09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Summertime Blues´
´´(Kid Leo : ´Good evening and welcome to the WMMS 10th anniversary
concert....I´m Kid Leo and I have the, uh, the duty and the pleasure of
welcoming, ladies and gentlemen, the main event....round for round, pound for
pound, there ain´t no finer band around, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band !´) Oh, gimme some lights !....Leo, he must´ve memorized that
at home....I know you did, Cleveland, how you doing ? (cheers) are you ready
to shake them summertime blues ? (cheers)....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Spirit in the Night´
´´Cleveland !....we´ve got our own civil defense network tonight....don´t
touch your dial this is not a test !....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Darkness on the Edge of Town´
´´You guys sit down there so everybody can see, alright ?....everybody,
we got a long haul here so....(?)...some lights up here or something, yeah,
that´s better....this is for, uh, this is for Jay Cocks in Cincinnati
and uh....this is for everybody who, uh....ever drove through the darkness on
the edge of town....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Factory´
´´Alright...this is uh....gonna do this for Scott and the guys from
Bookpark....(?)...met you guys last night, driving around all night trying to
find me (chuckles)....but uh....alright, Danny, gimme the....this is uh....I
grew up in a small town, I remember...I used to see my old man twice a day,
I used to see him once, once at night when I came in and he’d be sitting
in the kitchen in the dark, smoking a cigarette, drinking a six pack of beer....then
in the morning, my bedroom was out over the backyard and I could always hear
him at six o’clock, popping the hood to one of those 100-dollar junk cars
he used to buy, laying on the cold ground trying to get it started to go to
work.....and uh, he worked in a factory and his father did, I wrote this song
for him....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Racing in the Street´
´´Hey, what ?....you want an autograph ?!?....I´m in the middle
of working here....the price of fame, I tell you, dollar 99 (chuckles)....back,
back in Asbury Park, there´s a....there´s these two roads, there´s
Kingsley Avenue and Ocean Avenue and they form sort of an oval....on Friday
nights they´re burning about half the gas in the United States between
stoplights down there....but outside of town there´s this little fireroad,
that´s where we go racing in the street ....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Thunder Road´
´´Last summer me and Steve and these two friends of ours, we drove
out to Salt Lake City, Utah and we bought this used Ford, drove it down to Reno
and uh....we were out along the desert someplace and just off the road there
was this house that this indian had sculptured from stuff that he’d scavanged
all off the desert and out in front he had a, had a big sign, had a big picture
of Geronimo, it said ‘Landlord’ over top of it....and then he had
the big white sign that said ‘This is the land of peace, love, justice
and no mercy’ and it pointed down this ldirt road that said ‘Thunder
Road’....´´
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Paradise by the C´
´´Alright, round two....in this corner, weighing in at 260 pounds....the
master of the disaster, the Big Man, Clarence Clemons.....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Fire´ (following ´Paradise
by the C´)
´´Winner by a knockout....(?) of the first round....this was a song,
was on, uh, Robert Gordon´s second album....this is called ´Fire´....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Sherry Darling´
´´This next song, this is a song that, uh.....we first, uh, wrote
about, let me see, beginning of last summer, and it was gonna be on Darkness
but....it didn´t make it and uh....this is a song, no, it´s a song
that like during the early 60´s there´s, there´s was this
kind of music not widely known but it was, uh, it was called Fraternity Rock....and
you don´t know what that is, now Fraternity Rock, that was like ´Louie
Louie´, that was like ´Farmer John´ by the Premiers, that
was a song by the Swinging Medallions ´Double Shot of My Baby´s
Love´... that was, no hits up here, right (chuckles) it was like, anyway,
the big, the big thing that these records had, you see, the (?) was that on
it the audience was at least twice as loud as the band, you see, it´s
like (cheers) you got (chuckles)....I think you got the idea....so when Clarence
holds up the ´applause´-signs, no, I mean when you feel it (chuckles)
when it, when it moves you (chuckles) it´s like, the idea is, uh, this
is called ´Sherry Darling´, it should´ve been a single, it
should´ve been released in the summertime so, uh....so what we need is
we need a lot of party noises to start the song, here we go (cheers) Cleveland
boys, a little party noise (cheers) alright....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´She´s the One´ (following
´Sherry Darling´)
´´Vomiting in your girl´s purse was allowed during that last
number, alright ? (chuckles).....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Growin´Up´
´´I wrote this song in 1971, I think....Roy....it was....it was....I
remember I was 12 years old ....(?)....and I was going to this Catholic school
and I got sent home for pissing in my desk (cheers) obviously, a popular pastime,
right (chuckles) and the Sisters told my mother that I needed psychiatric attention
(chuckles) and so my mother....the only people that were more scared of the
nuns than the kids was the parents, you know, yeah, I remember my old man and
my old lady, they were terrified of them Sisters so downtown they take me to
this doc .....and, uh....I´m sitting down there on the couch and he says
´Son, how did you get this way ?´ I thought about it and I said
´Doc, I'm glad you asked because....up to now I've kept it a secret but
the fact was.....I was a teenage werewolf ´....I said ´Doc, I was
out in the street, I remember it was midnight, I looked up....there was a full
moon, I felt this hair growing all over my face....I felt my fingers get longer
and my nails pop out and a guitar pop out of my left side....my pants got tighter
and my hair got longer, a man with a cigar come up and stung me on the ass....and
(chuckles) and all of sudden....in one moment I looked up and there was this
light....and for just one second... I stood stone like at midnight...
