5 The Sounds of Success

CHAPTER 5 The Sounds of Success Bruce and the band went on several concert tours for Born to Run. In total, they played more than two hundred shows in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

In the early days of the band, before their first album was released, they didn't have much money for tours. One time they played some shows in Boston and stayed at a friend's house— they had to take turns sleeping on a few mattresses in the attic! As the band became famous, they were able to travel more comfortably. Sometimes Bruce and the band stayed in expensive hotels and ate fancy food. But most of the time they stayed at average places. It was important to Bruce to remain a regular guy. His fans loved him for that. He wasn't a big party animal, either. On one tour, the band had two buses that took them to

shows—a party bus and quiet bus. Bruce preferred to stay in the quiet bus where he could sleep. Often rock stars will perform for about an hour and a half at concerts. Not Bruce. He'd be on the stage for over three hours—singing, dancing, and telling stories in between songs. Sometimes he would talk about his family or the house where he grew up. Sometimes he talked about the girls he had crushes on. The audience went wild. They felt connected to Bruce. He seemed to be telling them that he was like them. His memories almost felt like their memories. Bruce knew how important it was to connect with his audience. He has said, "An audience is not brought to you or given to you; it's something that you fight for." After the success of Born to Run, Bruce finally had money. He rented a big farmhouse in New Jersey where the band could rehearse. He also bought himself a 1957 Chevy. It was yellow with bright orange flames running down the sides. Bruce loved it, but soon his fans began to

recognize the car. When they saw him driving by, they chased after the car! Even with his busy schedule, Bruce still liked to spend time by himself. After the Born to Run tour finished, he put aside more time for his writing. Bruce wasn't a big reader. Instead, he preferred watching movies. He studied how they told stories and tried to do the same in his songwriting.

One of the films that inspired him was The Grapes of Wrath. It was based on the book by John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath showed the struggle of poor people in America during the 1930s. The struggle of working-class people was very important to Bruce. He wanted his songs to show how hard and lonely life could be in places like Freehold, where he had grown up. Bruce also looked to other singers for inspiration. He very much admired the folksinger Woody Guthrie. Woody's songs were about life in the 1930s. During the worst years of the Great Depression, one out of every four working people was unemployed in the United States.

Woody Guthrie's most famous song was "This Land Is Your Land." The lyrics call for an America where everyone is equal no matter how rich or poor they are. Guthrie was considered a voice of his time.