{"id":32611,"date":"1988-09-06T11:00:00","date_gmt":"1988-09-06T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=32611"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T21:38:39","slug":"matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-free-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/09\/06\/matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-free-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Money"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 1976, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith were both stars on the ascent, each riding high on their recent breakthrough albums (<em>Born to Run<\/em> and\u00a0<em>Horses,\u00a0<\/em>respectively).<\/p>\n<p>Bruce and Patti had become fast friends and traded appearances on each other&#8217;s stages that autumn, but on the night of November 26th at The Palladium in New York City, Bruce made much more than a cameo.<\/p>\n<p>That night, he essentially joined The Patti Smith Group, playing guitar or piano for seven songs at the early show and six at the late show&#8211;ten unique songs in all, none of which were Bruce&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>One of those songs was Patti&#8217;s &#8220;Free Money,&#8221; a poem born on a late-night walk, set to music by Lenny Kaye, and released on\u00a0<em>Horses.\u00a0<\/em><\/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\/U-ZJGfA0UxY?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>While we know that Bruce played both piano and guitar that November night, we don&#8217;t know which instrument he played during &#8220;Free Money&#8221; &#8212; that information has been lost to time.<\/p>\n<p>But if I had to hazard a guess based on the recording below (and other performances from that night where Bruce&#8217;s role is known), I&#8217;d wager Bruce was on the piano. At risk of offending John Cale, who was also guest-starring that night on piano, I detect just a bit of the hesitancy I often hear when Bruce plays the piano, although that may simply be an artifact of the old and somewhat distant recording.<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-LdU0fAz4-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/LdU0fAz4?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>Regardless of which instrument Bruce helmed that night, he contributed to a fierce performance and his only known one of that particular song.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce played three more Patti Smith originals during that late show (&#8220;Land,&#8221; &#8220;Ain&#8217;t It Strange&#8221; and &#8220;You Can Dig It&#8221;), and six at the early one. We&#8217;ve covered almost all of them now, except for the most curious one.<\/p>\n<p>That one&#8217;s coming soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Free Money<br \/>\nFirst performed:<\/strong> November 26, 1976 (New York City, NY)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> November 26, 1976 (New York City, NY)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 March 15, 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One time only: Bruce Springsteen joins The Patti Smith Group on one of Patti&#8217;s earliest songs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33299,"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":[3437,1071],"class_list":["post-32611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","category-great","category-meeting-across-the-river","tag-free-money","tag-patti-smith"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/freemoney.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-8tZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23375,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/10\/05\/matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-land\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":0},"title":"Land","author":"Ken","date":"October 5, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Bruce joins The Patti Smith Group for Patti's land-mark opus from her debut 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\/12\/land.jpg?fit=1200%2C1096&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/land.jpg?fit=1200%2C1096&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/land.jpg?fit=1200%2C1096&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/land.jpg?fit=1200%2C1096&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/land.jpg?fit=1200%2C1096&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9734,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/03\/24\/matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-you-can-dig-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":1},"title":"You Can Dig It","author":"Ken","date":"March 24, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"One night only: Bruce sits in with The Patti Smith Group on guitar for Patti's improvisational \"You Can Dig It.\"","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\/05\/1976-11-26-You-Can-Dig-It-Front.jpg?fit=567%2C563&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/1976-11-26-You-Can-Dig-It-Front.jpg?fit=567%2C563&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/1976-11-26-You-Can-Dig-It-Front.jpg?fit=567%2C563&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38786,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/02\/matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-my-car-was-invisible-the-case-of-bruce-springsteen\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":2},"title":"My Car Was Invisible (The Case of Bruce Springsteen)","author":"Ken","date":"July 2, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Way back in 1976, Bruce invented some on-the-fly accompaniment for one of Patti Smith's legendary improvised musical monologues.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/great\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/19761126_3_front.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/19761126_3_front.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/19761126_3_front.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/19761126_3_front.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/19761126_3_front.jpg?fit=1200%2C1194&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7525,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/03\/12\/matr-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-picture-hanging-blues\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":3},"title":"Picture Hanging Blues","author":"Ken","date":"March 12, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Now here's a true rarity: Bruce Springsteen backing Patti Smith on piano, gamely trying to keep up with her as she improvs her way through one of her earliest poems.","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\/02\/bruce-patti-e1549663209429.jpg?fit=493%2C397&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62432,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/kingdom-of-days-november-26-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":4},"title":"Kingdom of Days: November 26","author":"Ken","date":"November 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On this date: Bruce makes a guest appearance with Patti Smith, debuts \"Hearts of Stone,\" and records a Christmas greeting for Ed Sciaky. Plus: a very crowded \"solo\" stage in Asbury Park and much 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\/2022\/11\/asbury96.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asbury96.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asbury96.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asbury96.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/asbury96.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2348,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/01\/27\/meeting-across-the-river-patti-smith-and-bruce-springsteen-slowly-walking-down-the-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":32611,"position":5},"title":"Slowly Walking Down the River","author":"Ken","date":"January 27, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Patti riffs on Bruce and rips on New Jersey in this improv piece from 1976 (Bruce accompanies on piano).","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\/2018\/05\/joni-and-bruce-e1526851695894.jpg?fit=600%2C584&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/joni-and-bruce-e1526851695894.jpg?fit=600%2C584&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/joni-and-bruce-e1526851695894.jpg?fit=600%2C584&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32611"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68021,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32611\/revisions\/68021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}