Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.
Album by Bruce Springsteen
Released	June 4 1984
Recorded	1984 (?)
Genre	Rock
Length	46 min 19 s
Record label	Columbia Records
Producers	Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin
Professional reviews
RollingStone review	5/5	link (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=16661)
Bruce Springsteen Chronology
Nebraska (1982)	Born in the U.S.A. (1984)	Live/1975-85 (1986)

Born in the U.S.A. is an album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). In contrast to his previous album, the critical favorite Nebraska, Born in the U.S.A. featured anthemic and radio-friendly arrangements. Born in the USA was the first CD pressed in the United States for commercial release. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and is by far the best-selling album of Springsteen's career.

The title track, "Born in the U.S.A." is one of Springsteen's best known songs. Many have misinterpreted the song as a simple nationalistic anthem, while in reality, it is a song of protest depicting the hardships Vietnam veterans faced upon their return from the war. In spite of this, many politicians (notably including Ronald Reagan) have used the song without permission in their campaigns, and during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq many counterdemonstrators played the song opposite peace protests. In 2004, Senator John Kerry used "No Surrender" as his campaign theme song during his 2004 presidential campaign; both it and "Bobby Jean" reflect in part the departure of Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band.

"Dancing in the Dark" was Springsteen's first really big hit single; its up-tempo synthesizer riffs introduced a new element into his sound. "Cover Me" was a dance track originally intended for Donna Summer. "My Hometown" is based on 1960s racial and economic tensions in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold. In all there were seven top 10 hit singles from this album.

Contents

1 Track listing 2 Singles Chart Positions 3 Personnel 4 External link

Track listing

1. "Born in the U.S.A." - 4:39
2. "Cover Me" - 3:26
3. "Darlington County" - 4:48
4. "Working on the Highway" - 3:11
5. "Downbound Train" - 3:35
6. "I'm on Fire" - 2:36
7. "No Surrender" - 4:00
8. "Bobby Jean" - 3:46
9. "I'm Goin' Down" - 3:29
10. "Glory Days" - 4:15
11. "Dancing in the Dark" - 4:01
12. "My Hometown" - 4:33

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.

Singles Chart Positions

Billboard:

1984   Cover Me                The Billboard Hot 100                   No. 7
1984	Dancing In The Dark	The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 2
1984	Born In The U.S.A.	Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 8
1984	Cover Me	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 3
1984	No Surrender	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 40
1984	Cover Me	        Hot Dance Music/Club Play	        No. 11
1984	Dancing In The Dark	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	        No. 7
1985	I'm On Fire	        Adult Contemporary	                No. 6
1985	Born In The USA	        The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 9
1985	Glory Days	        The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 5
1985	I'm Goin Down	        The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 9
1985	I'm On Fire	        The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 6
1985	Glory Days	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 3
1985	I'm Goin Down	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 9
1985	I'm On Fire	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 4
1986	My Hometown	        Adult Contemporary	                No. 1
1986	My Hometown	        The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 6
1986	My Hometown	        Mainstream Rock Tracks	                No. 6

Personnel

• Bruce Springsteen - Bass, Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
• Clarence Clemons - Percussion, Saxophone, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Roy Bittan - Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals (bckgr)
• Bob Clearmountain - Mixing
• Danny Federici - Organ, Piano, Glockenspiel, Keyboards, Vocals
• Jeff Hendrickson - Assistant Engineer
• Ruth Jackson - Vocals (bckgr)
• La Bamba - Vocals (bckgr)
• Bruce Lampcov - Assistant Engineer
• Bob Ludwig - Mastering
• Richie Rosenberg - Trombone
• Bill Scheniman - Engineer
• Toby Scott - Engineer
• Billy Straus - Assistant Engineer
• Garry Tallent - Bass, Horn, Vocals (bckgr)
• Steven Van Zandt - Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Producer, Harmony *Vocals
• Max Weinberg - Drums, Vocals (bckgr)
• Zoe Yanakis - Assistant Engineer
• John Davenport - Assistant Engineer
• Annie Leibowitz - Photography
• Andrea Klein - Art Direction, Design, Cover Design

External link

• Album lyrics and samples (http://www.brucespringsteen.net/albums/bornintheusa.html)