Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, through Columbia Records. It was produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, and recorded in New York City with the E Street Band over two years between January 1982 and March 1984. Some of the songs originated from the demo tape from Springsteen's previous album Nebraska (1982). The recording sessions yielded between 70 and 90 songs; some were released as B-sides, others saw release on compilation albums, while a number remain unreleased.
Born in the U.S.A. sound is more pop-influenced than Springsteen's earlier albums. Its production is typical of mainstream 1980s rock music, with heavy use of synthesizers and a prominent snare drum. The lyrics contrast with the album's lively sound and continue the themes explored on previous records, particularly Nebraska. Topics include working-class struggles, disillusionment, patriotism, and personal relationships, although some tracks contain humorous lyrics. The cover photograph of Springsteen from behind against a backdrop of the American flag has appeared on lists of the best album covers.
The album was launched with an extensive promotional campaign that included seven singles, five music videos, and three dance remixes. It was a worldwide commercial success and became the best-selling album of 1985, topping the charts in nine countries, including the U.S. and the U.K. All of the singles, including "Dancing in the Dark", "Born in the U.S.A.", "I'm on Fire", and "Glory Days", reached the U.S. top ten. The album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it Springsteen's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. On its release, critics praised the album's storytelling and musical performances. Springsteen and the E Street Band supported the album on the worldwide Born in the U.S.A. Tour (1984–1985).
Born in the U.S.A. transformed Springsteen into a worldwide superstar. The album helped to popularize American heartland rock and influenced later artists who wanted to mimic its power and impact. In later decades, publications such as Rolling Stone and NME ranked it as one of Springsteen's best albums and of all time. Born in the U.S.A. was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. However, Springsteen later expressed reservations about the album and the fame it brought him, and the lessons from its success have since influenced his career path and musical choices.
Background
Following the conclusion of the River Tour in September 1981, Bruce Springsteen rented a ranch in Colts Neck, New Jersey, While there, he wrote new material, including the song "Vietnam" about a Vietnam veteran returning to an apathetic community. During the tour, Springsteen had read Born on the Fourth of July, a 1976 autobiography by Ron Kovic, an anti-war activist who was wounded and paralyzed during the Vietnam War. Kovic's story inspired Springsteen to meet with veterans of the war in Los Angeles, which in turn inspired several tracks that center on themes about the Vietnam War, including "Vietnam", "Shut Out the Light", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "Highway Patrolman", and "Brothers Under the Bridges".
As Springsteen developed "Vietnam", the director Paul Schrader asked him to write music for a planned (but ultimately abandoned) film Born in the U.S.A. The screenplay centered on a Cleveland factory worker who plays guitar in a bar band at night. Springsteen revised the lyrics and music of "Vietnam", using the film's title to create "Born in the U.S.A." Schrader eventually made the film but retitled it Light of Day, which was released in 1987; Springsteen provided its title song.
Using a four-track tape recorder, Springsteen demoed tracks written in the bedroom of his Colts Neck house between December 17, 1981, and January 3, 1982. These included "Born in the U.S.A.", "Nebraska", "Atlantic City", "Mansion on the Hill", "Downbound Train", and "Child Bride". Between February and March, Springsteen demoed further tracks, including "Wages of Sin", "Your Love is All Around Me", "Baby I'm So Cold", and "Fade to Black".
Recording history
Initial sessions and Nebraska In late January 1982, weeks after recording the demos in Colts Neck, Springsteen and the E Street Band – Roy Bittan (piano), Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Danny Federici (organ), Garry Tallent (bass), Steven Van Zandt (guitar), and Max Weinberg (drums) – were at the Hit Factory in New York City recording a session for Gary U.S. Bonds' album On the Line, for which Springsteen had written seven songs and was co-producing with Van Zandt. During the session, the band recorded "Cover Me", a song Springsteen had written for Donna Summer. His manager-producer Jon Landau convinced Springsteen to keep it for his next album after hearing the finished recording; Springsteen subsequently wrote Summer another song, "Protection", and likewise recorded a version of that song with the E Street Band.
In April, Springsteen and the E Street Band regrouped at the Power Station in New York City, where The River (1980) had been recorded. There, he attempted to rerecord some of the Colts Neck demos as full-band versions for release on the next album. Production was handled by Springsteen, Landau, Van Zandt, and The River mixer Chuck Plotkin, while Toby Scott returned from the Hit Factory sessions as engineer. The band spent two weeks attempting full-band arrangements of the Colts Neck tracks, including "Nebraska", "Johnny 99", and "Mansion on the Hill", but Springsteen and his co-producers were dissatisfied with the recordings. Plotkin has described the performances with E Street as "less meaningful... less compelling... less honest" than the demo recordings.
