MatR: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Friends – Jailhouse Rock

It was a team-up for the ages, an Elvis-themed evening featuring an all-star cast of performers.

At Sting and Trudie Styler’s Rainforest Foundation benefit concert in 1995, Sting was joined on stage by Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Jon Bon Jovi, and the late Geoffrey Oryema and Jessye Norman. Oh, and Bruce Springsteen of course.

Bruce played a few of his own songs during his set (including a complete version of “I’m Turning Into Elvis,” which he partially debuted the week before at Sony Studios). But he also paid tribute to The King, joining the assembled artists for a cover-filled encore.

Among the Elvis songs performed by that amazing line-up was “Jailhouse Rock,” and fortunately for us, it was captured (at least in part) in professionally shot video:

The original song, of course, needs no introduction. The 1957 smash hit (#1 for seven weeks) is on just about every list of honors imaginable, from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (#67) to the American Film Institute’s top 100 songs from American cinema (#21). It’s also firmly enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

While that 1995 benefit may have been the most notable occasion on which Bruce covered “Jailhouse Rock,” it’s neither the first nor the last time.

Bruce first covered “Jailhouse Rock” on stage at The Stone Pony in 1977 with The Shakes, but sadly no audio circulates from that night.

But Bruce also covered the song by request with the E Street Band–twice–and both of those renditions were captured on video. Here’s the first, from Giants Stadium on the Working on a Dream Tour, just a little over a decade ago:

The second time (and final time to date) was four years later on the Wrecking Ball Tour in Werchter, Belgium, where Bruce took full advantage of his horn section.

Still, it’s hard to beat the exuberance of that 1995 all-star performance. I’ll leave you with the audio from that night–the sound isn’t nearly as good as in the video at the top, but it’s complete and clear enough to hear how much fun it was for both the audience and the performers.

Jailhouse Rock
First performed: May 19, 1977 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: July 13, 2013 (Werchter, Belgium)