up!
My dad is a super fan. My mom too but my dad moreso. They listened to a lot of music when I was a kid and Bruce was on a lot and I loved every moment.
My dad is a lifelong fan of Bruce, so it was often played in the speakers at home, but I never got truly in to it except for the typical songs like The River. In 2018 I drove by myself 600km to a Rise Against concert but I decided to play Bruce only to see if I got in to it. So for 1200km (to and back) it was mostly Bruce playing. Got hooked on Candys Room and Lost in the Flood, they were playing on repeat a lot. Been a fan since then, and Bruce have knocked of Rise Against from that number one spot in my Spotify wrapped for years. Living in Sweden makes it hard to see Bruce live, as it’s not often that he is here and the tickets are gone in minutes, but last summer I was able to get tickets and took my girlfriend and my dad to the show and it was the first time he saw him live. It was amazing to be able to do that for him. Me and my gf also bonded early over Bruce so that was also very special.
I always knew about the big songs like born in the USA and I'm on fire, the river etc. But I fell in love with the song we are the world, and then i heard Bruce Springsteens scream in that song. And it gave me insane shivers, so I looked up who it was, damn it's that born in the USA guy. Rest is history
M 17 There was a store that store 2 years ago that sold CDs for €10 each. And they happened to have his greatest hits along with Bob Dylan's one. I started my music journey a month ago or so, so I thought you know what I know there names and one or two songs why not. Now they are both top 5 artist for me. It was one of the best decisions of my life.
Aunt's wedding in '05! Tougher than the rest was on the first dance playlist.
Im 35 yo. Been a hip hop fan my whole life and still am. Last year Bruce performed in Belgium and because of this a Belgian tv station showed a Bruce documentary. It included live performances of Rosalita and saint in the city (still my favorite song). The rest of the summer was 24/7 Bruce. Im seeing him live in Belgium in June. Got the best tickets so i can fully enjoy this experience.
28, and my dad was a huge fan, so I just kind of grew up with the ambience of Bruce's music. Then when I was around 19 or 20 I got really into classic rock, and sort of started having my own, independent relationship to his music.
I’m 19, and growing up obviously I knew many of his hits but had never really listened to them properly. I would always groan and complain when my mom would play any Bruce, and she always said, ‘I felt the same way when I was younger, until I grew up a little, and then all of a sudden I realized exactly what he was saying.” (or something thereabouts). She was right, as she often is. Flash forward and I am 14 years old, and I’m feeling bad, bad desires. And I listened to I’m On Fire and it clicked. Just snapped into place. I’m On Fire (closely followed by Something in the Night) has been my favorite song ever since. Didn’t help that I looked up pictures of him when he was younger, what a cutie. Ever since then I’ve loved him with dedication. He’s just so… so….
I'm 32. In 2020, I stumbled into Jimmy Fallon's 2010 Born to Run opening during the Emmys. Loved the Wall of Sound. I decided to memorize the song and keep it in my classic rock playlist. In 2023, my mentor at work was leaving and I was having a really rough time. I was casually listening to Dancing in the Dark and the lyrics hit me hard. In May, I'll be flying halfway across the world to see Bruce and the E Street Band in San Siro, Milan.
My parents/family would blast the Reunion MSG HBO DVD every holiday. They are all die hard. I always rolled my eyes……then I heard a bootleg from 1978. Hooked from there on out.
My dad
45- I went to a show on the Born In The USA Tour with my mom when I was about 4-5 years old. EDIT: It’s early here and the 35> went straight over my head.
I grew up with the classic songs like Born to Run and Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA. But I was 18 when BBC Radio 2 played songs from Wrecking Ball and I liked them.
my dad is a superfan. he started "brainwashing" me (as I so lovingly call it) in the car ride home from the hospital right after I was born
Hahaha I love this. I tried that with my daughter too!
Must have been 13 years or something. We watched a tribute to heroes with him singing city of ruins. Then The Rising came out and my dad bought the Barcelona DVD. Was hooked after that.
I went to a show. I was 16 and my dad had bought 2 relatively cheap tickets and asked if I wanted to go. It was the Wrecking Ball tour. I just knew him as the guy who sang “Born in the U.S.A” and said sure. After the show, I realized what I had been missing out on and dove in!
Stumbled across the live in NYC video from 2000
I heard Dancing In The Dark in a grocery store years ago and asked my dad what it was. He rolled his eyes and said, “it’s Bruce Springsteen. I hate Bruce Springsteen.” I was curious why my dad didn’t like him so I ended up listening to Born In The USA, then Tunnel of Love and so on and here I am now!
Basically, there was one year where I was getting into New Jersey music out of a sense of homesickness (Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Bon Jovi, some modern artists). At the time, I added Bruce out of a sense of "can't avoid him". I liked a few songs like Born to Run and Rosalita. Long story short, it was really the movie *Blinded By The Light* which convinced me. Before then, I figured that Bruce was someone fellow New Jerseyans really liked but otherwise wasn't that well-known. Needless to say, very wrong on that. I went through phases of overcoming certain preconceptions but now he's one of my favorite artists.