(....) And I remember....it was years later....I grew up, I came home from high
school one day....the old man was sitting at the kitchen table with the old
lady....and they´re looking pretty serious, they said ´Son, sit
down, please".....so I knew I was in trouble ´cause they called me
´Son´....the other stuff they used to call me I can't say over the
radio (chuckles) but, uh (chuckles) so, anyway, I sit down....and my mother,
she does the talking, she's the Italian, right.....she says ´It´s
time, we decided, me and your father, we decided you gotta stop fooling around
with yourself´....how´d they know what I was doing in my room at
night ?....they said ´You gotta get serious, it´s like (chuckles)
it´s, uh....it´s time that you put that guitar down, that thing´s
ok for a hobby but you´re never gonna get anyplace with that´....
and my father said ´You should be a lawyer because lawyers, they own the
world´ and my mother, she said ´You should be an author, you should
write books´ so....they said ´But we decided this is too big a decision,
what you gotta do you gotta go over to the rectory, you gotta talk to Father
Ray about your vocation, we set up an appointment, you gotta go over there in
an hour´....´cause that's the thing they used to do in those days....so
I go over to the rectory, oh, before I went over there, my father says ´Now,
when you go talk to the priest, you tell him you wanna be a lawyer, you tell
him you wanna be an author but don't you tell him nothing about that goddamn
guitar....I said ´Ok, ok ´, I go over to the priest's house, I ring
on the doorbell, ´Father Ray, this is Mr. Springsteen's son, I´ve
come to talk to you about my vocation´ so he comes out and we start walking
around the church and, uh, they all, the priests in those days, they all had
like illusions of The Bells of St. Mary´s, they´d seen that movie
too many times or something, they´re all doing Patrick O'Brien, is that
his name ? Pat O'Brien imitations and like....we talked for a while and he says
´Listen, I decided ....that this decision is too big for me to make; what
you gotta do you gotta go direct to God, you gotta talk to God about this....now,
you tell Him you wanna be a lawyer, you tell Him you wanna be an author....but
don't tell Him nothing about (a woman yells) what ? an interior decorator ?
(chuckles) that's you ? (chuckles) but don't you tell Him nothing about that
goddamn guitar´....I said ´Ok, ok´ so I figured I gotta go
see God and all I have to go see Him in was my mother's Rambler, was all beat
up, all smashed up, paint scraped off the side so I drive over to Clarence's
house.....I say ´Clarence....I got the word, I gotta go see God tonight´,
he says ´Well, you can´t go in that car.....´So what do you
mean I can't go in this, it's the only car I got´, he says ´That
thing is, thing´s ugly as hell, it's like, you think He's gonna see you
in that car ?....there's gonna be guys up there with Montecarlos, Lincolns,
Continentals, you think He's gonna notice you ?´....I said ´Ok,
ok´ so I went down to Earl Shy....at the time it was 39.95, I went by
the other day, I seen that Earl since upped it ten bucks (chuckles) but anyway,
he does the car, midnight blue, I leave the windows down, he does the interior
for free....if I had my brother in the back seat, he had done him free of charge
too, it´s like (chuckles)....anyway, me and Clarence we drive out to see
God, Clarence says he knows where He is.... so we get out there and I don't
see nothing but this dark hill next to this cemetery....I say ´Clarence,
uh....are you sure He´s up there ?´ (Clarence says something) ´You
sure it ain´t (chuckles) you sure it ain´t, you sure it ain´t
the other guy ? this is the right place ?´....and while I´m up there
what ? ask him about ? the tape player that somebody stole out of your room´....so
I had these two big questions I had to ask, about Clarence's tape player and
what I´m gonna do with my life....so up the hill I go and it's dark and
it's scary, all these noises coming out of the woods (cheers) and when I got
to the top I realised that the place was packed, there was people all over the
place....I'm walking around ....I bump into Kid Leo !.... go ´Kid, what
are you doing ?´, he says ´Praying for more watts .....I gotta blast
this baby all the way to New Jersey´....crazy man up there....so I find
myself a quiet place, I kneel down, I say ´God, my father wants me to
be a lawyer, my mother wants me to be an author but I got this guitar, you see
?´....and all of a sudden....I heard this thunder (Max pounds the drums)
seen this lightning coming out of the sky....it was real quiet for a while....and
then I heard just three words.....´LET IT ROCK !´....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, middle of ´Backstreets´
´´I wanna do this next song for Joey and Jimmy, Cleveland boys,
these guys, they´ve been following me around for about three years....now
get off my back, will you, huh ? (chuckles) this is for them ´cause I
love ´em so much....
