MatR: Bruce Springsteen and just about everybody: Mustang Sally

It seems like everybody’s covered “Mustang Sally” at one time or another, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bruce has covered it with so many different artists as well.

“Mustang Sally” was a hit from the beginning for songwriter and original artist Mack Rice when he released it in the spring of 1965, peaking at #15 on the R&B chart.

But it was Wilson Pickett’s cover the following year that really captured listeners, lifting it to #6 on the R&B chart, #23 on the Pop chart, and landing it in the lower reaches of Rolling Stones’  500 Greatest Songs of All Time list at #441.

Since then it’s become one of the most covered R&B songs ever, with studio and live versions from artists like The Young Rascals, Buddy Guy, The Kingsmen, Muddy Waters, and of course Bruce Springsteen.

But there’s something about the universal popularity of “Mustang Sally” that seems to make it almost impossible for Bruce to cover by himself. In fact, even though he’s performed it 30 times over the past 40 years, that clip above from the High Hopes Tour in 2014 was actually the first and only time he’s covered it in public at an official E Street Band show.

He’s performed it with good friends, like Southside Johnny in 1984…

…and Joe Grushecky in 1994.

He’s performed it with local bands like Solar Circus and Timepiece…

…and with Hall of Fame legends like Chaka Khan, John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley:

He’s played it at a festival with Phish…

…and he eventually played it with his own band (plus John Eddie) at a 2009 rehearsal show.

Bruce even played it at one of his very last performances to date, at a benefit for the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation earlier this year–and of course that one was a team-up, too–this time with Patti.

Admittedly that last one wasn’t one of Bruce’s better performances, but never fear: it’s a pretty safe bet we’ll hear Bruce tackle “Mustang Sally” again someday soon.

The only question is: who’ll be tackling it with him?

Mustang Sally
First performed: January 11, 1979 (Fair Haven, NJ)
Last performed: January 17, 2020 (Wellington, FL)