Before Laurel and Yanni, there was Sally and Annie.
Back in the Bruce Springsteen Band era (1971-72), Bruce and the boys would play a ten-minute blues jam called “Sweet Miss Sally.”
Or maybe it’s “Mistress Annie.”
No one really knows what the song was called, because no one’s seen a setlist with the name of the song written on it. Fans have titled the songs based on the lyrics they could discern in the two muddy bootleg performances that have survived to the modern era.
Take a listen and decide for yourself who Bruce is singing about. (Me, I hear a different name in each version, so I think perhaps Bruce just changed the song over the holidays.)
Now compare with this 1971 recording:
Whether it’s Sally or Annie, either way it seems that the woman question is a lady of the evening, a visit with whom is a rite of passage for a young man. The idea of poppas bringing their sons to see her (much less sons begging their poppas to do so) is kind of creepy, though, so let’s not dwell on the lyrics for this one.
Enjoy the jam instead.
Sweet Miss Sally/Mistress Annie
Never recorded or released
First performed: December 3, 1971 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: January 21, 1972 (Neptune, NJ)
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index. New entries every week!
