In 1995, Elliott Murphy was working on his upcoming album Selling the Gold, and among the songs he’d written and selected for it was a lovely little ballad called “Everything I Do (Leads Me Back to You).”
Murphy had written it with Bruce in mind–not from a lyrical point of view (although that second verse screams Springsteen) but from a vocal perspective.
Elliott had joined Bruce on stage in Paris a few years earlier, and in their first-ever performance together even after decades of friendship, Elliott was stunned by how well their voices complemented each other.
Elliott thought “Everything I Do” was a perfect song for Bruce’s register and a great spotlight for their two voices. He was right.
Elliott played a demo of the song for Bruce, who listened intently before saying, “Yeah, I could sing something on that.”
Elliott would have been more than satisfied with Bruce’s backing vocals. But when Bruce took the song into his home studio, recorded his contribution and sent it back, Elliott was surprised but delighted to discover that Bruce had recorded lead vocals for an entire verse. And honestly, how could he resist:
Well, I’m a man without a place
Sometimes afraid to show my face
Hear me humming in the night
When you turn out the light
They can blow my tires out
‘Til I’m filled up with nothing else but doubt
Still, I’m rolling on my rims
Oh baby, coming back to you again.
That Murphy is clever like a fox. Put a verse like that in front of Bruce and odds are pretty good he’s gonna sing it. Now Elliot had a genuine Springsteen duet on his hands.
“Everything I Do (Leads Me Back to You)” garnered neither widespread attention nor acclaim upon it’s release, but it remains a lovely under-the-radar track with two beautiful vocal performances.
Everything I Do (Leads Me Back to You)
Recorded: mid-1995
Released: Selling the Gold (1995)
Never performed live
