Bruce Springsteen is one of the ultimate rock and roll performers, captivating audiences both through his records and his electrifying live shows. Known affectionately as ‘The Boss’, Springsteen has crafted a legacy that places him head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries. His ability to connect with listeners, whether at home or on stage, has solidified his status as a rock hero. A totemic figure in the music world, Springsteen has earned enough stripes to make a Bengal tiger blush with embarrassment.
There are many singers throughout the world who would be positively quaking in their boots to take a seat in the BBC Radio 4 studios to be quizzed on their life and music tastes for Desert Island Discs. However, when Bruce Springsteen came to town, it was more likely that it was the entire BBC that was shaking from the impending esteem of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century.
Desert Island Discs has been running for over 80 years and has welcomed some of the most important people the entire world has ever known, from actors and musicians to world leaders and forward-thinkers. The premise is simple: you’re trapped on an inescapable desert island with only a few items from home for comfort, one of which is eight songs that you can play over and over again. The Boss, Springsteen, picks eight songs he simply couldn’t live without.
The list puts Springsteen firmly in the driving seat for your favourite desert island DJ as he selects some of the finest musicians the world has ever known, picking some of their best tunes, too. Choosing songs that would soundtrack an unescapable stint on a beached desert island is more complex than one might think. Eight discs do not provide very much wiggle room.
However, faced with the challenge of selecting just eight songs to take with him, Springsteen rose to the occasion and provided a stellar list of tunes. This list includes James Brown, Van Morrison, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and more. It is a piece of The Boss’ iconography that needs to be heard.
The list of songs is already impressive, but there’s always one moment near the end of the show that surprises most guests. After narrowing down a lifetime of musical love to just eight tracks, they’re then asked to make an even tougher choice: selecting their absolute favourite. This is the one song they can’t imagine living without—the track that, above all others, defines their musical soul. “Which song would you save from the waves?” It’s always a difficult question, and Springsteen acknowledges it, “That’s a tough question,” he responds.
“It’d have to be ‘Like A Rolling Stone‘,” says Springsteen, having selected the track latterly in the conversation. His most poignant choice is that of a kindred spirit and perhaps his ultimate songwriting hero. “This could be at the top of the list,” says Springsteen when selecting Bob Dylan’s iconic song. The star reflects, “The first time I heard it, it came out of the radio. I didn’t know anything about Dylan’s acoustic music. I was a creature of top 40, so the first time I really heard him with this song, it just instantly started to change my life.”
“‘Like a Rolling Stone’ feels like a torrent that comes rushing towards you,” he adds. “Floods your soul, floods your mind. Alerts and wakes you up instantaneously to other worlds, other lives. Other ways of being. It’s perhaps one of the most powerful records ever made and it still means a great deal to me along with all of Dylan’s work.”
Springsteen is a well-known adorer of Dylan’s work and has often cited the singer as an undying inspiration for his career. Across the years, he has routinely shared his admiration for the songwriter both in interviews and on stage, once including many of his tracks into his set list and now regularly turning to the freewheelin’ troubadour as a go-to repository of crowd-pleasing hits. It seems fitting then that the one song Springsteen simply couldn’t live without is perhaps Bob Dylan’s most beloved song of all.
