Of course Bruce has covered “Not Fade Away.” Who hasn’t?
It was the single that introduced The Rolling Stones to U.S. audiences in 1964, and although it only reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100, it paved the way for bigger hits to come.
The Stones might have been the first band to chart with “Not Fade Away,” but they weren’t the first to record it. That honor goes to The Crickets, fronted by Buddy Holly, of course.
Holly’s version of “Not Fade Away” was the B-side to “Oh Boy!” and while it never charted under its own steam, Rolling Stone still enshrined it at #108 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time rankings.
Bruce was probably familiar with both versions of the song, but it was The Stones’ recording that captured his imagination from the moment he first saw the photo sleeve for the single. In the clip below, Bruce reminisces about that moment with Little Steven.
Bruce has covered and teased snippets of “Not Fade Away” since very early in his career–as far back as his Bruce Springsteen Band days. Here’s the first known recording of Bruce performing “Not Fade Away” (clearly influenced by The Stones’ version) in the autumn of 1971. It’s not the best recording, but hoo boy… that guitar solo!
It wasn’t until the Darkness Tour that Bruce brought “Not Fade Away” to the E Street stage, as part of a primal, percussive medley that led seamlessly into “She’s the One.”
That medley (often featuring “Mona,” “Gloria,” and “Preacher’s Daughter” as well) was a nightly highlight of the Darkness Tour, but once the tour ended, “Not Fade Away” kept a much lower profile.
Still, the very fact that almost every rock and roll musician worth their salt can play “Not Fade Away” makes the song a likely set list candidate for impromptu guest appearances. That’s probably why so many of Bruce’s post-Darkness Tour covers of “Not Fade Away” were on someone else’s stage.
For example, here’s Bruce’s first post-Darkness Tour performance (and my personal favorite)–from the spring of 1989, featuring an epic guitar face-off with Nils Lofgren and Max Weinberg on drums at The Stone Pony.
The nineties brought a handful of “Not Fade Away” Springsteen team-ups, some with local bands, like this 1995 appearance with New Jersey-based Solar Circus at Cheers in Long Branch.
…and some with more well-known artists, like Bruce’s 1997 appearance with The Wallflowers at Tradewinds in Sea Bright.
In the 21st century, “Not Fade Away” has kept a pretty low profile in Bruce’s set lists, but it makes a cameo now and then (typically only as a tease, though, reprising its classic role as a lead-in for “She’s the One”).
Still, it’s a trusty standby that’s always at the ready for an impromptu team-up. It even surfaced in one of Bruce’s last public performances to date–with Southside Johnny at the Stone Pony Summer Stage just about a year ago (as of this writing, at least).
Here’s Bruce’s last (for now, at least) performance of “Not Fade Away.”
Not Fade Away
First performed: October 23, 1971 (Richmond, VA)
Last performed: July 6, 2019 (Asbury Park, NJ)
