Your Friday Bruce Fix

Bruce Springsteen, Twist & Shout

Well, I don't know about you, but I've had a pretty hectic and tiring week and with the weekend mere hours away, I'm in the mood to shake it up, baby.  So, with that simple truth as my catalyst, today will feature the first ever all 'Twist & Shout' Friday Bruce Fix. 

For many years, from the 'Born to Run' tour in 1975 through the 'Tunnel of Love' tour in 1988, Bruce Springsteen closed a lot of shows with 'Twist and Shout'.  I suspect it was Bruce's secret weapon, the song he'd tack onto the end of the encores if he suspected the audience had even the slightest bit of energy left and he wanted to hit them with that one last knockout punch. 

This first clip is the final song of the night at the end of what is widely regarded as one of Bruce's finest shows on the 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' tour, and maybe one of his best ever.  From the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey, on September 20th, 1978, here's 'Twist and Shout'.  Check out Bruce's sweat soaked jacket and shirt, just shy of the 8:00 mark, and then the dancing fool that takes over from there. 

I thought it would make for an interesting contrast to have a listen to the original recording. I think for most people, the first time they heard 'Twist and Shout', they were listening to The Beatles' version. With that great recording, and astonishing vocal performance from John, The Beatles pretty much made this song their own. 

The original was recorded in 1961 by a band out of Philadelphia called The Top Notes.  It was produced by a 21 year old named Phil Spector.  I'm guessing The Beatles weren't familiar with The Top Notes' version, but were inspired by The Isley Brothers' recording from a year later.  It was written by Phil Medley (who as far as I can tell, was not related to Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers) and Bert Russell (who as far as I can tell was not related to Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics). 

 

If The Beatles all but stole 'Twist and Shout' from The Top Notes and The Isleys, Matthew Broderick hijacked The Beatles' version, at least for a little while, in his hilarious and joyous performance in 'Ferris Beuller's Day Off'.  As you shut out the light and close your office door behind you at the end of the day today, hold this image of Ferris in your mind, because it's the end of the week, and time to celebrate. While you're doing your best Ferris moves on your way home, I'll be over here, dancing like Brucie in the last minute or so of today's first clip before leaving the stage to the final strains of 'Twist and Shout'.

Happy 'Twist and Shout' Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Cadillac Ranch, Sherry Darling, Hungry Heart, In The Midnight Hour

Bruce Springsteen's 1980/81 tour in support of 'The River' was renowned for its marathon shows that routinely ran about 3 1/2 hours, with maybe a 20 minute intermission in the middle.  He'd do a 90 minute first set and in that one set give you a better show than most acts would in their full show, and you'd know that in 20 minutes, Bruce and the band would come back out and party with you for another 2 hours. 

Bruce would literally play to the point of exhaustion, with the band right there with him.  The audience would also have nothing left in the tank.  I remember the show I saw on that tour, (about 3 weeks after today's clips were shot) from the front row on the floor at the Montreal Forum.  I walked out of there a spent man, at the ripe old age of 23.  I remember having one quiet beer somewhere on Crescent Street with my friends, and then we all just packed it in and went home.  We were done.

Years later, I read a story somewhere that touched on those years in Bruce's life.  As I recall, the gist of that story is that Bruce was going through some serious personal issues at that time, primarily related to having little sense of who he was off stage.  He hated his off stage life, having no significant purpose beyond his music.  So, being on stage was an escape for him from his personal life.  He would play until he had nothing left to give because he just didn't want to leave the stage, knowing how unhappy he could be wherever else he might go.

Today's clips are from rare 8mm film shot by an audience member from the floor, near the stage.  These are from the legendary New Year's Eve show on Long Island as 1980 turned into 1981.  This show reportedly ran through 38 songs in about 4 hours.

'Cadillac Ranch' typically opened the second set on that tour.

'Sherry Darling' usually followed, with the dancer pulled up on stage towards the end of the song.

He'd follow that with 'Hungry Heart', his first big single.  Did you know Bruce wrote 'Hungry Heart' for The Ramones?  Wisely, manager Jon Landau wouldn't let Bruce give that one away.  Good call, Jon.

This being New Year's Eve, to mark midnight, Bruce played Wilson Pickett's 'In The Midnight Hour', then cracked open some champagne and shared it with fans.  Note the cast of characters on stage for the celebration.

As great as Bruce and his E Street Band are these days, so tight, so professional, and still playing with all the joy of rock 'n roll, there was something very special about those shows on the River tour.  Perhaps it was that man with the guitar giving you every last drop of his best, like his life depended on it, and maybe it did.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, City At Night, Taxi Cab, The Way

I think that on one or two occasions (OK, maybe a lot more than that) I may have mentioned that I'd love Bruce Springsteen to release a re-mastered 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' album, in a box set along with a full concert from the Darkness tour in 1978.  I was pleased to learn before Christmas that Bruce, who undoubtedly reads this blog regularly (even Bruce needs a Bruce Fix), decided to take my advice and we now know that said box set is imminent.

The next thing I would like Bruce to do is to release more lost gems from the Darkness recording sessions.  He squeezed a few onto the 'Tracks' box set that he released in 1998, but there are so many more.  One option for Bruce is to release a 'Tracks II".  Another option might be to slip a third disc of studio outtakes, and maybe a couple of live audio tracks, into the upcoming 'Darkness' box set.  Bruce, I appreciate that you took my advice on releasing the 'Darkness' box set, so I'll be good about this and let you choose which of the above two options I've outlined for you, but you must choose one of them.

Today's fix features two outtakes from the 'Darkness' recording sessions.  The first I've long known as 'City At Night', although it is alternately known as 'Taxi Cab'.  (We'll find out which it is now that Bruce knows what he has to do.)  I find 'City At Night' very cinematic and can visualize it set to scenes of Robert De Niro driving around in his cab in Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. 

Since we know that De Niro stole his famous "You talkin' to me?" line from Bruce (see the June 5, 2009 fix), I wonder if Bruce was somehow inspired by the movie to write this song.  The timeline is right.  Bob saw Bruce in 1975, 'Taxi Driver' came out in 1976, Bruce recorded 'City At Night' in 1977.  It all adds up.

'The Way' is a nice, romantic ballad that clearly didn't belong, either musically or lyrically, on the Darkness album.  Another example is 'Hearts of Stone' which I featured in the October 23, 2009 fix.  These are just some of the many great songs that didn't make the cut, but are worthy of being properly mixed and mastered so we can enjoy them the way they deserve to be heard.

Happy Friday! 

Bruce Springsteen, The Fever

I just got off the phone with a friend who's not feeling well.  No, it's not H1N1 flu, but he does have a fever, and it seems to get worse at night.  Many Fridays I have no idea what I'm going to write about, but sometimes the inspiration comes from somewhere unexpected, like a friend's misery.  If my friend has a fever, then I think it's only fair that we spread 'The Fever' around on this Friday, for everyone who's feeling under the weather today. 

Hmmmm, I know that any flu is no laughing matter, but since having a fever tends to be one of the symptoms of flu patients, do you suppose there might be an opportunity for 'The Fever' to become the official song of the 2009/2010 flu season?  Is it even possible to sponsor a flu season?  You can sponsor the Olympics and they only last a couple of weeks.  A good flu seaons lasts for months!  Might be a great opportunity.  You don't see Jon Landau coming up with gems like this. Hey Bruce, let's do lunch.

Bruce wrote 'The Fever' back in 1971 and considered releasing it on his second album, 'The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle'.  He did record it in studio and his manager Mike Appel sent a copy of the recording to radio stations, perhaps including KLOL-FM in Houston.  On a subsequent tour through Houston in 1974, Bruce recorded it at KLOL for broadcast the same afternoon.  The next night, Bruce played it live in concert, for the first time following its only other live performances about a year earlier.  Here is that second ever live performance, from March 10, 1974, at Liberty Hall in Houston.

Bruce never did release 'The Fever' back in those days and in 1976 he let his Jersey shore pal Southside Johnny record it for his debut album.  This great song certainly helped Johnny launch his recording career.  If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check out the great live video clip of Bruce joining Johnny on stage in August of 1978 to perform 'The Fever', which you can find in the July 24, 2009 edition of Your Friday Bruce Fix. 

In December of 1978, Bruce played two shows at Winterland in San Francisco, site of The Band's 'The Last Waltz'.  The clip is from the first of those shows, and is one of my favorite performances of this great song. 

Happy Feverish Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, The Light In Darkness, Summertime Blues, Badlands, The Promised Land, Prove It All Night

In my entire life, only once have I lined up overnight in order to buy tickets for anything.  It was 1978, and my university buddies and I took turns holding our spots in line, eventually scoring two sets of six seats on the floor at the historic Montreal Forum for Bruce's November 8, 1978 concert.  That was a long time ago, and I have to confess I don't remember much about the show, nor do I think it changed my life, but I have no doubt that it was the most exhilarating performance I ever saw.  I also know that it was everything rock and roll should be and I walked out of the Forum knowing I would be a Bruce fan for life.

After all the hype and the well deserved breakthrough success of 1975's 'Born to Run', and the subsequent frustration and near career death experience of his legal battles with Mike Appel in 1976 and 1977, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were finally free to resume their assault on the rock and roll world.  They returned to the recording studio, and in 1978, Bruce delivered his latest masterpiece 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' to Columbia Records.  On May 23rd, 1978, Bruce and the boys set out on a ferocious seven month tour of North America in support of the album.

Lawrence Kirsh's great new book 'The Light In Darkness' documents this tour through a collection of photographs and essays submitted by fans who, each in their own way, have strong emotional connections to and recollections of this tour.  I'm about half-way through the book, and I'm struck by all the passion and detailed memories people have regarding the Darkness album and tour.  Reading this book has inspired this week's Friday Bruce Fix.  It would also make a great companion piece to the much anticipated commemorative Darkness box set, with a remastered audio disc, full length concert DVD and any other goodies that might be hiding somewhere in a vault.  (Come on Brucie......  please???) 

One of Bruce's greatest talents is his ability to write, record and perform in a way that enables forming powerful connections with his fans, who in turn connect with important people in their lives and build families and communities. For a lot of people, Darkness and its tour came along at a time in their lives when they were figuring out who they were, where they were going, what they valued, where they drew the lines, and what they believed was possible. 

It is no coincidence that Bruce and his band were at the same point in their evolution.  It is something that naturally happens as we transition fully into adulthood.  Continuing to this day, I believe that people who were too young in 1978 to notice, or perhaps had not even been born, are able to go back to the Darkness album and tour and make those connections if they are at such similar points in their lives.  The themes Bruce dealt with on that album are easy for us to identify with and relate to in our own lives.  Those songs become our songs and our stories.

Reading Lawrence Kirsh's book reminds me that this band was on a mission, taking no prisoners, running from town to town simultaneously discovering and proving their greatness, and redefining what a rock concert could be.  There were many legendary moments and concerts on this tour, and in this week's fix, I'll highlight three great concerts.

The first clip (audio plus slideshow) features the opening two songs, 'Summertime Blues' and 'Badlands', from the August 9th show at the Agora in Cleveland. 

The second clip comes from the August 15th stop at the Capital Center in Largo, MD, featuring a joyous performance of 'Promised Land'.  I especially love the four consecutive solos from Danny, Steve, Clarence and Bruce. 

Finally, from September 19th at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, comes a scorching performance of 'Prove It All Night', with Bruce in full guitar hero mode, proving it with everything he had, as he did in every song on every stop on this tour.

To learn more about 'The Light In Darkness', go to www.thelightinDarkness.com

 
  
Happy Darkness Friday!

 

Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, You Mean So Much to Me, Hearts Of Stone

After last week's mammoth Friday Bruce Fix featuring The Big Man (or is it Big Man?) himself, I've decided I need to pare this one down a little.  I just can't feature five clips every week.  That pace would kill me, and that wouldn't do any of us any good, would it? 

By the time Bruce Springsteen went into the studio to record his first album, 'Greetings From Asbury Park', he had been writing and performing his own songs for perhaps seven or eight years in a variety of bands.  He had amassed a wealth of material from which to choose featuring a range of styles and themes. 

When choosing tracks to include on any of his albums, Bruce is always careful to ensure that those he chooses work well with each other and form a coherent whole.  This sometimes means great songs are left off albums, and many of those found their way onto 1998's 'Tracks' 4 cd box set. 

