BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Streets of Philadelphia

The perceptive amongst you (who ARE you talking to? - ED) will have noticed we haven't mentioned Bruce Springsteen very much if at all. Now I don't, and didn't, go for that huge auditorium rock big band stuff much but I did, and do appreciate, him his politics and where he's coming from. It always puzzled me that folks sang 'Born In The USA' without checking the lyrics!
 I own one Bruce Springsteen album and admit that must sound odd. It sounds odd to me but I bought 'Devils and Dust' when it came out and every track spoke to me somehow. Synchronicity maybe, call it what you will but I really rate that album. Ideologically you might think I would go for the Pete Seeger 'We Shall Overcome' album afterward but I don't . . . . . . . the only exceptions are certain singles and this is one of them . . . . . . how can you fail to be moved by this heartfelt and incredibly moving account what it must have been like to face up to having AIDS. Great film, great director and a great song

On this day in music history: February 2, 1994 - “Streets Of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen is released. Written by Bruce Springsteen, it is the twenty fourth single release by the rock icon from Freehold, NJ. While working on the film “Philadelphia”, director Jonathan Demme (“The Silence Of The Lambs”, “Something Wild”) reaches out to Bruce Springsteen to write a song for the film. Another song titled “Philadelphia” written and performed by Neil Young, is originally intended to be used as the films’ theme, but the director feels that its overall mood and atmosphere aren’t appropriate for the title sequence of the film. Instead, Young’s song is used in another scene at the end of the film. Demme gives Springsteen an outline of the plot, about a lawyer being fired from his job at a corporate law firm when his colleagues discover that he is gay and suffering from the AIDS virus. Springsteen writes the lyrics from the perspective of the films’ protagonist Andrew Beckett (played by actor Tom Hanks), as he experiences the effects of the illness as his health begins to fail, and is contemplating the end of his life. Working in his home studio Thrill Hill East in Rumson, NJ in July and August of 1993, Bruce records “Streets Of Philadelphia with long time engineer and co-producer Chuck Plotkin, with Springsteen playing nearly all of the instruments on the track. Tommy Sims, the bassist from Springsteen’s post E Street Band "The Other Band” also plays on “Streets”. The song originally featured a saxophone solo by jazz legend Ornette Coleman and additional vocals by “Little” Jimmy Scott, but are not used on the final released record. Though parts of their performances are heard as incidental music during one scene. Issued as the first single from the film soundtrack, the moody, mid tempo song quickly becomes a hit. “Streets” is promoted with a music video directed jointly by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme (“Yo! MTV Raps”, “Blow”), featuring Springsteen walking through the streets of Philly and along the Delaware River, singing a live vocal to the pre-recorded instrumental track. Entering the Hot 100 at #65 on February 19, 1994, it peaks at #9 on April 23, 1994. In 1995, “Streets Of Philadelphia” wins Bruce Springsteen slew of accolades, including the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, four Grammy Awards (Song Of The Year, Best Rock Song, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Song Written For A Motion Picture Or Television Program), the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and an MTV VMA for Best Video From A Film. “Streets Of Philadelphia” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.