and E Street Band are currently on tour, and their recent show in Amsterdam has gathered attention not just for the performance but for a certain post-show revelation. Following the concert, the band’s guitarist, Steven Van Zandt, took to Twitter to clarify some facts related to some of Springsteen’s songs.
The guitarist tweeted:
“Not for nothin’, but ‘Because The Night’ is not a Patti Smith Group cover. Bruce wrote it, me and E St Band spent a week of rehearsals arranging its very complex arrangement, Bruce gave it to Jimmy Iovine for Patti, she personalized some of the lyrics, and launched a great career.”
After the initial tweet, the fan wrote:
“It’s certainly got an interesting history. The way I believe Kid Leo tells it (and I could be wrong), Bruce either had or was about togive up on it when Iovine asked to give it to Smith. True? The Bruce channel does a good job of playing it as it morphed through the years.”
Van Zandt’s answer went as follows:
In an interview for Caryn Rose’s ‘Why Patti Smith Matters’ book, Springsteen himself also covered the song’s history and his feelings about it by saying:
“I was a tremendous admirer of Patti, you know, and I wasjust flattered that she was interested in collaborating, and I was just happy that she found something that she could do with the song, you know because that song would still bein my archives if it wasn’t for her. And it would be something that nobody had ever heard of.”
The version of ‘Because The Night’ by the Patti Smith Group has indeed made its mark. The song made its way into the charts in both the UK and the US. Moreover, over the years, numerous artists have put their own spin on it.