Thunder Road (song)
Encyclopedia
"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen
, and the opening track on his 1975
breakthrough album Born to Run
. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone
magazine placed it as #86 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
on February 5, 1975. That phrase would eventually be used in the final version of the lyrics. The original version also mentions a girl named "Angelina" or "Christina" (in various versions), rather than the studio homage to "Mary". Among other changes, including an entirely different lyrics for some verses, the song concludes with "This is a town full of losers, and baby I was born to win" instead the "Thunder Road" ending, "It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win."
".
Musically, the song opens with a quiet piano and harmonica introduction, meant, as Springsteen said years later in the Wings For Wheels documentary, as a welcoming to both the track and the album, a signifier that something was about to happen. Eschewing a traditional verse-and-chorus structure, the song's arrangement gradually ramps up in instrumentation, tempo and intensity. The title phrase is not used until the middle section of the song, and then is not used again. Finally, after the closing line there is a saxophone-and-piano duet in the instrumental coda.
In this song, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison
"singing for the lonely" on the radio. Orbison, one of whose best-known songs is "Only the Lonely
," was a huge influence on Springsteen.
The song's title comes from the Robert Mitchum
film Thunder Road
. Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie despite not having seen it. As he says: "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster in the lobby of the theater."
At the end of the "VH1 Storytellers"-Show Springsteen concluded: "So this was my... it was my big, my big invitation to my audience, to myself, [chuckles] to uh... anybody who was interested. Uh... my invitation to a long and earthly, very earthly journey. Hopefully in the company of uh, someone you love, people you love, and in search of a home you can feel a part of. Good luck and good evening."
(the University of Pennsylvania's
public radio station). Rolling Stone
magazine placed it as #86 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." The song came in at #226 in Q
magazine's list of the "1001 Greatest Songs Ever" in 2003, in which they described the song as "best for pleading on the porch." Julia Roberts
, when asked which song lyric described her most accurately, chose "Thunder Road"'s "You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright." The song is featured in the book 31 Songs by British author Nick Hornby
. "Thunder Road" has also been ranked as the 166th best song of all time, as well as the #3 song of 1975
, in an aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net. In 2010, it was ranked at #2 on Rock-U's (Goom Radio) Top 500 Songs of All Time.
, "Thunder Road" was always played by Springsteen with nothing but a piano accompaniment, an example of which is found on Hammersmith Odeon London '75
. Not until later in the tour did "Thunder Road" make full-band appearances. In the 1978 tour
"Thunder Road" usually opened with Springsteen telling a story as to why he wrote the song, and it might segue out of some other more dirge-like song such as "Racing in the Street
".
In concert in the 1980s, the song was often played to close out the first set; the coda was stretched out to showcase E Street Band
saxophonist Clarence Clemons
, then Clemons and Springsteen would charge at each other from opposite ends of the stage, with Springsteen sliding into Clemons in an embrace.
The early 1990s "Other Band" Tour devised it on acoustic guitar and a haunting organ in the background; this arrangement is documented on the 1993 concert video and album In Concert/MTV Plugged
.
The song then disappeared from Springsteen concerts until emerging again in 1999 in the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
, where "Thunder Road" was played as celebratory from start to finish, at a significantly slower tempo than the more upbeat studio version, with Springsteen pointing to people he knew or to attractive females in the front rows during the extended outro. An example of such a performance can be found in the 2001 release Live in New York City
. Although played fairly regularly on the The Rising Tour
as on Live in Barcelona
, the song then rarely appeared on the Devils & Dust Tour
, this time on piano. The song was not performed during the Sessions Band Tour; it reappeared on 2007-2008 Magic Tour
and continued to be played regularly on the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
.
On June 14, 2008, on stage at Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff
, Springsteen dedicated a performance of the song to political broadcast analyst Tim Russert
, a longtime Springsteen fan who had suddenly died the previous day. On June 18, 2008, Springsteen performed the song, with acoustic guitar, for the Russert memorial event in Washington via satellite/tape.
staple, and has been covered by artists such as Melissa Etheridge
, Cowboy Junkies
, Badly Drawn Boy
, Brazilian singer Renato Russo
, Frank Turner
, Tori Amos
, Kevin Rowland
, Matt Nathanson
, Mary Lou Lord
and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
with Tortoise
. (Tortoise's version is interpreted in minor key.) Adam Duritz
of Counting Crows
often sings large portions of the lyrics to "Thunder Road" in the middle of their song "Rain King
."
In the film Explorers, the main characters' space vessel is named "Thunder Road" after the song.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2's Danny Wallace on 9 January 2010, Merchant stated the script was loosely based upon the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen
song "Thunder Road
". This sentiment was repeated by Gervais on 12 April 2010 when he appeared on The Graham Norton Show
.
In the novel High Fidelity
by Nick Hornby, the protagonist Rob Fleming ranks "Thunder Road" as one of his five best side one tracks.
In the Sonny with a Chance
christmas special, the sketch titled The Real Princesses of New Jersey mentions Thunder Road when Sterling Knight
's character yells "I'm listening to Thunder Road! You come over here!".
A FoxTrot
strip has the song playing on Peter's stereo
, with a loud blast of "OH, THUNDER ROAD" sending Peter flying into his bedroom wall when Jason takes off the mute
button (FoxTrot has repeatedly paid homage to Springsteen and his work).
The band Phish
played it in concert for the first time in their career on June 19, 2011 as a tribute to then recently departed Clarence Clemons
.
performances; it finally materialized in a re-recorded version on 1999's 18 Tracks
. "The Promise" can also been seen and heard on disc two of the DVD release of Live in New York City
and on the 2010 2-CD set
of the same name.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, and the opening track on his 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
breakthrough album Born to Run
Born to Run
The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine placed it as #86 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
History
The song underwent considerable evolution as it was written, with an early version titled "Wings for Wheels" first performed at The Main Point in Bryn MawrBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
on February 5, 1975. That phrase would eventually be used in the final version of the lyrics. The original version also mentions a girl named "Angelina" or "Christina" (in various versions), rather than the studio homage to "Mary". Among other changes, including an entirely different lyrics for some verses, the song concludes with "This is a town full of losers, and baby I was born to win" instead the "Thunder Road" ending, "It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win."
Lyrics and music
The lyrics to "Thunder Road" describe a young woman named Mary, her boyfriend, and their "one last chance to make it real." Thematically, it reads as a nostalgic companion piece to "Born to RunBorn to Run (song)
"Born to Run" is a song by American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run.- Songwriting :Written at in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's last-ditch effort to make it big. The prior year, Springsteen had released two...
".
Musically, the song opens with a quiet piano and harmonica introduction, meant, as Springsteen said years later in the Wings For Wheels documentary, as a welcoming to both the track and the album, a signifier that something was about to happen. Eschewing a traditional verse-and-chorus structure, the song's arrangement gradually ramps up in instrumentation, tempo and intensity. The title phrase is not used until the middle section of the song, and then is not used again. Finally, after the closing line there is a saxophone-and-piano duet in the instrumental coda.
In this song, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
"singing for the lonely" on the radio. Orbison, one of whose best-known songs is "Only the Lonely
Only the Lonely
"Only the Lonely " is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Recorded by Orbison, it became his first major hit. As an operatic rock ballad, it was a sound unheard of at the time, described by the New York Times as expressing "a clenched, driven urgency". It is seen as a seminal event...
," was a huge influence on Springsteen.
The song's title comes from the Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
film Thunder Road
Thunder Road
Thunder Road is the title of a 1958 drama–crime film about running moonshine in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee in the early 1950s. It was directed by Arthur Ripley and starred Robert Mitchum, who also produced the film, co-wrote the screenplay, and is rumored to have directed much of the...
. Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie despite not having seen it. As he says: "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster in the lobby of the theater."
At the end of the "VH1 Storytellers"-Show Springsteen concluded: "So this was my... it was my big, my big invitation to my audience, to myself, [chuckles] to uh... anybody who was interested. Uh... my invitation to a long and earthly, very earthly journey. Hopefully in the company of uh, someone you love, people you love, and in search of a home you can feel a part of. Good luck and good evening."
Acclaim
In 2004, it was ranked #1 on the list of the "885 All-Time Greatest Songs" compiled by WXPNWXPN
WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that broadcasts a music radio format called adult album alternative , along with many other format shows supported all with an indie slant...
(the University of Pennsylvania's
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
public radio station). Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine placed it as #86 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." The song came in at #226 in Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine's list of the "1001 Greatest Songs Ever" in 2003, in which they described the song as "best for pleading on the porch." Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
, when asked which song lyric described her most accurately, chose "Thunder Road"'s "You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright." The song is featured in the book 31 Songs by British author Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
. "Thunder Road" has also been ranked as the 166th best song of all time, as well as the #3 song of 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
, in an aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net. In 2010, it was ranked at #2 on Rock-U's (Goom Radio) Top 500 Songs of All Time.
Live performance history
"Thunder Road" is one of Springsteen's most performed songs and an audience favorite, with 813 live performances as of November 2009. During the 1974 to 1977 Born to Run toursBorn to Run tours
Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen's last, best hope for fortune and fame. As such it became a torturous recording process, and to make ends meet Springsteen and the E Street Band toured constantly during the first set of recording sessions for it, performing his new songs as he developed them...
, "Thunder Road" was always played by Springsteen with nothing but a piano accompaniment, an example of which is found on Hammersmith Odeon London '75
Hammersmith Odeon London '75
Hammersmith Odeon London '75 is both a concert video and the fourth live album by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, released in 2006 . It is a full-length recording of their performance on 18 November 1975 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, during their Born to Run tours...
. Not until later in the tour did "Thunder Road" make full-band appearances. In the 1978 tour
Darkness Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town...
"Thunder Road" usually opened with Springsteen telling a story as to why he wrote the song, and it might segue out of some other more dirge-like song such as "Racing in the Street
Racing in the Street
"Racing in the Street" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. In the original vinyl format, it was the last song of side one of the album...
".
In concert in the 1980s, the song was often played to close out the first set; the coda was stretched out to showcase E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
saxophonist Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
, then Clemons and Springsteen would charge at each other from opposite ends of the stage, with Springsteen sliding into Clemons in an embrace.
The early 1990s "Other Band" Tour devised it on acoustic guitar and a haunting organ in the background; this arrangement is documented on the 1993 concert video and album In Concert/MTV Plugged
In Concert/MTV Plugged
In Concert/MTV Plugged is a 1992 concert video and 1993 live album by Bruce Springsteen.It is part of MTV's Unplugged series, recorded on September 22, 1992 at the Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles during the midst of Springsteen's "Other Band" Tour.Bruce Springsteen famously played one song,...
.
The song then disappeared from Springsteen concerts until emerging again in 1999 in the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000....
, where "Thunder Road" was played as celebratory from start to finish, at a significantly slower tempo than the more upbeat studio version, with Springsteen pointing to people he knew or to attractive females in the front rows during the extended outro. An example of such a performance can be found in the 2001 release Live in New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert...
. Although played fairly regularly on the The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003...
as on Live in Barcelona
Live in Barcelona
Live In Barcelona is a full concert video DVD of a performance by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band of their Rising Tour performance of October 16, 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain....
, the song then rarely appeared on the Devils & Dust Tour
Devils & Dust Tour
The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust.-Approach:...
, this time on piano. The song was not performed during the Sessions Band Tour; it reappeared on 2007-2008 Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
and continued to be played regularly on the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009...
.
On June 14, 2008, on stage at Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Springsteen dedicated a performance of the song to political broadcast analyst Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, a longtime Springsteen fan who had suddenly died the previous day. On June 18, 2008, Springsteen performed the song, with acoustic guitar, for the Russert memorial event in Washington via satellite/tape.
In music and popular culture
"Thunder Road" is a classic rockClassic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
staple, and has been covered by artists such as Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....
, Badly Drawn Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
, Brazilian singer Renato Russo
Renato Russo
Renato Russo was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. His first band was a punk rock band called "Aborto Elétrico" . The band then broke up and split in two different ones: "Capital Inicial" and "Legião Urbana"...
