Springsteen wanted to replicate a recording technique known as 'The Wall of Sound,' which Phil Spector developed in the 1960s. His challenge with his new album - the one he knew could save his career - was to make those sounds come alive on his new record. 'Once the Columbia folks heard that they were suddenly, and extremely, on board,' says Carlin.Īs for the rest of the album, Springsteen knew he had very specific sounds in his head. It took six months to record that one song - but when it was finished, Springsteen had the title track for Born to Run. 'Noting the terrible sales of the first two records, they did throw down the gauntlet, only giving Bruce enough recording money to make a single, which would serve as his audition for making a third album.'įortunately, the pressure from the Columbia executives was nothing compared to the pressure Springsteen put on himself. 'The leadership at Columbia had changed since Bruce signed and the new guys weren't fans,' says Peter Ames Carlin, author of Springsteen's authorized biography Bruce, in an interview with The Week. He was getting pressure from his label, Columbia, for a hit album that would show he had star potential, and Born to Run was his last chance. His follow-up, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, didn't do much better. Springsteen's first record, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., only sold 25,000 copies. The American music scene was changing, as rock made way for disco, punk, and the faint whispers of rap. The long, arduous process that eventually led to Born to Run began in 1974.

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