Born in the U.S.A.

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Template:Album infobox Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music).

In contrast to his previous album, the critical favorite Nebraska, Born in the U.S.A. featured anthemic and radio-friendly arrangements. It spawned a record-tying seven hit Top 10 hit singles in the U.S., and is by far the best-selling album of Springsteen's career. It was also a critical success, being voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll.

Born in the U.S.A. was the first CD pressed in the United States for commercial release.

Contents 1 History 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 3.1 The E Street Band 3.2 Additional musicians 3.3 Production 4 Singles chart positions 5 External links

History

"Dancing in the Dark" was Springsteen's first major hit single; its up-tempo synthesizer riffs introduced a new element into his sound, and its accompanying music video helped launch the career of Courteney Cox, who appeared in it. The video was directed by Brian De Palma. It used synthesizers and had more syncopation than usual for that artist. Even a remix was made for it, by Arthur Brown. It made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was kept out of the top spot by The Artist Known As Prince, whose "When Doves Cry" more captured the public imagination than did Bruce.

"Cover Me" was a dance track originally intended for Donna Summer. "My Hometown" is based on 1960s racial and economic tensions in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold. "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean" reflected in part the departure of Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band.

In all there were seven top 10 hit singles from this album, tying the record for most hit singles from an album also held by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814.

The title track, "Born in the U.S.A." is one of Springsteen's best known songs. Many have misinterpreted the song as a simple nationalistic anthem, while in reality, it is a song of protest depicting the hardships Vietnam veterans faced upon their return from the war. In spite of this, many politicians (notably including Ronald Reagan) have used the song without permission in their campaigns, and during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq many counterdemonstrators played the song opposite peace protests, which is a gross misrepresentation of the song itself. Contrary to the belief that the song is jingoistic, it is a negative reaction to the United States. In 2004, Senator John Kerry used "No Surrender" as his campaign theme song during his 2004 presidential campaign.

Springsteen refused Chrysler Corporation CEO Lee Iacocca's request to use "Born in the U.S.A." in commercials for Chrysler cars, turning down an offer that would have been worth several million dollars. Instead, the company used a similar tune and the words "Born in America."

Born in the U.S.A. was notably the first compact disc to be manufactured in the United States, when CBS Records opened its CD manufacturing plant in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1984. CDs sold in the U.S. since the format was introduced there in early 1983 had been imported from Japan.

Track listing

1. "Born in the U.S.A." – 4:39
2. "Cover Me" – 3:26
3. "Darlington County" – 4:48
4. "Working on the Highway" – 3:11
5. "Downbound Train" – 3:35
6. "I'm on Fire" – 2:36
7. "No Surrender" – 4:00
8. "Bobby Jean" – 3:46
9. "I'm Goin' Down" – 3:29
10. "Glory Days" – 4:15
11. "Dancing in the Dark" – 4:01
12. "My Hometown" – 4:33

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.

Personnel

The E Street Band

• Roy Bittan – synthesizer, piano, background vocals
• Clarence Clemons – saxophone, percussion, background vocals
• Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel, piano on "Born in the U.S.A."
• Bruce Springsteen – guitar, vocals
• Garry Tallent – bass guitar, background vocals
• Steven Van Zandt – guitar, mandolin, harmony vocals
• Max Weinberg – drums, background vocals

Additional musicians

• Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg - vocals on "Cover Me"
• Ruth Jackson - vocals on "My Hometown"

Production

• Bob Clearmountain – mixing
• John Davenport – assistant engineer
• Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer
• Andrea Klein – art direction, design, cover design
• Bruce Lampcov – assistant engineer
• Annie Leibowitz – photography
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Bill Scheniman – engineer
• Toby Scott – engineer
• Billy Straus – assistant engineer
• Zoe Yanakis – assistant engineer

Singles chart positions

Billboard:

1984	Dancing In The Dark	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 2
1984	Cover Me	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 7
1985	Born In The U.S.A.	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 9
1985	Glory Days	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 5
1985	I'm On Fire	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 6
1985	I'm Goin Down	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 9
1986	My Hometown	The Billboard Hot 100	No. 6
1984	Born In The U.S.A.	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 8
1984	Cover Me	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 3
1984	No Surrender	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 40
1984	Cover Me	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	No. 11
1984	Dancing In The Dark	Hot Dance Music/Club Play	No. 7
1985	I'm On Fire	Adult Contemporary	No. 6
1985	Glory Days	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 3
1985	I'm Goin Down	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 9
1985	I'm On Fire	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 4
1986	My Hometown	Adult Contemporary	No. 1
1986	My Hometown	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 6

External links

• Album lyrics and samples

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