, Frank Turner
Frank Turner
Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
, Kevin Rowland
Kevin Rowland
Kevin Rowland is an English singer-songwriter and former frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, which had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being "Geno" and "Come On Eileen".-Career:...
, Matt Nathanson
Matt Nathanson
Matt Nathanson is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic and electric guitar, and has played both solo and with a full band. His work includes the platinum-selling song "Come On Get Higher".-Early life and college...
, Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord is an indie folk musician, busker and recording artist.-Biography:Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations Lord became friends with...
and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
with Tortoise
Tortoise (band)
Tortoise is an American post-rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1990.-Music:Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in...
. (Tortoise's version is interpreted in minor key.) Adam Duritz
Adam Duritz
Adam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...
of Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
often sings large portions of the lyrics to "Thunder Road" in the middle of their song "Rain King
Rain King (Counting Crows song)
"Rain King" is a single by the rock band Counting Crows. It was released as the band's fourth single . The title is a reference to Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King....
."
In the film Explorers, the main characters' space vessel is named "Thunder Road" after the song.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2's Danny Wallace on 9 January 2010, Merchant stated the script was loosely based upon the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
song "Thunder Road
Thunder Road (song)
"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone magazine placed it as #86 on its...
". This sentiment was repeated by Gervais on 12 April 2010 when he appeared on The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was originally shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 until it moved to BBC One from October 2009...
.
In the novel High Fidelity
High Fidelity (novel)
High Fidelity is a 1995 British novel by Nick Hornby. It was adapted into a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack. It also served as the basis for a 2006 Broadway musical of the same name.-Plot summary:...
by Nick Hornby, the protagonist Rob Fleming ranks "Thunder Road" as one of his five best side one tracks.
In the Sonny with a Chance
Sonny With a Chance
Sonny with a Chance is an American children's sitcom which aired on Disney Channel, created by Steve Marmel, that follows the experiences of teenager Sonny Munroe, portrayed by Demi Lovato, who becomes the newest accepted cast member of her favorite live comedy show, So Random!.The series debuted...
christmas special, the sketch titled The Real Princesses of New Jersey mentions Thunder Road when Sterling Knight
Sterling Knight
Sterling Sandmann Knight is an American actor, singer-songwriter, comedian and musician. He is best known for his roles in the 2009 film 17 Again as Alex, in Sonny With a Chance and So Random! as Chad Dylan Cooper, and in the Disney Channel Original Movie Starstruck as Christopher Wilde.-Personal...
's character yells "I'm listening to Thunder Road! You come over here!".
A FoxTrot
FoxTrot (comic strip)
FoxTrot is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Bill Amend. As of December 2006, FoxTrot was carried by more than 1,000 newspapers worldwide...
strip has the song playing on Peter's stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
, with a loud blast of "OH, THUNDER ROAD" sending Peter flying into his bedroom wall when Jason takes off the mute
Mute
Mute may refer to:* Muteness, a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak* Mute, a silent letter in phonology* Mute , an upcoming sequel to the movie Moon...
button (FoxTrot has repeatedly paid homage to Springsteen and his work).
The band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
played it in concert for the first time in their career on June 19, 2011 as a tribute to then recently departed Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
.
Sequel
Sometime after the release of Born to Run, Springsteen wrote a follow-up to "Thunder Road" called "The Promise", which explicitly mentions the first song by name but reveals a far more pessimistic outlook on the narrator's life and future. Unreleased for years, "The Promise" gained considerable legend for its 1978 TourDarkness Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town...
performances; it finally materialized in a re-recorded version on 1999's 18 Tracks
18 Tracks
18 Tracks is an album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1999. All but three selections had been on the boxed set Tracks, released a half year before...
. "The Promise" can also been seen and heard on disc two of the DVD release of Live in New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert...
and on the 2010 2-CD set
The Promise (Bruce Springsteen album)
The Promise is the 17th studio album by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen, released November 16, 2010 on Columbia Records. It is a double CD compilation of previously unreleased songs drawing from the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions. The album is also available as part of the box set...
of the same name.
External links
- An acoustic cover version by singer-songwriters Josie Beck and Robert Dean Thunder Road