Bruce Springsteen may have been a Mike Ness fan before Ness was a Springsteen fan.
Ness confesses to getting turned on to Bruce much later in life when he had the chance to take in one of Bruce’s concerts. Bruce, however, has been a fan of Ness’ band Social Distortion since the early ’90s. (“How did this guy even hear of us?” Ness once wondered to an interviewer.)
Today, Bruce and Mike are friends and influence each other, and they’ve each graced the other’s stage. And one time (so far), they even collaborated in the studio.
When Ness recorded his first solo album, Cheating at Solitaire, in 1999, Bruce was one of several musicians Mike asked to join him on record. The result: A raging rocker called “Misery Loves Company,” featuring Bruce prominently on vocals and guitar.
As for why Bruce took to this particular song… well, looking at the lyrics, it’s not hard to see the resonance:
I used to think that I was a king
Fancy cars, fancy clothes and diamond rings
Yeah but happiness it’s a funny thing
And misery just loves company
Don’t even try to understand what goes on inside this man
As a boy I used to dream ’cause sometimes life ain’t what it seems…
In May of 2008–almost a decade after the song’s release–Ness played a show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, and Bruce showed up to join him on stage for four songs, including their one and only collaboration. But sadly no recording circulates from that performance, so fans of both artists had to wait for more than another decade to get another chance to catch “Misery Loves Company” by the original artists.
Thankfully, that last performance (At Sea. Hear. Now. in September 2018) not only was captured, it’s easy to find in several great video versions, including this one.
Misery Loves Company
Recorded: December 29, 1998
Released: Cheating at Solitaire (1999)
First performed: May 17, 2008 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: September 30, 2018 (Asbury Park, NJ)