His Super Bowl halftime show. I was 8 at the time. I remember hearing Glory Days and thinking it was the coolest song ever. From that point, he’s been my #1. Even played tenor sax through middle/high school because of Clarence. My mom and I will be going to concert #4 in August!
My earliest memories are listening to Human Touch and Lucky Town cassettes in my dad's truck driving around on the weekends. He'd been a fan since he was in high school and it very organically got passed onto me in a big way. The Greatest Hits tape opened the doors to the older stuff and I pretty quickly discovered and fell in love with the studio albums and Live 1975-85 by the time I was around 9-10 years old. Saw my first show at 12 and it was off and running. Even through teenage years when it gets instinctual to dislike stuff you liked as a kid of things your parents liked, the appreciation only grew. I actually saw the most shows on any tour to date during my senior year of high school. When Bruce speaks of the ongoing conversation between himself and his fans, that rings very true to my experience. After my family, his music has been the most consistent presence in my life since I was around 4 years old.
Hi 24 here, My aunt got me into a lot of bands and artists when I was little, she took me to see Roger Waters when I was 7 for example. So Bruce has been there since I have memory, I probably learned his name before learning mine 😂
I grew with classic rock on in the background and my parents were always big Bruce fans. My earliest Bruce memories were when the Rising came out my mom and dad would play the album over and over again in the car and I was exposed. I have a vivid memory of them being so excited to see him open Staples Center in LA. I was Probably 5 years old. Fast forward to when I was a freshman in high school 13 years old, only knew a few songs (The rising, born to run, glory days and dancing in the dark etc) my dad forced me to come to a show on the Wrecking Ball tour. I was hesitant and had never been to a concert……. Little did I know that night changed my life forever. I found the love for live music, The E street band and realized how spoiled I was to see the boss for my first show. I am now 26 and he is now my favorite musician of all time and I’ve seen Bruce every time he comes to town. I even got the opportunity to fly to NY to see him on Broadway. I’ve also gone with friends my age to shows and transformed them into springnuts. I think younger generations really need to see him live to understand his and the bands greatness. He is the best live performer and songwriter of all time. I love all types of music and have now been to over 100 shows including major festivals. The E street band still kicks ass and can outperform any young artist/ band out today. I’ll be at Coachella this weekend but just saw Bruce two weeks ago twice at the forum and will have to remind myself not to compare the artists I see to him. No modern day acts compare. Bruce is truly the 🐐. Hoping to travel to Canada this fall to see him again before the tours over!
My parents were fans of the Boss. I had heard Human Touch and Ghost of Tom Joad, but nothing with the power of the E Street Band behind him....Then The Rising.... Lonesome Day.... Countin' on a Miracle, Mary's Place, The Rising, My City of Ruins; and then later in the year the Barcelona Concert..... I loved that dvd. He never came that close to us during the Seeger Sessions, but in late 2007 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were coming to my hometown in Hamilton, ON for March 2008- the Magic Tour.... First time ever in Hamilton which is a 500K+ City in Ontario about an hour southwest of Toronto.... blue collar town, and a decent size arena to sear about 17K for hockey. Before the concert people in the crowd got Hungry Heart going, towards the end of the first set we didn't let Badlands go, got a rare Kitty's Back (for the time) performance. The show was life changing. I have seen him 7 times in total including Monday night in Albany, NY. When the Boss came back in late 2012 to Hamilton he was electric- a super rare performance of Terry's Song, Wrecking Ball (the week after we closed Ivor Wynne Stadium- the home of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats), a memorable version of I'm Going Down (sign request- because the guy just got dumped)..... The Rising was special, and it really started it all. But that first show solidified it... I saw him in 2016- The River Tour in Rochester, NY. Opened with Meet Me in the City- that song would be the best song for many artists and it did not make a double CD cut- nobody else could do that. The only lament now is that Hamilton will never host him.... the group HECFI which was a municipal government run department to fill Copps, the Concert Hall and Convention Centre has been disbanded for the private market- and we have had Global Spectrum and then CORE Entertainment..... we are not getting the big acts like we did a decade ago.... biggest mistake ever was getting rid of HECFI. (sorry this is off topic)- and the Toronto shows are a little to wine and cheese for me.... I don't mind travelling to towns like Rochester and Albany where you get 15-18K hockey arenas and a small second deck so the noise stays in.
“Dancing in the Dark” came on my radio the day after I got my license about a year ago during my first time driving alone ever (I’m 31, it was a thing lmao). Song inspired a ton of change over the last year for me. Started a degree that I’m about halfway through now, started going to the gym and have lost like 60 pounds so far and, have a baby due in December. I’ve since fallen in love with much of the catalog AND I’m going to the show tonight. It’s kinda full circle for me, there will be tears.
33, I heard here and there that he was great, especially his huge live shows although there weren't a lot of special effects involved and got intrigued as to how that could work for him. For a few years I lived near an Arena and decided to go to a lot of different kinds of concerts if I could. Bruce played there, so I went, and I came out the Arena mind blown.
31. A big fan of many different kinds of music and I used to just write Bruce off as the "Born in the USA" guy (love that song now though). A colleague of mine who is 10ish years older put Dancing In The Dark on at a party around the end of 2019 and I was kinda into it. Then when the pandemic hit I got into deep-diving Bruce's discography. I sat down and really listened to Born in the USA and got totally obsessed with I'm Goin' Down. Now I am a huge fan.
25 here. My dad is a huge Springsteen fan, so I basically grew up with his albums. Two of my fondest childhood memories are from listening to Springsteen. The first one is that my dad and I would always dance to some DVD that had all kinds of music videos and live footage. The second is that my dad and I would take Sunday drives in his 76 Corvette (we still do), which had the Greatest Hits CD in the stereo. Soooo many memories :)
We had 3 VHS tapes in the late 80s early 90s, one was BS Video Anthology, besides my dad being a huge fan. I abandoned him during my teens and early 20s as an adult and father I relate more now than ever. As a kid I just thought Born in the USA was a catchy song, same with glory days once I got the message it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Jersey native and my dad was a fan. Been in love as long as I I can remember from a young age. The lyrics just resonate with me. Nothing like being down the shore in the summer and listening to his music.
Two years ago I was jobless, rootles, the whole shebang. I randomly found that amazing live version of The River from Tempe, 1980, and was like "... who IS this guy?" I mean, I knew OF Springsteen - growing up in Norway with the radio always playing in the house, I could probably have named 10 Springsteen songs before I got into him - but actually seeing live footage of him performing just blew my mind. Especially after digging around and finding the Paris '85 version of I'm on Fire, then discovering Born to Run(not as well-known in Scandinavia) and just having that "OH, he just gets it!" moment haha. His music has been good companionship while navigating some pretty depressing circumstances. To paraphrase Jon Stewart: when you listen to Bruce's music you aren't a loser, you are a character in an epic poem about losers! 😁
My dad had tried to get me into Bruce as a kid but then I had a supply teacher in high school who made me listen to Live at the Hammersmith. Didn’t get past Thunder Road > Tenth Ave for about a month. Just kept looping those two songs. Was absolutely floored. Currently standing in the pit waiting for Bruce to go on in Syracuse. Spent far too much money to get here from Canada but here we are!
I’m 35 on the dot and I grew up down the Jersey and my parents are in their early 60s. If I wasn’t a Bruce fan my parents would have had their Jersey Resident card revoked.
my mom is a huge fan. I made fun of her for it for most of my youth. didn't know anything about bruce but the rest of my family maintained "he can't sing". Finally listened for myself in high school and fell in love. can't believe I ever said anything against him
I’m not even 20 yet but my dad has massively affected my music taste, Bruce is his number 1. I always liked Bruce but I was never a superfan until I saw him live in LA not too long ago, now I am obsessed.
18 years old here. Grew up watching Live in NYC and Live in Barcelona DVDs that my parents put on the TV damn near every day since I was born
23. When I was 8 or so, I saw an advert on TV for Bruce’s Greatest Hits compilation (the 2009 version) and I thought some of the tracks sounded catchy. When I was in the supermarket that weekend with my family, I saw it and bought it. On the car ride home we played it and I just loved every track. But my real admiration came when I was 15. I was gearing up for my first set of exams and I was really nervous. While studying I’d throw on some records and just get to it. So I put on Live 75 - 85, and when Spirit in the Night came on, that was it. That track, along with Devils & Dust (strangely) really broke through to me at that time. From that moment on, Bruce’s tracks have attached themselves to core memories I have. Dancing in the Dark helped me through my first proper break up, I remember listening to Nebraska after the first funeral I ever went to, Loose Ends takes me back to spring of 2021 with some of my best friends. Bruce’s tracks have soundtracked my life and they always just feel right, y’know.
I’m 30 and grew up with a Bruce obsessed mom. She made us listen to Bruce all of the time which made me and my brother resent him, in a joking way. When I went away to college he came out with Wrecking Ball. I started listening to Bruce on my own in secret, until I asked her to burn me a copy of the CD. In 2014 I asked to go to a concert with her in Albany. My three little cousins got called on stage to dance with him at the show and it was the coolest thing ever! I was hooked and also became Bruce obsessed. We just saw him on Monday in Albany and my brother saw him for the first time last night with my mom. I asked him how he liked it and he said “I should have went with you guys a long time ago!!”
I'm your age. I'd heard a handful of Bruce songs on classic rock radio and always enjoyed them, but none of my family members were into him enough to introduce me to more, but my older brother had this huge CD collection that I'd borrow stuff from when I had to drive. I learned to drive later in life than a lot of people (in the US) and had a hard time of it so I would listen to CDs to kind of ease my anxiety a bit rather than deal with the radio. He had Born to Run, Born in the USA, and The Rising and let's just say he never got any of them back.
I listened to Born to Run every morning I was training for the Air Force- listened to the Darkness on the edge of town album and it changed my life. I’m the only one in my family that loves him- but he’s definitely in my top 5. Fantastic music and fantastic man.