Kingdom of Days: January 5

Note: Today marks the beginning of Year Seven of the Kingdom of Days series. This post (as with the others that follow daily) was originally published in 2018 and has been newly edited and updated. Look for the New for 2024 tag at the top of each post for a guide to what’s new.

New for 2024: Review for 1982; new entry for 2023

1973: Bruce’s recording career is born with the release of his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. It garners some critical praise but sells a mere 25,000 copies in its first run, eventually rising to #60 on the charts. For lots of inside info on the album, see Rolling Stone’s  inside look from their 45th anniversary retrospective in 2018.

That night, Bruce plays two shows at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, opening for Travis, Shook and The Club Wow. These photos are of Bruce tuning up for the show backstage. (Photo credit: Phil Ceccola)

1974: Bruce plays the second of a three-night stand at Joe’s Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo credit: Jeff Albertson)

1975: Bruce makes a guest appearance at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The headliner is The Blackberry Booze Band, forerunners to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

1982: Bruce joins the Lord Gunner Group onstage at the Stone Pony for performances of “In the Midnight Hour” and “Jole Blon.”

1985: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of two Born in the U.S.A. shows at the Hampton Roads Coliseum in Virginia.

 1994: Bruce’s youngest child, Sam Ryan Springsteen, is born in Los Angeles.

1995: Bruce calls each member of the E Street Band for a brief reunion. The band disbanded more than five years prior, but Bruce reassembles them to record some new songs for his upcoming Greatest Hits compilation. Clarence gets on a plane so quickly that he reportedly no-shows at his own party.

2023: Bruce releases a video commemorating the 50th anniversary of Greetings From Asbury  Park, N.J.