In the golden age of pop music that was the 1980s, a triumvirate of mega-stars reigned over the charts: Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince.
The three icons seemed to perpetually jostle for position in the Top 20, with Bruce notching eleven hits throughout the decade, Prince fourteen, and Madonna a whopping seventeen. (Prince famously denied Bruce his one chance at a number one hit when “When Doves Cry” stubbornly clung to the top rung despite a fierce challenge from “Dancing in the Dark.”)
At the peak of the decade–the summer of 1984 through early 1985–not only did Bruce, Prince, and Madonna all have #1 albums, but for an entire eight-month span, they were the only artists to hold that spot: Born in the U.S.A. owned July 1984; Purple Rain ruled over the remainder of the year; Born in the U.S.A. reclaimed the top spot for a few weeks in January and February 1985, until Madonna dethroned it with Like a Virgin for the remainder of the month.
With their albums and singles constantly jostling and jousting, one might expect the artists to be rivals as well.
That’s not the case though. (In fact, Madonna and Prince are rumored to have been on very intimate terms at the time.)
Still, the power trio never managed to share a stage… except for that one night when the stars literally aligned. On Febuary 23, 1985, Prince and The Revolution played the Inglewood Forum on their Purple Rain Tour, and after his first encore (“I Would Die For U”), Prince brought out two very special guests.
And then, that one time only, Prince, Bruce Springsteen (on guitar) and Madonna (on tambourine) performed together on Prince’s “Baby, I’m a Star.” Listen to that nineteen-minute(!) performance below–you’ll hear Bruce take a lengthy guitar solo around the seven-minute mark.
The original album version of “Baby I’m a Star” was much shorter, of course. Released as the B-side to “Take Me With U” in 1984 it clocked in at a mere four-and-half minutes.
On stage, though, “Baby I’m a Star” was epic-length even from the early days of the Purple Rain Tour–like Bruce, Prince made the most of every song, holding band and audience alike in tight formation.
Unconfirmed rumors abound that Bruce was on stage for more than just that one song that night. I’ve heard other tracks from that show’s bootleg, however, and I’m skeptical.
This is likely a truly one-time-only performance.
Baby I’m a Star|
First performed: February 23, 1985 (Inglewood, CA)
Last performed: February 23, 1985 (Inglewood, CA)
