Hit Parade: Tramps Like Us, Part 1
Bruce Springsteen has been a legend so long, it\u2019s easy to forget that, for his first decade, he had trouble getting a hit. Yes, even the legendary \u201cBorn to Run\u201d: It missed Billboard\u2019s Top 20. And yet, several of Springsteen\u2019s songs became big hits for others: the song with the misheard lyric about \u201ca deuce\u201d that went to No. 1 for a British band. The song he couldn\u2019t finish that became a hit for a punk priestess. The song he refused to let his record label hear that became a massive hit for the Pointer Sisters. The hit he almost gave away to the Ramones.\n\xa0\nIn his second decade, on the other hand, Springsteen wasn\u2019t just a hitmaker\u2014he was the archetype: the symbol of flag-waving American rock, even when the song was less patriotism than protest. Advertisers, other pop stars, President Ronald Reagan\u2014everybody glommed onto Bruce, and virtually all of them got him wrong. Just in time for summer, Hit Parade takes on the Boss, pop star. How did Bruce Springsteen invent his persona and find his truth?\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices