Of all the songs in Billy Joel’s catalog begging for a Billy/Bruce team-up, “The River of Dreams” is a no-brainer.
Not just because it was a hit single, topping the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart (peaking at #3 on the Hot 100), but because Bruce sure loves him some river metaphors (“If I Should Fall Behind,” “Across the Border,” “Blood Brothers,” “One Minute You’re Here…” the list goes on and on.)
So what a treat it was when Billy and Bruce closed their main set with it at their benefit fundraiser for then-candidate Barack Obama in the closing weeks of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.
This was more than just Bruce backing Billy on guitar. The two rock legends traded lead vocals, and even when Bruce is in the background, we can hear him clearly throughout. And as a bonus, we get the closest thing we have to a Bruce Springsteen cover of The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” via a mid-song interlude.
That concert featured a treasure chest of one-time-only Springsteen performances of Billy Joel Classics (see “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” and “A Matter of Trust” for two of them), but this one’s my favorite.
Here’s hoping for an encore performance–for both the song and a show-length team-up–sometime soon.
River of Dreams
First performed: October 16, 2008 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: October 16, 2008 (New York City, NY)
