from Baltimore, MD 100.7 FM The Bay:
Here’s the story of a recording made by Bruce Springsteen that (up until now) hasn’t been released or widely shared….it’s been safely kept in my own audio collection for the last 29 years.
In 1984, I was working for a station in Seattle/Tacoma. After having just started his “Born In The U.S.A.” tour in St.Paul, Minnesota in late June, The Boss had a couple of shows scheduled for October 17th and 18th in the Tacoma Dome.
Bruce performed the first show on the 17th while not feeling well, and by many accounts, he looked extremely ill. The next morning it was announced that the second show would be postponed for 24 hours.
At the end of that day, a listener of my station who was an elementary schoolteacher, came to the station with some “get well” artwork and a cassette recorded by her little students. She asked if we could get that to Bruce, and we gave it to a representative of his record label.
The very next day, we got a cassette in return – it was Bruce himself along with Roy Bittan. They had taken a few moments to record a thank you to the kids and record an abbreviated version of “Hungry Heart”.
The Bruce Springsteen GET WELL TAPE
There has never been or probably never will be a bigger hearted performer in rock & roll than Bruce Springsteen.
- Jay Philpott - Afternoons @ 100.7 The Bay/Baltimore
jay@thebayonline.com
Here’s some additional info on those concerts, and a Rolling Stone article that chronicled The Boss’ visit to the Pacific Northwest.
Trivia #1:That show marked the first time since 1974 that “Rosalita” was not played at a Springsteen show.
Trivia #2: The “Born In The USA” tour was the first time Nils Lofgren and Patti Scialfa performed with the E Street Band.
Trivia #3: Bruce met his first wife Julianne Phillips in October, 1984 – most likely at one of the Tacoma shows. Those shows were closest to her hometown of Lake Oswego, Oregon. They were married in May of 1985 and divorced in March of 1989.
Trivia #4: Much of the Tacoma Dome’s wooden roof was constructed out of lumber milled from trees that were blown down by the Mt. St. Helens volcano.
