The Top 40 worldwide – Bruce Springsteen rarities

Few artists of the last 30 years have touched more hearts and minds than Bruce Springsteen. New Jersey’s favourite son boasts an influence that stretches across continents to resonate among millions of devotees all over the world, and his fanbase is one of the most loyal and dedicated there is. His honesty, integrity, social conscience and blue-collar idealism are all part of an appeal that makes his adoring fans such voracious collectors and completists.

He was signed by John Hammond from Columbia Records in May 1972. His first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, sank without trace the following January. It wasn’t until his monumental third effort, Born To Run, was unleashed in 1975 that the world first began to sit up and take notice of Bruce Springsteen. It has since been described as one of the most important albums ever recorded, and was a milestone in the annals of rock history.

But it wasn’t his biggest seller. That accolade went to 1984’s Born In The USA, which sold a phenomenal 15 million copies in the US alone, and a further 15 million worldwide (making it Columbia’s biggest-selling album of all time). To capitalize on the blossoming MTV generation, Columbia went into overdrive, releasing no fewer than seven singles from the record-breaking opus. All penetrated the US Top 10 during 1984 and 1985 and were …

by Chris Saunders, Peter Schoefboeck
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