Other songs from the tape, including "Born in the U.S.A.", "Downbound Train", "Child Bride" (now rewritten as "Working on the Highway"), and "Pink Cadillac", proved successful in full-band arrangements. According to the author Dave Marsh, the night the band recorded "Born in the U.S.A." was when "they knew they'd really begun making an album". Over the next few weeks into May, the band's productivity increased as they recorded material absent from the Colts Neck tape, including "Darlington County", "Frankie", "Glory Days", "I'm Goin' Down", "I'm on Fire", "Johnny Bye-Bye", "Murder Incorporated", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "This Hard Land", "None but the Brave", and "Wages of Sin". A new recording of "Cover Me" was also made. According to Weinberg, these sessions featured little rehearsal as the band went through songs without knowing them fully, often in fewer than five takes.
Despite the band's productivity and excitement about the recorded material, Springsteen remained focused on the rest of the Colts Neck songs. Realizing the tracks would not work in full-band arrangements, he decided to release the demos as is. Springsteen briefly considered releasing a double album of acoustic and electric songs before deciding to release the acoustic ones on their own to give them "greater stature". The album, Nebraska, was released in September 1982. It featured nine songs from the original demo tape, and "My Father's House", recorded at Colts Neck in late May. The album sold well, reaching number three in the U.S. and the U.K. charts. According to the pop culture scholar Gillian G. Gaar, music critics praised the album as "a brave artistic statement". Springsteen did not promote the album; he conducted no interviews and, for the first time after an album release, did not tour, instead vacationing on a cross-country road trip to California.
Further demos and continued sessions In late 1982, Springsteen and his guitar tech Mike Batlan built an eight-track studio in the former's new Los Angeles home. There, he spent time recording new demos that were similar in style to Nebraska, albeit with a drum machine. Songs demoed from January to April 1983 include "Shut Out the Light", "Johnny Bye-Bye", "Cynthia", "Unsatisfied Heart", "Sugarland", "The Klansman", "My Hometown", "Delivery Man", and "Follow That Dream", a reworking of the 1962 Elvis Presley single of the same name. Like the Nebraska tracks, Springsteen felt the new material would not work in a band setting. While he considered releasing another solo acoustic album, he ultimately dismissed the idea. During this period, Springsteen made numerous lifestyle changes, including therapy and working on his physique with a weight-training program. At the end of April, he departed California and traveled back to New York to record more material with the E Street Band.
Springsteen and the E Street Band reconvened at the Hit Factory between May and June 1983. The sessions included re-recordings of recently demoed solo material ("Cynthia" and "My Hometown"), as well as new tracks such as "Pink Cadillac", "Car Wash", "TV Movie", "Stand on It", and "County Fair". These were the first sessions without Van Zandt, who departed the E Street Band in June the year prior and had started a solo career, performing under the name Little Steven. According to the author Fred Goodman, Van Zandt departed due to personal clashes with Landau, although other sources state Van Zandt had felt trapped in the E Street Band and was ready to perform solo. By the summer of 1983, Van Zandt was touring supporting his second solo album, Voice of America. Springsteen's friendship with Van Zandt inspired two new songs, "Bobby Jean" and "No Surrender".
By July 1983, Springsteen and his co-producers had over fifty tracks to choose from for the album, tentatively titled Murder Incorporated. The recorded tracks encompassed numerous styles, including R&B ("Lion's Den", "Pink Cadillac"), rockabilly ("Stand on It", "Delivery Man"), hard rock ("Murder Incorporated", "My Love Will Not Let You Down"), and country and folk ("This Hard Land", "County Fair", "None but the Brave"). At the end of July, Springsteen asked Plotkin to develop a rough mix of the album that included "Born in the U.S.A.", "Glory Days", "My Hometown", "Downbound Train", "Follow That Dream", "Shut Out the Light", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", and "Sugarland". Plotkin dismissed the tentative list as "a conceptual mess"; he felt the album should begin with "Born in the U.S.A.", end with "My Hometown", and include "Working on the Highway" and "I'm on Fire".
Final recording and mixing
Springsteen was still unhappy with the recordings as the sessions continued into the new year. Mixing began with Bob Clearmountain, who had mixed The River "Hungry Heart". The band recorded "Bobby Jean" and "No Surrender" in October 1983, and that November put down "Brothers Under the Bridge" and other unreleased songs, including "Shut Down" and "100 Miles From Jackson". Landau had grown tired of the prolonged recording sessions but remained supportive of Springsteen's vision. By December, Springsteen and his co-producers had tentatively settled on "Born in the U.S.A.", "Glory Days", "Downbound Train", and "This Hard Land" as final choices for inclusion. Born in the U.S.A. was decided upon as the album title by January 1984. The same month, the band recorded "Rockaway the Days" and "Man at the Top".