The Bruce Springsteen Band
(Including Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom and The Sundance Blues Band)
DR ZOOM & THE SONIC BOOM / SUNDANCE BLUES BAND / BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND CORE MUSICIANS:
Bruce Springsteen (lead guitar, piano, harmonica, vocals)
Steve Van Zandt (guitar, background vocals)
Garry Tallent (bass)
David Sancious (keyboards)
Vini Lopez (drums, background vocals)Overview
These are songs written or recorded during the February 1971-March 1972 "Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom / Sundance Blues Band / Bruce Springsteen Band" era. Springsteen did not record any material in a professional recording studio during this period, however "studio" (rehearsal) sessions were frequently conducted at Challenger Eastern Surfboards Factory. The primary purpose of the sessions was to prepare for live shows, not to make audio recordings, so only a fraction of the rehearsals were ever recorded, and the reel-to-reel tapes made at Challenger East were often erased and reused as part of the recording of live shows. Only one rehearsal session survived on tape, but live concert recordings of many of the below-mentioned songs are in circulation (refer to Brucebase timeline details).
The audio of the one Challenger East session known to exist was a continuous eight-song, 83-minute segment that took place at Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972, engineered and produced by Carl "Tinker" West. The session lineup was Springsteen, Van Zandt, Sancious, Tallent and Lopez. For more information, see the March 14, 1972 entry on Brucebase.
Released
| Song Title | Running Time | Release |
|---|---|---|
| THE BALLAD OF JESSE JAMES | 6:57 | CHAPTER |
Details
| Song Title | Running Time | Release |
|---|
| ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-late 1971. A performance from early 1972 at The Backdoor Club is circulating. One of several songs Bruce wrote during the period that incorporated the word "Dance" in the title.
| BLESS MY SOUL | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid to late 1971 and played live during late 1971 and early 1972. A couple of live performances are circulating. Sometimes listed under the title "You Sure Can Dance".
| CHEROKEE QUEEN | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971, sometimes titled "Daddy, Sing Me A Cradle Song". This is unquestionably one of Bruce's most commercial-sounding pre-CBS creations. There's only one documented live performance known, from a show in Richmond in March 1972 – fortunately audio from that gig is circulating. Appel/Cretecos pressed this live performance of "Cherokee Queen" on acetate in 1972. Mike Appel clearly liked this tune because when he settled his litigation in 1977, "Cherokee Queen" was one of a dozen then-unreleased Springsteen songs that Appel retained part ownership of, although he sold it back to Bruce in 1983.
| COME ON BILLY (BREAK OUT THE WINE) | uncirculating |
Note: Written in early 1971. A couple of live performances are in circulation from the mid-1971 Bruce Springsteen Band era. Also known by the titles "Nothing Can Stop Me" or "Nothing Can Stop Me Now".
| COMING HOME | 8:36 | O&S |
Note: Probably written in mid-1971. "Coming Home" is one of two "lost" songs recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972 (six other songs from this Bruce Springsteen Band recording session had previously circulated as part of the 'Uber series'). It was performed at least three times live by the Bruce Springsteen band in late 1971-early 1972.
| DANCE DANCE DANCE | uncirculating |
Note: Written early or mid-1971. There are multiple live performances in circulation from Bruce's mid-1971 "big band" era.
| DO IT WITH A FEELING - V1 | 1:30 | uncirculating |
| DO IT WITH A FEELING - V2 | uncirculating |
Note: Written in 1970 or 1971. Only one live recording is in circulation, from October 23, 1971 at the University of Richmond. Both rehearsal recordings listed were recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972. These two cuts are from a third reel which contains two further titles" "Coming Home", and two takes of "Do It With A Feeling". The first take of the latter is aborted after the opening ninety seconds or so, while the second is cut short at the end of the reel.
| DON'T LOOK BACK | uncirculating |
Note: Probably written mid-to-late 1971. A long, predominantly solo piano song about a struggling, once-successful singer. Known from the audio of a single live performance at the University of Richmond on October 23, 1971.
| DOWN TO MEXICO | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971 and performed into the early months of 1972. A couple of live performances are in circulation.
| DOWN TO THE RIVERSIDE | uncirculating |
Note: Writing on this song was probably started in early 1971, with developments over the next year not known. Also known by the title "Grandpa's Gone Down", it is about the death of Springsteen's grandfather. Documentation exists, as well as audio from a gig at Richmond's Back Door club on February 25, 1972. Song listed as "Down To The Riverside" on a handwritten setlist that dates from the period around October 1971–February 1972. Not played again after April 1972.
| FULL OF LOVE | uncirculating |
Note: Probably written around mid-1971 with the Bruce Springsteen Band in mind. The only known live recording is from July 29, 1971 at D'Scene in South Amboy, NJ.
| FUNK SONG | 6:25 | UBER26 |
Note: Written around mid-1971. It is also known by the title "Funk Says Right On". This is a tune mentioned on promotional material from The Student Prince emanating from the fall of 1971. An excellent sound quality, complete Challenger East rehearsal take from March 14, 1972 exists. The song is essentially an instrumental but features the words "Right On" spoken several times – courtesy of the rarely utilized voice of Garry Tallent (who was nicknamed "Funky").
| I JUST CAN'T CHANGE | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971 and performed into early 1972. One of Springsteen's strongest pre-1972 creations. A couple of live performances are in circulation.
| I REMEMBER | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971 and performed into the early months of 1972. A couple of live performances are circulating.
| I'M IN LOVE AGAIN | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. Two known live versions, from July 23, 1971 at Damrosch Park and July 29, 1971 at D'Scene, both with Delores Holmes providing the vocal. A wonderfully catchy, Phil Spector-style tune that Bruce may have penned with a female performer in mind. There is no known performance with Bruce singing lead.
| I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY | 5:29 | UBER26 |
Note: The circulating audio by the Bruce Springsteen Band is from the second reel of the rehearsal sessions recorded on March 14, 1972 at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ. This is a Springsteen original, not a cover of "I've Got To Have You Baby" as is sometimes erroneously reported.
| IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE | 11:30 | UBER26 |
Note: Written by Bob Dylan in 1965. Recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972.
| IT'S TIME TO GO HOME | uncirculating |
Note: Probably written in mid-1971 and also known by the title "Festival". There is only one known live performance, at an outdoor show in Long Branch, NJ on September 1, 1971.
| JAMBALAYA (ROLL OVER) | uncirculating |
Note: Written in early 1971. The correct spelling for this song title may be "Jumbeliah", as this is how Springsteen notes it on handwritten documents. Performed regularly at shows throughout the year. Several live versions are circulating. "Jambalaya (Roll Over)" and "When You Dance" were Bruce's two most often utilized show closers in 1971, much in the same way that "Thundercrack" and "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" were during later tours.
| LADY OF BOSTON | uncirculating |
Note: Written in early 1971. There is only one known performance, from a Dr. Zoom gig on May 15, 1971. Fortunately the audio is in circulation.
| LAST NIGHT IN TEXAS | uncirculating |
Note: Probably created (Williamson / Springsteen) in early 1971. Bruce has borrowed the melody to Sonny Boy Williamson's blues standard "One Way Out" and added his own lyrics. There are a couple of live recordings from mid-to-late 1971 in circulation. Not to be confused with another Springsteen composition from the period with a similar title – "Last Night In Tulsa".
| LAST NIGHT IN TULSA | uncirculating |
Note: Probably created in mid-1971. There are two circulating audio performances, from an outdoor Bruce Springsteen Band gig at the 2nd Annual Nothings Festival and at D'Scene, both in July 1971. This Van Morrison-styled pop piece should not be confused with a blues song called "Last Night In Texas" that Bruce was also performing during the same period.
| LIKE A STRANGER | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971. One of Bruce's strongest songs of the pre-CBS era. A couple of live performances are circulating from late 1971 and early 1972.
