{"id":16555,"date":"2020-03-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=16555"},"modified":"2020-03-05T17:54:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T01:54:15","slug":"cover-me-cupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/06\/cover-me-cupid\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Me: Cupid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Adventurous arrangements of unexpected cover songs have been concert staples\u00a0 for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band since their earliest days. They don&#8217;t <em>always<\/em> work, though.<\/p>\n<p>Case in point: Sam Cooke&#8217;s &#8220;Cupid.&#8221;<\/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\/n4Rw4A7BDQA?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>Peaking at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in spring of 1961 (and ranked years later by\u00a0<em>Rolling Stone<\/em> as #452 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list), Cooke&#8217;s sweet love song was already a fascinating melange of R&amp;B, pop, and Latin stylings.<\/p>\n<p>But when Bruce and the E Street Band covered it several times in the autumn of 1974, they infused a ska arrangement of their own. Here&#8217;s the last of their known performances, from the Boston Music Hall on October 29, 1974:<\/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\/pYEZLLfgOFw?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>Like I wrote at the top, I&#8217;m not a fan of the arrangement. To me, it sounds like there&#8217;s an abrupt shift from &#8220;Cupid&#8221; to &#8220;Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da,&#8221; and the E Street Band is already a bit too muscular for the song&#8217;s sweet romance.<\/p>\n<p>But their arrangement of &#8220;Cupid&#8221; is an early indication of greater successes to come. Bruce&#8217;s commitment to keeping classic rock and roll not just alive but fresh and vibrant would soon become a hallmark of his live performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cupid<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> September 19, 1974 (Bryn Mawr, PA)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> October 29, 1974 (Boston, MA)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Set the wayback machine for 1974 and listen to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band give a ska treatment to Sam Cooke&#8217;s &#8220;Cupid.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16565,"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],"tags":[2666,703],"class_list":["post-16555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","tag-cupid","tag-sam-cooke"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/cupid.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-4j1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61241,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/29\/kingdom-of-days-october-29-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":16555,"position":0},"title":"Kingdom of Days: October 29","author":"Ken","date":"October 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce headlines an all-star roster of talent at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts. Also on this date: Bruce plays at Tom Petty's house, Gary U.S. Bonds' first appearance on an E Street stage, 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\/10\/hof.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/hof.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/hof.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/hof.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/hof.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 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Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bruce_Springsteen_Born_To_Run_30_Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bruce_Springsteen_Born_To_Run_30_Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bruce_Springsteen_Born_To_Run_30_Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bruce_Springsteen_Born_To_Run_30_Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bruce_Springsteen_Born_To_Run_30_Main.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30464,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/12\/matr-u2-and-bruce-springsteen-stand-by-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":16555,"position":3},"title":"MatR: U2 and Bruce Springsteen: Stand By Me","author":"Ken","date":"December 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When Bruce and Bono teamed up for the very first time, they chose a newly popular 1961 classic for their first duet.","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\/11\/standbyme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/standbyme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/standbyme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/standbyme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/standbyme.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29032,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/25\/cover-me-high-hopes\/","url_meta":{"origin":16555,"position":4},"title":"Cover Me: High Hopes","author":"Ken","date":"August 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This distinctive early 90s song by The Havelinas was so nice Bruce covered it twice, but only one is worth a repeat listen.","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\/08\/highhopes.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/highhopes.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/highhopes.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/highhopes.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/highhopes.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38355,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/03\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-southside-johnny-soothe-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":16555,"position":5},"title":"MatR: Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny: Soothe Me","author":"Ken","date":"October 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce and Southside continue the tradition of great male R&B duos performing Sam Cooke's \"Soothe Me.\"","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\/2022\/10\/sootheme.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/sootheme.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/sootheme.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 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