Cover Me: When You Walk in the Room

When Bruce Springsteen played his historic stand at The Bottom Line in the summer of ’75, he debuted a new cover for the occasion.

“When You Walk in the Room” was written and first released by Jackie DeShannon toward the end of 1963. It barely cracked the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #99.

But like Bruce, DeShannon is one of those singer-songwriters whose songs often fare better on the charts when other artists cover them. Kim Carnes took DeShannon’s “Bette Davis Eyes” to the top of the charts for nine weeks in 1981, for example, and in 1964 The Searchers took “When You Walk in the Room” to #35 in the U.S. and #3 in the U.K.

“When You Walk in the Room” would go on to chart again in 1981 (by Stephanie Winslow), 1987 (by Paul Carrack), and 1994 (by Pam Tillis).

But it was that Searchers version that likely inspired Bruce to cover it at The Bottom Line. Bruce had long been inclined to feature sixties covers in his set lists as a way of both acknowledging his influences and keeping their songs alive. Choosing DeShannon’s song for such a significant stand certainly implied that Bruce held it in high esteem.

While we unfortunately don’t have a circulating bootleg of that debut performance, Bruce made up for it by releasing an official archive edition of one of the dozen other shows that year that featured an appearance of DeShannon’s hit.

Here’s a beautiful recording of outing #10, from October 17, 1975 at The Roxy in Los Angeles:

Bruce played “When You Walk in the Room” once more the following year, and then not again for more than three decades.

“When You Walk in the Room” finally reappeared in 2009 as the opening song for the penultimate show Bruce would ever play at the Philadelphia Spectrum.

I was there that night, and I was astounded. Not only was I well aware of the significance of the song in Bruce’s career and how long it had been since he played it, I was thrilled because I’d coincidentally had an almost-brush with it a year earlier in St. Louis, when Bruce and the E Street Band rehearsed it but ultimately opened with “Then She Kissed Me” instead. Luckily I was able to hear it at the time, and thanks to whoever released this wonderful recording of the soundcheck, you can too.

Bruce played “When You Walk in the Room” only once more, in Kilkenny toward the end of the Wrecking Ball Tour as a dedication to some loyal female fans.

That last performance (to date) was arguably the best, with the song’s lush arrangement benefitting from the expanded line-up of musicians and vocalists.

“When You Walk in the Room” is a rarity, but it’s also clearly a song that Bruce has affection for–so don’t count this one out for a future appearance.

When You Walk in the Room
First performed: August 13, 1975 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: July 28, 2013 (Kilkenny, Ireland)