Bruce Springsteen wants to “inspire” people.
The ‘Born in the USA’ hitmaker got the bug to make “great music” when he was a kid and found his output more important than making money or being a heartthrob.
The 73-year-old music legend said on his podcast ‘Questlove Supreme’ on Thursday (10.11.22): “It started when I was a young kid. More than being rich or more than being good looking. I wanted to make great music.
“I wanted to inspire people the way I felt inspired. And that’s my life’s work. I want to inspire you with my music the way people touched my heart and soul with their music.”
Bruce – whose career has spanned more than five decades – loves the process of “being in the studio” and messing around.
He said: “I knew I was done writing for a while. I made a record with the E Street Band called ‘Letter To You’ and it felt like I don’t have anything I want to write about at the moment.
“Also I like the acting of recording and being in the studio, making sounds, so maybe I’ll record something that I haven’t written.
“Some way or another I ended up singing Frank Wilson’s ‘Do I Love You?’. That was a hit in the Northern Soul scene in England where they dig up unusual Motown and soul records. We cut that up and it felt like I touched on something, it felt focused, fresh and focused on my voice.
The ‘Dancing in the Dark’ hitmaker lamented about the changes to the industry like the spaces to perfect your “craft”.
Bruce said: “What shocks me is that sort of venue no longer exists. These were the places where you played five hours a night, live sets in a row. We learned our craft piece. We learned our craft piece by piece, song by song.
“That’s different today – you have a kid in his bedroom, two months later he has the biggest hit in the United States on the radio, never played a gig in his life.”
Bruce – who will be headlining BST Hyde Park next summer – revealed he loves to make the show fresh as it could “impact someone’s life”.
“On the last tour we played 200 different songs. Once the tour gets rolling the show is regularly different on a night-to-night basis.
“We don’t just play three-and-a-half hours a night – we are there in the afternoon. I have done two-hour soundchecks just to learn something new.
“It’s just because it’s fun, and it remains an honour to play for our audience. And that’s what I insist on the band on a nightly basis.
“Your name is on the line. I don’t care how long you’ve been doing it – you have the opportunity to impact somebody’s life tonight.
“It’s somebody’s first time every night and I want to play like it’s my first night.”