Kingdom of Days: November 4

New for 2023: Audio for 1976; video for 2011

1971: Tinker West drives Bruce to New York City to introduce him to future manager Mike Appel. Bruce performs a few songs for Appel on piano and acoustic guitar, including “Song for Orphans,” which Bruce will officially release 49 years later, and “Baby Doll,” which fails to impress. Bruce and Appel agree to touch base again someday, but their next meeting won’t happen for another four months.

1975: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of three nights at Arizona State University in Tempe.

1976: Bruce and the band wrap up a six-night stand at the Palladium in New York City with a barnburner–especially the encores, in which Ronnie Spector joins the band for three of her greatest hits: “Baby, I Love You,” “Walking in the Rain,” and “Be My Baby.” All three are live debuts for Bruce and the E Street Band. Also debuting in the encores: Bruce’s cover of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” The main set is pretty great, too, with a particularly inspired “It’s My Life,” probably because one of its writers (Carl D’Errico) is in the audience.

1977: Bruce takes a break from the recording sessions for Darkness on the Edge of Town at the Record Plant in New York City to call into radio station WIOQ-FM in Philadelphia, giving DJ Ed Sciaky one of his several interviews with Bruce over the years. Bruce is a bit overly optimistic about the album’s release date, though.

1978: Bruce and the E Street Band play a Darkness Tour show at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

1984: Bruce and the band wrap up their seven-night Born in the U.S.A. Tour stand at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena, where Bruce dedicates “Shut Out the Light” to Ron Kovic (who is in attendance). The official video for “Born in the U.S.A.” is filmed at this show.

1998: Bruce joins Clarence Clemons on stage at Club 251 in West Palm Beach, Florida, for four songs.

1999: Patti Scialfa has a perforated eardrum, forcing Bruce to postpone a scheduled Reunion show in Minneapolis.

2001: At the 53rd Annual Emmy Awards, Live in New York City is nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special but loses to Cirque du Soleil: Dralion. Chris Hilson is also nominated as Best Director for Live in New York City but loses to David Mallet, the director of Cirque du Soleil: Dralion.

2002: The Rising Tour moves on to Houston, where Bruce plays a rare solo piano “For You.”

2005: Tampa gets a River-heavy Devils and Dust show, with “Fade Away,” “Be True,” “Wreck on the Highway,” “Two Hearts,” and “I Wanna Marry You” all making an appearance at this solo acoustic show.

2007: Continuing east, the Magic Tour stops at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, where Bruce tour premieres “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City” and “Be True” (a tour one-off).

2009: Bruce makes a return appearance at the Stand Up for Heroes benefit at Town Hall in New York City, performing songs, telling jokes, and auctioning off a guitar for $50,000.

2010: Bruce joins Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh for the first of two 15th anniversary shows for American Babylon. Bruce opens the show acoustically, with a location-appropriate “A Good Man is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)” and two other numbers before joining Joe and the band for a set that includes both Grushecky and Springsteen originals, including the very first performance of “Save My Love.”

2011: Almost one year to the days, Bruce and Joe Grushecky reprise their pair of Soldiers & Sailors shows in Pittsburgh, with the same format. This is Night Two, and Bruce once again joins opening act The Composure for “Dancing in the Dark.” An acoustic mini-set follows (featuring “Incident on 57th Street“) and a full set with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers. But the show doesn’t end there–Bruce returns to the stage for a final acoustic set.

2014: Bruce becomes a published author when his children’s book Outlaw Pete arrives on bookstore shelves.

2017: Springsteen on Broadway continues its theatrical run at the Walter Kerr Theater in New York City.

2019: Bruce makes his customary stand-up/acoustic mini-set appearance at Stand Up For Heroes at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Bruce teams up with Sheryl Crow on “Redemption Day.”