Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen (1981) 6/25/23

Although 1975's "Born to Run" put Bruce Springsteen on the musical map, so to speak, it was never released as a single.

That's makes today's Great Song of the '80s, "Hungry Heart" his first chart hit.

But it never would have happened if his producer and manager, Jon Landau, hadn't put his foot down.

Here's the story: When the Boss met Joey Ramone of The Ramones, Joey asked him to write a song for them.

So Bruce wrote "Hungry Heart" about a man trying to reconcile his wanderlust with his desire to settle down.

When Jon heard it, he knew it would be a hit--but told Bruce it was about time he kept one for himself, instead of handing it off to another artist to score with it.

Up to that point, Bruce had written "Blinded by the Light" for Manfred Mann, "Fire" for the Pointer Sisters, and "Because the Night" for Patti Smith.

Well, Bruce took Jon's advice, and in late 1980, when "Hungry Heart" was released as a single from the album, "The River," it went to #5 in both the US and Canada. Jon was pleased, and so was Bruce.

No word on what Joey thought.

Trivia #1: Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (aka Flo & Eddie) of The Turtles sang backup on the track.

Trivia #2: Bruce's voice was sped up slightly--on purpose--to attain a higher pitch. Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson had pioneered the idea on "Like a Rolling Stone" and The "Pet Sounds" track "Caroline, No" respectively.

Trivia #3: The title came from a line in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem "Ulysses:" "For always roaming with a hungry heart."

"Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen, finally hitting the singles charts on his own...with a "Great Song of 1980-81! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ32qT7e1_M

Tomorrow: Some gossip from Melissa.