Bruce

On this date in 1978, the “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” LP was commercially released to the public. This all came after a three year absence from new studio material on account of legal battles with former manager Mike Appel. It is important to note that because of these stuggles, Springsteen was unable to record a new record. Springsteen and the band toured in 1976 through the end of March of 1977 during these tough times. Bruce ended his legal battles with Appel on May 28th, 1977; the E Street Band was in the studio by early June of that same year.

What came out of these sessions was one of Springsteen’s most brilliant works. While the album was definitely amazing, it was also very dark and gloomy. This should not surprise anyone who was privy to what was going on in Springsteen’s life during the time before the album was recorded.

Here is the official track listing:

1. Badlands, 2. Adam Raised a Cain, 3. Something in the Night, 4. Candy’s Room, 5. Racing in the Street, 6. The Promised Land, 7. Factory, 8. Streets of Fire, 9. Prove it All Night, 10. Darkness on the Edge of Town

Many of these songs remain staples of Springsteen’s concerts to this day. However, there are some rarer songs that were recorded for this album that either made it on “Tracks” (1998) or are still in the vaults. Some of the more notable outtakes from Darkness include: “Don’t Look Back”, “Iceman”, “Rendezvous”, “Spanish Eyes”, “Fire”, “Because the Night”, and “Hearts of Stone” just to name a few.

Here’s to you Darkness!