| LIVING ROCK AND ROLL | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. Only one live performance is in circulation, from a Richmond show in October 1971.
| LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND | 9:50 | UBER26 / BFG |
Note: Written in early 1971 and performed from mid-1971 until early 1972. A couple of live performances are in circulation. Slow moving and tedious at times. The studio version was recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972. The audio quality on the BFG boot is much reduced from the 'UBER26' source.
| LOVE IS A CRAZY THING | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971 and performed into early 1972. A couple of live performances are in circulation.
| MAGIC KIND OF LOVING | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid to late 1971 and performed into early 1972. Several live performances are in circulation. Also known by the title "Magic Loving".
| MAKE UP YOUR MIND | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-to-late 1971 and performed into early 1972. Also known by the title "Make Your Mind Up". This is one of Bruce's most powerful pre-CBS era creations. A live performance from Richmond's Backdoor Club circulates.
| MARIA | uncirculating |
Note: Probably written in the summer or autumn of 1971. One of the Springsteen songs advertised on promotional material from The Student Prince and almost certainly performed at that venue during the many shows there during the second half of 1971. However no audio performance of the song has yet surfaced. This song is not related to Springsteen's 1972 composition "Marie".
| MISTRESS ANNIE | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. A couple of live performances are circulating from late 1971 and early 1972.
| NATURAL MAGIC | uncirculating |
Note: Written in early 1971. Also known by the title "My Baby’s Natural Magic". Excellent song that is reminiscent of Van Morrison's early '70s "Tupelo Honey"/"Moondance" material. A couple of live versions are in circulation.
| NO WAY | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. One of the Springsteen songs advertised on promotional material from The Student Prince and almost certainly performed at that venue during the many shows held there in the second half of 1971.
| SOUTHSIDE SHUFFLE | uncirculating |
Note: Written in early 1971. The only circulating live performance is from a Dr. Zoom show in May 1971, although it was definitely performed at other shows. The song has been incorrectly titled "Pretty Little Woman" on various bootlegs and is usually referred to among collectors by this incorrect title.
| SHE'S A WOMAN | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. A couple of live performances are circulating from late 1971 and early 1972.
| SURE CAN FEEL THE PAIN | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. The song was performed live at least occasionally in late 1971 and early 1972.
| TALKING ABOUT MY BABY | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1971. Only one live performance is in circulation, from a Richmond show in October 1971. Bruce utilized the melody for his 1972 song "Janey Needs A Shooter".
| DON'T YOU WANT TO BE AN OUTLAW | uncirculating | |
| THE BALLAD OF JESSE JAMES | 6:57 | UBER26 / DDITV / TFTV |
| THE BALLAD OF JESSE JAMES | 5:31 | CHAPTER |
Note: Written in mid-1971. Sometimes referred to by the title "Don't You Want To Be An Outlaw" or "Billy". This ode to Jesse James and Billy The Kid was played live often and there are multiple live performances from the second half of 1971 in circulation. The studio rehearsal take from Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972 is in far better quality than any of the available live versions, and was officially released in September 2016 on Chapter And Verse, the companion album to Springsteen's autobiography Born To Run in an edited version (reducing the length by removing some of the verses in the middle of the song).
| THE BAND'S JUST BOPPIN' THE BLUES - V1 | uncirculating | |
| SECRET TO THE BLUES - V2 | uncirculating |
Note: "The Band's Just Boppin' The Blues" V1 was written in 1971 for the Bruce Springsteen Band, and was played live often during late 1971 and early 1972. New lyrics written by Bruce in late 1972–early 1973, and song reappeared live as "Secret To The Blues". Unknown if either was recorded in the studio. There are two verified live performances of "Secret To The Blues" in May–June 1973 and a third unconfirmed performance from January 1973.
