Now this is The Bruce Springsteen Band. Remember that heavy recording of “Do It With a Feeling” we listened to yesterday? Compare that with this gorgeous stereo recording of the blues standard “C.C. Rider.”
Hard to believe that’s the same band, isn’t it? That’s the difference a choice of material makes. The Bruce Springsteen Band was born to swing and built for the blues, and it doesn’t get much bluesier than “C.C. Rider.”
“C.C. Rider” dates all the way back to 1925, when Ma Rainey recorded it as “See See Rider Blues.”
That recording is now enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
A decade later, the song was known as “C. C. Rider,” with a notable recording by Big Bill Broonzy.
The song went to #1 twice on the Billboard charts, first in 1943 by Bea Booze (whose version topped Billboard’s “Harlem Hit Parade” chart)…
…and again in 1957 by Chuck Willis, who topped the Billboard R&B chart with his version.
But it was Mitch Ryder who had the most chart success with it, when his version stealthily made the Top 10 on the Hot 100 as the front half of “Jenny Take a Ride.”
By now, you know where we’re headed. In 1975, Bruce introduced Ryder’s “Detroit Medley” to his set list, and it became an immediate and enduring encore favorite.
Bruce and the band played “Detroit Medley” hundreds of times since, but full-on covers of “C.C. Rider” on its own have been far more elusive.
Other than a couple of private parties and a Hall of Fame jam session, Bruce only covered “C.C. Rider” once in the post-Bruce Springsteen Band era. At a special tribute concert to the music of Asbury Park’s Westside in 2011, Bruce fronted a band of local legends assembled by Nicky Addeo, taking “C.C. Rider” full circle back to its bluesy roots.
Bruce may have been born to rock, but when he wants to, that pair of bookend performances–forty years apart–reminds us that he can always groove.
C.C. Rider
First performed: July 10, 1971 (Lincroft, NJ)
Last performed: April 2, 2011 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Wait, didn’t he cover it at the legendary MUSE concert, right? Along with a few others in Mitch Ryder medley.
Not in full, just as part of the detroit medley. He’s only rarely covered it in full.
Obvious hints of Bob Seger, John Mellencamp and Bruce in the Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels clip from their 1966 Hullabaloo appearance…and that Farfisa organ sound–Wow!