What if the The Clash and The Rolling Stones got together back in the day and wrote a song?
If you didn’t know better, you might swear that’s exactly what happened the first time you heard Bruce Springsteen’s “Crush on You.”
Take a listen and tell me Bruce isn’t doing is best Jagger:
…and then take a listen to “1 -2 Crush on You” by The Clash and notice the similarities in theme and construction (if not hyperbole).
Was “Crush on You” influenced by “1 -2 Crush on You?” I’ve never seen Bruce discuss it, but it seems likely. The Clash B-side was released in November 1978. Bruce recorded “Crush on You” in April 1979, so the time frame fits. And come on, it’s not a far leap from the Clash’s chorus of “1 -2 I got a crush on you” to Bruce’s “Ooh ooh, I got a crush on you.”
None of this is to say that Bruce swiped the song. Many Springsteen originals are homages to earlier classics, and Bruce has always worn his influences on his sleeve. Personally, I like to believe that my opening line of this post is exactly what Bruce had in mind: paying homage to two bands he admired, while upping the strut to just this side of silly.
Musically, the E Street Band can barely contain the lyrics, barreling forth with Bruce’s vocal sprinting to keep up, syncopation be damned.
And those lyrics! “Crush on You” features some of Bruce’s most playful lines, almost playing like a cartoon at times:
My feets were flying down the street just the other night
When a Hong Kong special pulled up at the light
What went inside, man, was just c’est magnifique!
I wanted to hold the bumper and let her drag me down the street
(Yeah, I know it reads like that meter is impossible, but Bruce manages to squeeze it in.)
And without exaggeration, one of my all-time favorite Springsteen lyrics is:
Sometimes I spot a little stranger standing ‘cross the room
My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room
I love that image.
Yeah, the song may have a dated reference or two (does anyone remember Sheena of the Jungle anymore?), but it’s a ton of fun, especially in concert. It’s one of my favorite tracks on The River, almost impossible to listen to without breaking out in a goofy grin.
And that’s why it was so maddening that Bruce refused to play it for the longest time–not even once between 1981 and August 2008.
Bruce has referred to it more than once as one of his worst songs. He called it “the stupidest song we’ve ever recorded” before playing it by request (for the firs time in 28 years) in Richmond, and (sarcastically) “a masterpiece” before playing it during the full River album show in New York City in 2009. Thankfully, the 2016 River tour forced him to reclaim the song in order to fulfill his promise of start-to-finish complete album performances, and he seems to have made his peace with it.
Just like with “All or Nothin’ at All,” the song comes alive in concert and is a ton of fun–easily one of the highlights of the recent River anniversary tour.
Here’s an early performance from the 1980 River tour…
…and one from the 2016 River tour:
I’m torn over which one was more fun. This song really needed to be in the setlist from time to time.
Still haven’t had enough “Crush on You?” Check out these outtakes–nothing revelatory here, but a glimpse at the band experimenting with different tempos, endings, and with-or-without sax solo.
“Crush on You”
Recorded: 1979-1980
Released: The River (1980)
First performed: October 3, 1980 (Ann Arbor, MI)
Last performed: July 28, 2016 (Oslo, Norway)
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