Today's first clip features a song that didn't make it onto 'Greetings From Asbury Park'.  From a July 31, 1973 gig at My Father's Place in Rosalyn, NY, 60 minutes of which were broadcast on radio, here's a great version of 'You Mean So Much to Me'.  It was originally written for and performed with the Bruce Springsteen Band in 1971. 

Bruce never released 'You Mean So Much to Me' but later gave it to his Asbury Park buddy Southside Johnny who released it in 1976 on his first album 'I Don't Want to Go Home'.  For that recording, Southside shared vocal duties with Ronnie Spector of the "Ronnettes", and also the former wife of Phil Spector, he of the wall of sound and Russian roulette fetish.  Here's how it sounded with the Southside Johnny & Miami Steve wall-of-horns treatment.

The mid to late '70s were a particularly fertile song writing period for Bruce, with many outstanding songs being left off 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' and 'The River'.  'Hearts Of Stone' is one such example.  He wrote it in 1977, quite possibly with the intention of giving it to Southside Johnny.  Whether or not that was his intent, this great song didn't really belong on 'Darkness'.  Instead, it became the title track of Southside's all-time best album in 1978.

Clip number three for this week is Bruce's original recording that was later released on 'Tracks', followed immediately by Southside's classic interpretation.  I think I hear Miami Steve singing background vocals on both tracks, and that's Stevie's fine lead guitar work on Southside's recording.

There, that wasn't nearly so mammoth, was it?  Well, maybe just slightly less mammoth.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, David Letterman, Paradise By The 'C', From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come), Dave Edmunds, Big Man

This week, I'm proud to present what may be the biggest Friday Bruce Fix ever, if not in content, then certainly in spirit.  My inspiration comes from last week's big news that the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined Twitter.  The avid Bruce Springsteen community that exists on Twitter has happily welcomed Clarence Clemons, and since many of those fine folks have found their Friday Bruce Fix through my interactions with this community, I thought it would be a great idea to welcome Clarence through this huge blog post. 

Clarence, once you find your way here, please post a comment, or say hi on Twitter.  And, so long as I'm speaking to you directly, is it "Big Man" or "The Big Man"?  Perhaps "Big Man" when addressing you directly, but "The Big Man" when referring to you in the third person? 

This week's massive post is the perfect segue from last week's post that featured Bruce on David Letterman's show.  The thread that runs from last week to this week is David Letterman, but this week I'm supersizing Your Friday Bruce Fix by featuring the man Bruce has called many things including the King of the World, the Master of Disaster, and two of my personal favorites, the Duke of Paducah and the Mayor of Half of Bayonne.  I'll let Bruce handle the introductions.

Bruce frequently opened the second set of the 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' tour with this original composition called 'Paradise By The C' or perhaps 'Paradise By The Sea'.  It certainly set the tone for the party that was the second set, and of course, Clarence's playing is brilliant.  Bruce, we are still waiting somewhat impatiently for the 'Darkness' box set with re-mastered audio and a full concert DVD.  Clarence, I'm hoping you could give Bruce a little nudge and set the whole thing in motion.  Much appreciated!

Now, on to the David Letterman thread.  Clarence appeared on Dave's daytime show prior to Dave's move to late night television.  The timing of this seems to be 1984 near the start of the massive 'Born in the USA' tour.  This was Clarence's take on Bruce's composition 'From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)'.  Crank up the volume and I defy you to sit still while watching this one.

Since this is Your Friday Bruce Fix, I thought maybe I should give The (?) Big Man's sidekick a little screen time. Here's Bruce's orginal recording of the same song, an outtake from the late 1979 recording sessions for 'The River'. He would eventually release it on the bonus third disc of the 'Essentials' box set.

Perhaps Bruce felt that a song this great needed to be heard. Since it didn't make the cut to be on 'The River', he gave it to Dave Edmunds who, in 1982, released what some say is the definitive version of this song.  Of course, I can't actually say that here on Your Friday Bruce Fix, where Bruce is better than everybody else, so I won't say that Dave Edmunds' is the definitive version.  What I will say is that I love the arrangement, the horns and how it really cooks.