| WHEN YOU DANCE | 13:35 | UBER26 |
Note: Written by Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt in 1971 and performed regularly until early 1972. Along with "Jambalaya", this was Bruce's most frequently utilized show-closer during the period. Several live performances are in circulation. However, the most outstanding version (by far) is the studio rehearsal version recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ on March 14, 1972. When he was producing Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes' second album, This Time It's For Real, in early 1977, Steve wrote an arrangement for the ten-piece brass dominated group that was utilized as the closing track on side two, and played live often on their subsequent tour. A rehearsal take by Van Zandt, recorded in December 1976, was released on his 2019 album, The Early Work. Copyright filed February 25, 1977 by Blue Midnight Music (Van Zandt) and Bruce Springsteen Music, under the name Nightshift Music, filing no. EU759978.
| WHY'S IT SO HARD | uncirculating |
Note: Written in 1971. There is only one known live performance, at a Sundance Blues Band show in early 1972, with Springsteen on guitar but Southside Johnny providing the lead vocal. A Springsteen vocal performance has yet to materialize. Also known by the title "Tell Me Mama, Why’s It So Hard".
| YOU DON'T LEAVE ME NO CHOICE | uncirculating |
Note: "You Don't Leave Me No Choice" was written in mid-1971, with lyrics by Barbara Dinkins. Three live performances are known, all from a single week in July 1971 at Damrosch Park in New York City, and D'Scene in South Amboy, NJ. Two recordings exist, and both feature Barbara Dinkins' soaring lead vocals. There is no known Springsteen lead vocal performance. Very commercial sounding with a catchy horn riff and searing guitar work from Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt after David Sancious's "New York City Serenade"-style introduction.
| YOU'D BETTER BE NICE | uncirculating |
Note: Probably written in mid-1971. There is only one known live performance, at an outdoor show on September 1, 1971. An audience recording of this show exists. Also known by the title "You’d Better Be Nice To Me".
| YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME | DDITV / ESRR / MT1 / UBER22 |
Note: Written in early 1971 as "When She Sings To Me"; title was changed to "You Mean So Much To Me" later in the year. Bruce introduced the song as "When She Sings To Me" in July 1971. Rehearsed at Challenger East Surfboard Factory, though apparently not on the evening of March 14, 1972, because it was absent from the tapes recorded by Tinker West. It was performed throughout 1971, although the circulating live versions mostly stem from the middle months. First caught on tape July 10, 1971 by The Bruce Springsteen Band. Another song that would be ranked in the top tier of Springsteen's pre-CBS portfolio. Bruce obviously felt this was one of his best early creations, as he continued to perform it live (in an acoustical arrangement) regularly throughout 1973 and 1974. There are no records of it being recorded at 914 Sound Studios for Greetings or The Wild, The Innocent, but many undocumented sessions are known to exist during mid-1973, held between 12 midnight and dawn, to avoid having to pay the studio. It is likely most of the base tracks for The Wild were recorded in mid-June 1973 in this fashion, and would explain why most of that information is also missing. However, perhaps the biggest mystery is how the money-conscious Mike Appel and his partner Jimmy Cretecos could fail to record a demo for publishing purposes, unless they used the May 31, 1973 WGOE broadcast tape. Never officially released by Springsteen, it was first bootlegged on 'Deep Down In The Vaults' in the 1990s. In late 1975, Steve Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen decided to get their friend John Lyon and his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes a contract and record an album. Bruce helped out by donating two of his compositions to the effort, "You Mean So Much To Me" and "The Fever". At the Record Plant one day, he ran into Ronnie Spector, who had been invited by Van Zandt. Inspired, he quickly wrote an arrangement for "You Mean So Much To Me" as a duet for Ronnie and Southside Johnny (borrowing from his BSB days), which became the closing song on side 2 of the Jukes' debut album, I Don't Want To Go Home. Ronnie agreed to tour with the Jukes throughout 1976–1977, and their duet was a regular encore and show closer.
| ZOOM THEME | uncirculating |
Note: This is actually Irving Berlin's 1911 hit "Alexander's Ragtime Band", with alternative lyrics conjured up by Bruce for The Zoomettes to sing at the Dr. Zoom gigs. Also known as "The Zoom Song".