See how local news stations covered a young Bruce Springsteen after the release of “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”
Many of us are so used to Bruce Springsteen being a rock icon that it can be easy to forget a time before Springsteen and the E Street Band attained legendary status. Therefore it is interesting to look back at local news coverage of the band early in Springsteen’s career.
The following video features a couple of local television news interviews with the young Bruce Springsteen starting off his Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. The interviews feature some cool concert footage too, as “the kid from Asbury Park” talks about “the most important” night of his life. Check it out.
In 1977, near the end of his life and in poor health, Elvis Presley had a laugh with Charlie Hodge during “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
There are a number of instances of Elvis Presley cracking up while performing the monologue in “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” For example, on August 26, 1969 in Las Vegas, Elvis could not keep it straight as the soprano backing vocals from Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mom) made him start laughing. Another gem occurred near the end of his life while performing in 1977, apparently in Omaha on June 19, 1977.
The Omaha performance was filmed for a CBS TV Special. Reporters noted that the the ailing and puffy-looking Presley gave a subdued performance that lacked the enthusiasm of his earlier shows. But there were still flashes of energy and the King’s charm.
In the clip below, Charlie Hodge comes out to hold the microphone while Elvis plays guitar and sings “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” Hodge often held the microphone for the King, but the proximity of the men during the touching song and the spoken-word segment leads them both to cracking up.
One may point out that it is near the end of Elvis’s life when he appeared not to be in good health. In fact, in a little more than two months, the King would be dead. But still, especially considering his condition during this period, his charisma and voice comes through to make an entertaining performance.
As for the man holding the microphone, Charlie Hodge was a man of many talents beyond holding a microphone. He was a singer, musician, arranger, and close confidant of Presley. As a member of Elvis’s “Memphis Mafia,” he helped Elvis in a number of ways, including with music arranging. As you can tell from the video, the two men were very close, with Hodge living at Graceland for seventeen years. After Elvis’s death, Hodge continued to help promote the legacy of the King.
John Prine and Justin Townes Earle, who both passed away in 2020, shared the stage in 2015 on Prine’s song, “Far From Me.”
During a year of much loss, it was sad to lose such beauty with John Prine and Justin Townes Earle both dying in 2020. They were both unique talents, and brought such humanity with their songs, often touching on sad parts of life, but with love and a touch of humor. Five years before their death, they shared a stage in Houston and performed Prine’s song, “Far From Me.”
In “Far From Me,” the singer recounts the ending of a relationship as the singer realizes it is coming to an end and cannot do anything about it. He sees things are different between the two of them, even as he tries to maintain the relationship the way it once was.
And the sky is black and still now On the hill where the angels sing Ain’t it funny how an old broken bottle Looks just like a diamond ring But it’s far, far from me.
Justin Townes Earle did a beautiful cover of the song on the John Prine Tribute album, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows, The Songs of John Prine. And on May 15, 2015, the two men appeared on stage together in Houston, Texas at the Cullen Performance Hall to perform “Far From Me” together. Check it out.
What is your favorite cover of a John Prine song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Musicians from three music schools in Belgium met on a field to cover Bruce Springsteen’s “Waiting on a Sunny Day.”
More than 200 musicians from three Belgian schools came together recently to perform Bruce Springsteen’s “Waiting on a Sunny Day” in a field. The musicians came together for the joy of playing the uplifting song, and they came together to send a message to Springsteen.
The musicians hope the video of their performance will somehow make it to Springsteen and that it will inspire Springsteen to travel to Belgium for a concert. As they explain on a website about the event, “[W]e hope that Mr. Springsteen will appreciate the result and will come to do us the honor of a concert in the Belgian fields because we want to prove that you don’t have to be a big music business company to reach the greatest artists in the world.”
I suspect Springsteen would like the video. I know I do. The song is joyous in concert and it also sends an uplifting message when musicians gather to play it on an open field. I also like that the video is professional but not too professional. The musicians are not overly coordinated in their dress or the way they move as in many videos involving large groups and music. It’s a wonderful interpretation of “Waiting on a Sunny Day.”
What do you think of the Springsteen cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1964, Connie Smith recorded “Once a Day,” creating one of the perfect county records out of the song written by Bill Anderson.
Connie Smith’s 1964 recording of the song “Once a Day” is one of those perfect moments in country music. Smith is one of the great voices in country music, and here she has a perfect song. “Once a Day” was written by Bill Anderson specifically for Smith. The song features catchy music and country heartbreak wrapped up with a clever chorus that would be humorous if were not for the aching it describes.
Connie Smith released “Once a Day” on August 1, 1964 when Smith (born in Indiana in August 14, 1941) was barely twenty-three. According to Wikipedia, the record become the first number one debut on the Billboard Hot Country songs by a woman. It stayed at number one for eight weeks, a feat not duplicated by a female artist until Taylor Swift did it in 2012.
The clever hook in the song is that the singer misses a former love and cries only “once a day.” That does not sound too awful. But then she reveals that the “once a day” is “all day long.”
Once a day, all day long; And once a night from dusk ’til dawn; The only time I wish you weren’t gone, Is once a day, every day, all day long.
Below, a young Connie Smith performs “Once a Day” in 1965 on the WSM Nashville syndicated TV show The Bobby Lord Show. Check it out.
Smith, who is married to Marty Stuart, also played guitar on the hit recording of “Once a Day.” She recorded a number of wonderful songs through her career. But she never had a song that was as big of a hit as “Once a Day.”
Pas Souvent
“Once a Day” has been covered by artists such as Dean Martin and Van Morrison. After Smith initially released her original version, the song was so popular that Smith recorded a French version of the song.
Smith released the French version, “Pas Souvent,” credited to both Bill Anderson and French lyricist Pierre Delanoë, in 1966. Give it a listen.
Great stuff, no matter the language. Leave your two cents in the comments.
