Bill Deal & The Rhondels aren’t exactly household names.
Except for one brief shining moment in 1969, when they had three Top 40 singles, the band’s fame has mostly been local to their Virginia roots.
But Bruce Springsteen has a soft spot for beach music, and an even softer spot for boardwalk beach towns. So when Bruce and the E Street Band brought the High Hopes Tour to Virginia Beach–their first-ever show in that town–Bruce pulled out a special opening number to mark the occasion.
When it was showtime, the E Street Band took the stage without Bruce. It was actually Nils who counted the band in, and the band played the opening bars of “May I” before Bruce took the stage to welcome his audience and pay homage to Bill Deal.
(Here’s an incomplete video of that performance–it cuts off halfway through)
“May I” was actually the lowest-charting of Bill Deal’s three hit singles–it barely cracked the Top 40, peaking at #39. But it was also the band’s first hit, and the one that introduced audiences to their blend of beach music and blue-eyed soul.
But as it turns out, “Bill Deal” wasn’t the original recording artist for “May I.” That honor goes to Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs (of “Stay” fame), who released the song in 1966 to little notice.
Was Bruce aware of the Zodiacs original when he performed “May I” that night in 2014?
Of course he was! The man is a walking encyclopedia of rock history. But it’s the arrangement of the Bill Deal version that made the song a hit, and it’s that surf sound Bruce was paying tribute to.
Regardless, though, it was one of Bruce’s more obscure covers–one that’s not likely to be reprised any time soon.
May I
First performed: April 12, 2014 (Virginia Beach, VA)
Last performed: April 12, 2014 (Virginia Beach, VA)
I love it when he “localizes” his shows, paying homage and saluting the music of a particular town he may be in.
I do too, especially when he opens the show that way. It’s a nice jolt of familiarity and unpredictability at the same time.