There’s no official video for the studio version of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.”
That’s just as well, because come on: how could any video compete with the iconic movie scene it’s most associated with?
“Old Time Rock and Roll” charted in the Top 100 twice–once when it was originally released in the spring of 1979 (it peaked at #28), and again in 1983 when Risky Business was released (peaking at #48).
But despite their long-time association (they first played together in 1980), Bob and Bruce didn’t perform the song together until Seger’s Madison Square Garden concert on December 1, 2011.
It was worth the wait. Turn the volume up, switch to full-screen mode, and enjoy:
Bob and Bruce’s team-up was pretty spectacular, considering they’d never played the song together before.
But while Bruce might have never played “Old Time Rock and Roll” with the song’s original recording artist before, he’d actually played it live one time prior… all the way back in 1989 in one of his legendary surprise appearances at The Stone Pony with house band Cats on a Smooth Surface.
That performance is a lot harder to find than the 2011, but here it is for your listening pleasure. From Sunday night, July 23, 1989, check out Bruce Springsteen with Cats on a Smooth Surface playing Bruce’s very first performance of “Old Time Rock and Roll.” It’s incomplete, but it’s still a fun listen.
Old Time Rock and Roll
First performed: July 23, 1989 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: December 1, 2011 (New York City, NY)
