Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen (1975) 5/30/22

Today's "Great Song of 1975" was never released as a single, and therefore never charted. And yet, Rolling Stone Magazine has it ranked at #111 on their updated list of the "Top 500 Songs of All Time."

There are a couple of reasons why "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen is rated so high.

First of all, it was the first track on Bruce's classic third album, "Born to Run." A lot was riding on that album, since (believe it or not), his first two albums were less than successful.

So Bruce really knuckled down on his songwriting, and put a lot of extra thought into EVERY cut. He wanted it to be a concept album, with "Thunder Road" starting things off with an "invitation" to experience the rest of the songs. In his words: "What I hoped it would be was the sense of a larger life, greater experience, sense of fun, the sense that your personal exploration and possibilities were all lying somewhere inside of you."

Deep stuff...and it showed. After changing the title several times, he landed on the name of a 1958 Robert Mitchum movie about a bootlegger, and to a certain extent, tried to emulate Roy Orbison on the way the track sounded. He even gave a nod to Roy in the lyrics.

Bruce couldn't have started the album any stronger! To date, it has sold well over 6 million copies, with every song--including "Thunder Road" and the famous single release, "Born to Run" (which we highlighted back on 3/15/20--see link below), receiving virtually universal acclaim.

Note: There has long been a question about the opening line. Was it "Mary's dress sways..." or "Mary's dress waves?" In 2021, Bruce's long time manager, Jon Landau, settled it once and for all: "It's sways. Dresses don't wave." Fair enough! "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen: a "Great Song of 1975," and still a "Great Song" today!

"Born to Run" post: facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/posts/158704265603029