{"id":11077,"date":"1988-09-24T11:00:00","date_gmt":"1988-09-24T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=11077"},"modified":"2026-02-26T12:26:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:26:44","slug":"matr-southside-johnny-and-bruce-springsteen-ive-been-working-too-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/24\/matr-southside-johnny-and-bruce-springsteen-ive-been-working-too-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Don&#8217;t call it a comeback album (because he was never gone), and don&#8217;t you dare call it a return to form.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s just call it a reunion album, because eight of the eleven tracks on Southside Johnny&#8217;s 1991 <em>Better Days\u00a0<\/em>album were written by Steve Van Zandt, and Southside Johnny and Little Steven make for a magic combination.<\/p>\n<p><em>Better Days<\/em> is one of Southside&#8217;s best albums, and one of its standout tracks is Steve&#8217;s &#8220;I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard,&#8221; a rave-up tailor-made for Southside that featured Little Steven on backing vocals, and none other than Jon Bon Jovi on duet vocals.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UmzsOcF5f7k?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>The song became a minor, regional hit for Southside, and a crowd-pleaser in concert.<\/p>\n<p>As for Bruce, while he did contribute a song of his own (&#8220;All the Way Home&#8221;) to <em>Better Days,\u00a0<\/em>along with his vocal talents on &#8220;It&#8217;s Been a Long Time,&#8221; Bruce&#8217;s stamp is nowhere to be found on &#8220;I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But that didn&#8217;t stop him from performing it with Southside in concert on two occasions, both at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.<\/p>\n<p>The latter of those two times was caught on video&#8211;and while the quality is rough, it&#8217;s still a joy to watch. From May 27, 2001 (three days shy of the 25th anniversary of Southside&#8217;s radio broadcast from The Stone Pony), here&#8217;s Southside and Bruce (with Graham Parker) singing &#8220;I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-d2Z88t4f-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/d2Z88t4f?hd=1&amp;cover=1&amp;loop=0&amp;autoPlay=0&amp;permalink=1&amp;muted=0&amp;controls=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;useAverageColor=0&amp;preloadContent=metadata' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen data-resize-to-parent=\"true\" allow='clipboard-write'><\/iframe><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" src='https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/video\/assets\/js\/next\/videopress-iframe.js'><\/script><\/div>\n<p><strong>I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> July 16, 1994 (Asbury Park, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> May 27, 2001 (Asbury Park, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 July 27, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twice only: Bruce joins Southside Johnny on the Little Steven-penned 1991 rave-up, &#8220;I&#8217;ve Been Working Too Hard.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3612,5],"tags":[1033,606,87,2396],"class_list":["post-11077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-great","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-ive-been-working-too-hard","tag-jon-bon-jovi","tag-southside-johnny","tag-steve-van-zandy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ive-been-working.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-2SF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27325,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/29\/matr-southside-johnny-bruce-springsteen-little-steven-and-jon-bon-jovi-this-time-babys-gone-for-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":0},"title":"This Time Baby&#8217;s Gone for Good","author":"Ken","date":"September 29, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Jon Bon Jovi joins Bruce, Southside Johnny, and Little Steven on Steve's classic song from Southside's Hearts of Stone album.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thistime.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thistime.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thistime.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thistime.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/thistime.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7702,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/04\/04\/matr-i-played-the-fool\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":1},"title":"I Played the Fool","author":"Ken","date":"April 4, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Stone Pony's 20th anniversary concert: Bruce joins old friend Southside Johnny for a mini-set that kicks off with \"I Played the Fool.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/playedfool.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/playedfool.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/playedfool.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55826,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/31\/kingdom-of-days-january-31-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":2},"title":"January 31","author":"Ken","date":"January 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Rare performances of lost classics in amazing clarity, a benefit team-up with Jon Bon Jovi, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/maxkc.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/maxkc.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/maxkc.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/maxkc.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/maxkc.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20802,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/15\/matr-southside-johnny-little-steven-and-bruce-springsteen-all-i-needed-was-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":3},"title":"All I Needed Was You","author":"Ken","date":"September 15, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Twice only: Bruce, Southside, and Little Steven trade lead vocals on Steve's standout track from Southside's 1991 don't-call-it-a-comeback album.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/stevesouthbruce.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/stevesouthbruce.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/stevesouthbruce.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/stevesouthbruce.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/stevesouthbruce.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55556,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/kingdom-of-days-january-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":4},"title":"January 9","author":"Ken","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On this date: listen to the earliest live recording of Bruce and the E Street Band, a full performance of Springsteen on Broadway, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/19730109_front.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/19730109_front.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/19730109_front.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/19730109_front.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25934,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/08\/18\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-the-asbury-park-all-star-revue-she-got-me-where-she-wants-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":11077,"position":5},"title":"She Got Me Where She Wants Me","author":"Ken","date":"August 18, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Two nights only: Little Steven takes the lead and Bruce Springsteen plays the sideman when Southside Jonny takes ill.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shegotme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shegotme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, 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