One of the very first covers of a Bruce Springsteen song went unreleased for more than twenty years after it was recorded. And while you may not know the band that recorded it, you certainly know the producer who masterminded it.
It may not be much of an understatement to say that in 1973-74, David Bowie seemed borderline obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. As many Springsteen fans know, Bowie recorded covers of not one but two tracks from Bruce’s first album: “Growin’ Up,” and “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City.”
But not many Springsteen fans know that Bowie actually recorded a third Bruce cover, way back in 1973–except this time as producer for The Astronettes, a trio that included his then-girlfriend Ava Cherry.
Take a careful listen to this swinging, sure-footed cover of “Spirit in the Night“–recorded in 1973 but unreleased until 1995–and you might notice Bowie’s unintentional cameo at around 3:06, when he discretely coaches lead singer Geoffrey MacCormack on how to deliver the next section.
Makes you wonder what Bowie might have done with the song if he’d covered it himself, doesn’t it?