I also wanted to highlight the fact that Clarence has recently released his new book 'Big Man'.  You can read more about it and order your very own copy here:  http://www.bigmanthebook.com/  Since the current tour is rapidly coming to a close, the Big Man will need a significant new source of income, so please, buy a copy, in fact buy several, and tell all your friends to buy copies, too.  Clarence needs our support in order to continue living the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. 

An enormously Big and Happy Friday to all!

Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Janey Needs A Shooter, Jeannie Needs A Shooter, Disorder In The House, My Ride's Here

I've written in previous posts (see March 6, 2009 and March 20, 2009) about how some of Bruce Springsteen's songs have evolved through different versions into their final, officially released form.  Some of these songs need time for both the lyrical and musical ideas to gel, and others just need time to find the right home.  Our first song in this week's Friday Bruce Fix might be an example of both.

'Janey Needs A Shooter' first made an appearance in 1972 as a solo piano piece recorded as a demo.  It would again be recorded in studio in February of 1973.  It didn't make the cut for either of Bruce's first two albums, both released in 1973, and a few years later came out of hiding to be recorded in 1978 during the 'Darkness of the Edge of Town' sessions.  The song evolved lyrically and musically along the way, but it never did find a home on any of Bruce's albums.  Have a listen to the 1978 version, and when you're done, click the back button on your browser so we can continue.  I'll wait for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc9DutLq58Q

Janey's search for a home leads us to Warren Zevon, who died almost exactly 6 years ago, on September 7th, 2003.  In 1980, Warren released an album called 'Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School', which contained a song called 'Jeannie Needs a Shooter'.  It is probably a bit of a stretch to call this a collaboration between Bruce and Warren.  I've had trouble digging up the story, but it seems to me as though Bruce played 'Janey Needs A Shooter' for Warren, gave him the song title to work with, and the idea behind the song.  Warren came up with a variation on the title, a very similar chorus, and otherwise completely different lyrics.  Janey/Jeannie found a home.  Here's a live performance from Warren.

Warren was diagnosed in late 2002 with a terminal form of cancer.  Rather than receive treatments he believed would incapacitate him, Warren went into the studio to write and record his final album, 'The Wind', which would go on to win Warren the only two Grammy Awards of his 30+ year career.  One of those Grammy's was for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group With Vocal, with Bruce contributing his vocal and some searing guitar leads.  That song, 'Disorder In The House' would be the final collaboration between Bruce and Warren.

Bruce was on tour in 2003 when Warren died.  His next concert was three nights later, September 10th, in Toronto.  I was lucky enough to be in attendance.  Bruce took the stage with just a few of his band mates and started the evening with a heartfelt performance of Warren's song 'My Ride's Here'.

Happy Friday!

Bruce Springsteen, Meeting Across The River, Jungleland

It's a warm and sunny summer day here in Friday Bruce Fix land.  I've not been able to say that very often this summer.  The rain has never seemed far away the last couple of months, always lurking on the horizon, ready to pounce on our rare and precious sunny days.  Sometimes the rain falls so hard that I imagine it's the hardest rain I've ever seen fall.  Other times, we're blessed with a soft summer rain, and this not-so-young-any-more man's thoughts turn to a bare foot girl sitting on the hood of a dodge. (Then I realize she's drinking a warm beer and run to my fridge to make sure it's still keeping my beloved Caffrey's just north of freezing.)

One of the many great moments on the Born to Run album is the transition from 'Meeting Across the River' to 'Jungleland' and how beautifully the former sets up the latter.  I can remember listening to that album over and over in the basement of my parents' house in 1975.  I'd lie on the floor in the dark with the headphones on, late at night after everyone else in the house had gone to bed.  I think I used to turn the volume up a bit for 'Meeting Across the River'.  Somehow that seemed to fit the song's mood and atmosphere, and I could almost picture Eddie, crossing over to the other side, trying his best to make that one big score.  I don't know whether he needed to prove it to himself more than to his girl Cherry, but maybe they both needed to feel that Eddie really was somebody.