(....) Hello, baby....my, it´s good to have....it´s good to have
you back again....and you´re still looking fine....and honey, I remember
you....baby, I remember you....standing on the corner ....of Richmond Avenue....with
your hair up high and that crazy look in your eye at every boy that was passing
you by....and baby´s looking fine....baby´s looking fine....and
I swore, back then I swore....that I would drive all night, anytime anyplace....I´d
drive all night, anytime anyplace....I´d drive all night, anytime anyplace....just
to buy you some shoes....and to taste your tender charms....to have you hold
me in your arms....baby, for just one kiss....and a look from your sad eyes....you
had such lonely sad eyes.....you had such lonely sad eyes....I remember how
they cried all night long.....baby, how they cried all night long....I remember
how they cried all night long....I remember how they cried....oh, they cried....and
me, I was your fool....I thought somehow that I could stop all of your crying.....thought
I could stop, little girl, you´re crying....I thought I could stop, little
girl, you´re crying....I thought I could stop, little girl, you´re
crying....but I didn´t know....only you knew....that baby´d been
lying
.....baby´d been lying....little girl, you´d been lying....you were
so young and you could tell such pretty lies....you were so young and you could
tell such pretty lies....but I can´t cry for you any more.....little girl,
I can´t cry for you any more....I can´t cry for you any more....and
now you´re back....now you´re back.....well, baby, I´m back
too....and I´ve been out....and I´ve been seeing some things....about
me....about you.....and little girl, you´ve got to stop
....baby, you´ve got to stop....oh, we´ve got to stop....little
girl, we´ve got to stop.....baby, you´ve got to stop, little girl,
we´ve got to stop, baby, we´ve got to stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,
stop, stop, stop, STOP !....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Rosalita´
´´Ah, in whatever city she rests tonight....Rosie, come on out !.....
(....) Ladies and gentlemen....at the far left of the stage....boy wonder, understudy
of Arthur Rubinstein and the only member of the band with a high school diploma,
Professor Roy Bittan....play it, Prof (Roy plays)....and on the guitar....poet
of the soul, master of rock and roll, the man who brought you such great hits
as ´I Don´t Wanna Go Home´, ´Sweeter than Honey´,
´This Time It´s For Real´....Miami Steve Van Zandt....on the
bass guitar....Mr.Garry W. Tallent (Garry plays) into his own thing.....on the
drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg..... representing everybody from Northern New
Jersey, Mr.Dan Federici on the organ....last but not least....king of the world,
master of the universe....the Big Man himself....Clarence Clemons (the band
goes into ´Macho Man´) I was afraid of that....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Sandy´
´´This is for all the, uh....dislocated easterners....folks from
the Jersey Shore....(?) this is Fourth of July in Asbury Park....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Born to Run´
´´I´d like to, like to thank all you guys for coming down
and I´d like to....you know, to thank all the people that sent in all
the cards and there was a whole mess of ´em....and uh, I just wanna let
you know that it´s appreciated, I´d like to thank Cleveland for
supporting us, like this was one of the first towns that we came in....you got....we
first came here, WE GOT SOME RESPECT ! (chuckles) here´s thanks to the
Kid and WMMS....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Raise Your Hand´
´´Can you stand one more ? (cheers)....are you sure ? (cheers) oh,
alright, get rid of the echo ....a speaker´s talking to me here, what
?....everything´s blowing up here (?) Miami Steve....
(....) Alright....I want everybody in Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Columbus, Chicago,
Detroit, St.Louis, Pittsburg, Cleveland....get up, walk over to your radio and
turn it up as loud as it´ll go, open the windows, play it until the cops
come, if they bang on your door, send all complaints to Kid Leo care of WMMS....if
they still won´t go away, tell ´em that if there´s something
they need....if there´s something they want....they´ve got to raise
their hands....”
09.08.78 Cleveland, OH, intro to ´Twist and Shout´
´´Here´s the first song I ever learned how to play on the
guitar....”
Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi