Bruce Springsteen fans will devour every second of the two hour and 12 minute tribute to him recorded at the 2013 MusiCares person of the year benefit and airing as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.
From the opening introduction by fellow New Jersey native Jon Stewart to Neil Young’s punk rock version of “Born in the USA” to Elton John’s heartfelt “Streets of Philadelphia” to the climactic performance by the Boss himself leading the E Street Band in blazing renditions of his iconic ”Thunder Road” and “Born to Run” and then into an epic finale with all the evening’s performers, the program is a tribute as well to the power of music.
As Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa look on proudly from their table–and often rock out and sing along–an array of noted musicians across multiple genres perform his songs before a crowd of 3,000 people, many of whom are shown in cutaways having the time of their lives.
Spotted in the crowd: Sean Penn, Les Moonves and Julie Chen, Rita Wilson, Conan O’Brien and Judd Apatow. Springsteen’s daughter and mother were also in attendance.
Nearly every number is a huge highlight, from John Legend performing a piano-driven arrangement of “Dancing in the Dark” to Tom Morello and Jim James shredding their guitars on an electrified version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” to Patti Smith playing her smash hit co-written with Springsteen, “Because the Night.”
Recording Academy president Neil Portnow gave Springsteen a crystal trophy and lauded his humanitarian work in addition to an illustrious career that began with his 1973 Columbia Records release “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.”
Since then, Springsteen has released a total of 18 studio albums, taken home 20 Grammy Awards and won an Oscar for best original song from 1993’s “Philadelphia.” And of course he’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
But the ever modest legend gave a low-key yet powerful speech lauding the magic of music after thanking John Legend for making him sound like Gershwin and Neil Young for making him sound like The Sex Pistols.
“I’ve seen it before, and been part of the magic of music, he said. “Music is life. The earth and stars rolling through the heavens, the winds whistling and the birds singing. Musicians are a brotherhood and a sisterhood. We’re the wrong people, but sometimes we hit it right.”
Here’s the set list from the evening:
- “Adam Raised a Cain” (performed by Alabama Shakes)
- “Because the Night” (performed by Patti Smith)
- “Atlantic City (performed by Natalie Maines, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite)
- “American Land” (performed by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys)
- “My City of Ruins” (performed by Mavis Staples and Zac Brown)
- “I’m on Fire” (performed by Mumford and Sons)
- “American Skin (41 Shots)” (performed by Jackson Browne and Tom Morello)
- “My Hometown” (performed by Emmylou Harris)
- “One Step Up” (performed by Kenny Chesney)
- “Streets of Philadelphia” (performed by Elton John)
- “Hungry Heart” (performed by Juanes)
- “Tougher Than the Rest” (performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill)
- “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (performed by Jim James and Tom Morello)
- “Dancing in the Dark” (performed by John Legend)
- “Lonesome Day” (performed by Sting)
- “Born in the U.S.A.” (performed by Neil Young and Crazy Horse)
- “We Take Care of Our Own” (performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
- “Death to My Hometown” (performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
- “Thunder Road” (performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
- “Born to Run” (performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
- “Glory Days” (performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and full ensemble)
Oh, what a night.
(A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen premieres as part of PBS Arts Fall Festival on Friday, December 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)
–Hillary Atkin
