In 1975, music critic Jon Landau, having seen Springsteen’s performance at the Harvard Square Theater, wrote the immortal words, “I saw rock and roll’s future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”
Some six years later, he would be Springsteen’s manager and Springsteen himself would be enjoying the largest success of his career in the wake of the release of “The River” in 1980. The album gave Bruce his first official chart single, “Hungry Heart”, a song written at the request of Joey Ramone, who had asked Bruce to write a song for the Ramones. Springsteen went home that night and wrote the song, but wisely chose to keep it for himself. The song was released as the first single from “The River” and climbed to #5 on the Billboard singles charts. The ensuing world tour would keep Springsteen and the E Street band on the road for a majority of 1981.
Here are some highlights from the ’81 tour:
Hungry Heart (live from Hollywood Bowl)
The Promised Land (live, with Jackson Browne)
Who’ll Stop The Rain (live in Europe)
Because The Night (live)
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