Cover Me: Party Lights

“Party Lights” must have seemed like an unlikely cover for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band when they broke it out on the Born to Run Tour.

For one thing, it was a song about a teenage girl, written and recorded by a girl only a few months out of her teens herself. For another… well, listen and hear for yourself.

See what I mean? “Party Lights” is an uptempo pop song completely devoid of electric guitar, making it an odd choice for a budding rock star’s set list.

But if we’re willing to overlook the absent guitar, the rest of the arrangement seems tailor-made for the E Street Band, right down to the sax solo. It certainly was a hit, too–Philadelphia-based Claudine Clark earned her one-hit wonder status when she took “Party Lights” all the way to #5 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1962 and landing at #35 for the year.

Regardless of whatever lodged it in Bruce’s brain back in 1975, “Party Lights” was a perfect fit for the romantic, retro stylings of the Born to Run Tour. It made three brief appearances during early December, the first of which remains the best recording.

Bruce kept the arrangement faithful, right down to the Spectorian “whoa oh oh oh’s.” But after three performances in ten days, Bruce retired “Party Lights” and hasn’t played it since.

He didn’t forget about it, though. Four years later, Bruce recorded a track for The River that while destined for outtake status managed to contribute some very familiar lyrics to the Springsteen catalog.

While the music and the arrangement might have been very different, when the track was finally released officially in The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, we could hear for ourselves just how much of an impression Claudine Clark’s only hit single made on Bruce.

In fact, Bruce’s song sounds very much like a direct sequel. Clark’s original centered around a girl with some serious FOMO; Bruce’s more mature track revisits the same character long after those party lights have faded.

Take a listen to Bruce’s own version of “Party Lights” and hear for yourself.

Party Lights
First performed: December 2, 1975 (Boston, MA)
Last performed: December 11, 1975 (South Orange, NJ)