{"id":13194,"date":"1988-04-08T11:00:00","date_gmt":"1988-04-08T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=13194"},"modified":"2026-02-08T08:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:21:16","slug":"matr-little-steven-and-bruce-springsteen-native-american","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/04\/08\/matr-little-steven-and-bruce-springsteen-native-american\/","title":{"rendered":"Native American"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 1987, Little Steven released his third solo album,\u00a0<em>Freedom&#8211;No Compromise. <\/em>Heavier in both content and production, the album continued the political journey he began in <em>Voice of America.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Freedom&#8211;No Compromise\u00a0<\/em> also features Bruce prominently in a track called &#8220;Native American.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Featuring a recurring Sioux war cry chant, &#8220;Ho Ka Hey Wah Nah&#8221; (&#8220;Let&#8217;s go now!&#8221;), &#8220;Native American&#8221; is a well-intentioned call to action for environmental protection. Steve and Bruce fully commit themselves to the song, and their sincerity <em>almost<\/em> carries the day.<\/p>\n<p>Almost. Because for all its earnestness, &#8220;Native American&#8221; is lyrically and metrically awkward at times, and for me at least, that gets in the way of my appreciation of the song.<\/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\/_2CmMfqwVn8?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>Despite Bruce&#8217;s participation, &#8220;Native American&#8221; was released only as a B-side (backing &#8220;Trail of Broken Treaties&#8221;) rather than as a featured single. The song never became a hit, despite getting some great exposure in Steve&#8217;s opening sets for U2 on the Joshua Tree stadium tour.<\/p>\n<p>That didn&#8217;t stop Bruce from joining his friend and (then) ex-bandmate twice on-stage during the summer and fall of 1987, though.<\/p>\n<p>Amazingly, both performances were captured on video. The first was at The Stone Pony in late August, where a hometown crowd gave them a raucous reception:<\/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\/63bxYb-NsOw?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 second was at a bigger venue&#8211;The Ritz in New York City, birthplace of MTV:<\/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\/WkJkooAjDrg?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>Both performances were received generously by the audience, and come across much more naturally than on vinyl.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Bruce hasn&#8217;t performed &#8220;Native American&#8221; with Steve in the 30+ years since.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Native American<br \/>\nRecorded:<\/strong> February 1987<br \/>\n<strong>Released:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Freedom&#8211;No Compromise<\/em> (1987)<br \/>\n<strong>First performed:<\/strong> August 21, 1987 (Asbury Park, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> October 8, 1987 (New York City, NY)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 October 25, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the peak of Little Steven&#8217;s political period, Steve and Bruce collaborated on the well-intentioned (if lyrically awkward) &#8220;Native American.&#8221; Watch them give it their best on-stage shot inside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66358,"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":[3609,5],"tags":[2494,480,948,26],"class_list":["post-13194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-little-help","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-freedom-no-compromise","tag-little-steven","tag-native-american","tag-steve-van-zandt"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/admin-ajax-10.jpg?fit=944%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-3qO","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56752,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/kingdom-of-days-may-12-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":13194,"position":0},"title":"May 12","author":"Ken","date":"May 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce makes a guest appearance with Brian Wilson, the BBC premieres a Bruce documentary (watch it inside!), Steve Van Zandt saves the day when Southside Johnny gets sick, and more--lots of great video and audio today!","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\/2025\/05\/may-12th-2024-kilkenny-ie-bruce-springsteen-and-the-e-street-band-review.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may-12th-2024-kilkenny-ie-bruce-springsteen-and-the-e-street-band-review.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, 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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":11078,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/02\/13\/matr-little-steven-and-bruce-springsteen-angel-eyes\/","url_meta":{"origin":13194,"position":2},"title":"Angel Eyes","author":"Ken","date":"February 13, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Listen closely to Little Steven's love song \"Angel Eyes,\" and you'll hear the unmistakable (but uncredited) backing vocals of Bruce Springsteen.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Little Help&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Little Help","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/little-help\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/little-steven-and-the-disciples-of-soul-angel-eyes-emi-america.jpg?fit=793%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/little-steven-and-the-disciples-of-soul-angel-eyes-emi-america.jpg?fit=793%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/little-steven-and-the-disciples-of-soul-angel-eyes-emi-america.jpg?fit=793%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/little-steven-and-the-disciples-of-soul-angel-eyes-emi-america.jpg?fit=793%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 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More highlights inside.","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\/2018\/10\/juststories-e1536540533944.jpg?fit=600%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/juststories-e1536540533944.jpg?fit=600%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/juststories-e1536540533944.jpg?fit=600%2C338&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59399,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/21\/kingdom-of-days-august-21-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":13194,"position":4},"title":"Kingdom of Days: August 21","author":"Ken","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest appearances galore on this date in history: Flo and Eddie, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Marah's Dave Bielanko, and more. 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