/ 28 October 2013

Bruce Springsteen’s musical genius in 5 songs

Singer Bruce Springsteen.
Singer Bruce Springsteen. (Reuters)

The wait is over. Big Concerts announced on Monday morning that two South African cities will finally have the pleasure of hosting rock 'n roll hall of fame inductee, Bruce Springsteen. 

Springsteen and the E-Street Band will perform two shows in Cape Town on January 28 and 29 2014, and one show in Johannesburg at the FNB stadium on February 1. Ticket sales open in Johannesburg on October 30 and on November 1 in Cape Town. 

Many South Africans will agree that seeing The Boss on their soil for the first time will be a dream come true. Especially since South Africans have been campaigning for it for years. In September, Cape Town-based music blogger Gary Cool drafted an open letter to Springsteen, pleading him to visit the country. The open letter included requests from a host of local musicians such as the Kongos, Hunter Kennedy of Fokofpolisiekar, Die Heuwels Fantasies and Arno Carstens, to name a few. 

Ending his viral letter, Cool wrote: "Having The Boss read this piece would be amazing, but if it never reaches him, well, let's at least aim at getting someone like Big Concerts to hear our plea."

Regardless of the means, he's coming to South Africa. So clear your day and listen to these five Springsteen classics: 

1. The ultimate underdog theme song. "Nobody wins unless everybody wins", sings Springsteen in this live performance of Born to Run.

2. Any die-hard Springsteen fan will remember Springsteen running into the arms of departed E-Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons on stage during the live performance of this anthem.

3. Born in the USA is one get-up-and-listen track that is often misunderstood. Instead of being about US patriotism, it's is actually about the Vietnam War, it's veterans and the pointless pursuit of war.

4. In 1994, Springsteen won an Academy award for Streets of Philadelphia. A song he composed for the movie Philadelphia, which deals with HIV and stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. The moving composition went on to win a Golden Globe, four Grammys and an MTV Video Music award. 

5. And while Rosalita, The River, Dancing in the Dark and countless others could be ranked here, I've settled for I'm on Fire. With its great rockabilly rhythm, this song replaces his often politically themed music with some old-fashioned sexual tension.