{"id":27451,"date":"1988-09-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"1988-09-28T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=27451"},"modified":"2026-02-26T21:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T05:37:29","slug":"matr-bruce-springsteen-and-sam-moore-when-something-is-wrong-with-my-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/28\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-sam-moore-when-something-is-wrong-with-my-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"When Something Is Wrong With My Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bruce nailed it when he explained Sam and Dave&#8217;s appeal on Elvis Costello&#8217;s late, lamented <em>Spectacle<\/em> series:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"VideoPress Video Player\" aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/2K7gfajm?hd=0&amp;cover=1' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen allow='clipboard-write'><\/iframe><script src='https:\/\/v0.wordpress.com\/js\/next\/videopress-iframe.js?m=1770107250'><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nowhere is that magical, heaven-and-earth, Sam and Dave dichotomy more on display than in their gut-wrenching, heart-swelling 1966 hit single &#8220;When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,&#8221; which peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&amp;B chart in 1967.<\/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\/N3maCEAKZ0s?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>But if you&#8217;ve only heard Sam and Dave on their studio tracks, you haven&#8217;t experienced the power of their performance. As Bruce testified, in person they were mesmerizing.<\/p>\n<p>Take a few minutes to watch their performance from the 1967 Stax\/Volt Revue, when their song was still riding the charts. (In fact, the date of the performance was April 7, 1967&#8211;the exact day it peaked at #2 on the R&amp;B chart.) It&#8217;s missing the first verse, but you&#8217;ll still feel the duo&#8217;s full power.<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-5uDR5grZ-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='568' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/5uDR5grZ?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>If that performance doesn&#8217;t floor you, you best get someone to take your pulse.<\/p>\n<p>Now, no one would dare dispute the essentialness of Dave Prater&#8217;s gritty vocals to the Sam and Dave recipe, but Sam Moore especially commanded Bruce&#8217;s respect as a bandleader. Bruce appreciated Dave, but he\u00a0<em>studied<\/em> Sam&#8211;and he incorporated those lessons into his own performances.<\/p>\n<p>So it must have been a thrill for Bruce when he had the opportunity to perform classic Sam and Dave songs with Sam during his 2003 holiday shows in Asbury Park.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t the first time Sam and Bruce had worked together. In fact, Sam appears on Bruce&#8217;s studio recordings of &#8220;Soul Driver,&#8221; &#8220;Real World&#8221; and &#8220;Man&#8217;s Job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But it was their first time performing on stage together, and Bruce clearly relished the opportunity. They brought the crowd to their feet each night with rousing rockers like &#8220;I Thank You&#8221; and &#8220;Hold On, I&#8217;m Comin&#8217;,&#8221; but for me the highlight was their team-up on Sam and Dave&#8217;s only hit ballad, &#8220;When Something is Wrong With My Baby.&#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\/fHCMfPataiE?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>Bruce is clearly in awe of his idol throughout their performance, but he summons Dave&#8217;s gritty, earthy vocals when called on. Their harmonies are wonderful, and Sam&#8217;s stage patter and command of the crowd is delightful.<\/p>\n<p>Sam and Bruce only performed &#8220;When Something Is Wrong With My Baby&#8221; three times (in a four-day period!) back in the 2003 holiday season, but they made those few performances count.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When Something Is Wrong With My Baby<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> December 5, 2003 (Asbury Park, NJ)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> December 8, 2003 (Asbury Park, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 May 26, 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Bruce finally got the chance to perform with one of his idols, the both brought their full power to bear on this 1966 soul classic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27565,"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":[1401,1402,3200],"class_list":["post-27451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-great","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-sam-and-dave","tag-sam-moore","tag-when-something-is-wrong-with-my-baby"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/somethingwrong.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-78L","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29632,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/28\/matr-elvis-costello-and-bruce-springsteen-i-cant-stand-up-for-falling-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":27451,"position":0},"title":"MatR: Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen: I Can&#8217;t Stand Up For Falling Down","author":"Ken","date":"September 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello team up on a Sam and Dave classic made famous by Elvis in 1980.","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\/cantstand.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/cantstand.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/cantstand.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/cantstand.jpg?fit=1181%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, 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Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mansjob.jpg?fit=1200%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mansjob.jpg?fit=1200%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mansjob.jpg?fit=1200%2C696&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mansjob.jpg?fit=1200%2C696&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mansjob.jpg?fit=1200%2C696&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20593,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/10\/11\/matr-bruce-springsteen-and-sam-moore-i-thank-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":27451,"position":3},"title":"I Thank You","author":"Ken","date":"October 11, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Soul legend Sam Moore made nightly appearances at Bruce's 2003 holiday shows--each one was a delight, but none more than this Sam and Bruce team-up on \"I Thank You.\"","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\/ithankyou.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ithankyou.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ithankyou.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ithankyou.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 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