Both clips today come from a widely bootlegged classic performance at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ in September of 1978.  Watch them in proper sequence, with as little time between them as possible.  In fact, turn off the lights, lie down on the floor (especially if you're at work) and turn the volume up to 11.  Really, I don't think anyone around you will mind.  Tell them it's been a long week and you need Your Friday Bruce Fix.  They'll understand. 

'Jungleland' is unquestionably one of my all-time favorite Bruce tunes.  (I probably have only 50 or so such favorites.)  It's a great story, it is cinematic, it rocks, it can make you cry, it is a powerful and sprawling epic with a great emotional arc, and it features the single greatest sax solo in the history of rock 'n roll. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching 'Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run', the documentary DVD that Bruce included in the 30th anniversary edition box set released in 2005. As much as anything, I loved the story of how Bruce pieced together Clarence's sax solo from the numerous tracks they had recorded. Once Bruce had assembled all the best bits in the right order, he taught Clarence the solo and the rest is history.  Bruce was just like a master wine blender assembling the best lots of wines made from different grapes, from different vineyards, resulting in one classic wine for the ages.

I loved the performances on the Darkness tour for the sheer force and passion of a band both proving and discovering how great there really were. (By the way Brucie, I know you're reading this... Isn't it about time you gave us that Darkness box set we're all waiting for, complete with full concert footage, a making-of documentary, etc.)  This performance of 'Jungleland' has it all, with special mention going to Roy's piano, Vinnie..., I mean Steve's solo, Clarence's solo and Bruce's vocal, particularly that final, mournful wail.

Happy Summery Friday, and try giving 'em one of those final mournful wails on your way out the door at the end of your working day! 

Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, The Fever, I Don't Want To Go Home

One of Bruce Springsteen’s long time Asbury Park buddies is Southside Johnny.  I know, weird first name, and for that matter, a weird second name too.  Johnny's real name is John Lyon, not to be confused with John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten.  He acquired the Southside nickname due to his love of the blues and R&B music that came out of Chicago's South Side.  In some circles, Johnny is considered the godfather of the New Jersey sound, and Jon Bon Jovi has cited Southside as the reason he became a singer. 

Bruce wrote the following for the liner notes to Johnny's 1976 debut album 'I Don't Want To Go Home'.  "Southside Johnny... One of the weirdest guys I ever saw.  He used to dress just like my old man.  He was definitely comin' in from the outside.  First time I saw him he was playin' bass behind one of the early legends in Asbury, a guy named Sonny Kenn.  Johnny was terrible.  This was a person that could not play bass.  But he could sing and play harp and he knew a lot about the blues.  Once I talked to him, I realized he wasn't as weird as he looked... he was weirder, and his general conversation consisted of insulting everyone within 50 feet.  But he was the only white kid on the Jersey shore that you could stand to hear sing straight R&B five sets a night."

In August of ’78, Bruce and Southside happened to both be touring and playing the same night in Cleveland.  Southside, who may have a weird name but is no idiot, delayed the start time of his much smaller gig in a much smaller venue (The Agora Ballroom) so that anyone who wanted to witness both gigs, or even perform in both, would have a chance to do so.  Bruce, Clarence and Steve were all on stage for this song, called “The Fever”, a song Bruce had written in 1971, but had never officially released.  He gave it to Southside to include on his first album, and Johnny basically built a career on this Bruce throwaway.  No idiot that Southside Johnny.

Here’s a bonus track from that same night, a Steve Van Zandt composition and the title track from Johnny's first album “I Don’t Want to go Home”.  Steve’s writing and arranging were critical to Southside’s success on his first three albums, and was a key factor in creating that Stax influenced New Jersey R&B sound. Note the horn section, which was referred to as the “Miami Horns” after Miami Steve Van Zandt, before he morphed into Little Steven. That horn section, led by Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg on trombone, is an early version of the same horn section you see in the Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band, on NBC's Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

If you want to get into Southside Johnny, check out his “Hearts of Stone” album, which Rolling Stone named one of their top albums of 1978, and also one of the Top 100 Albums of the 70s and 80s. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were probably one of the best bar bands you could ever see. They had that same commitment to their music and work ethic as their buddy Bruce, and seeing them in their prime was always a party.

Feel free to watch 'The Fever' over and over.  It's that good.  Happy Friday!