10 Close Calls In Rock History
5. Springsteen Loses His Confidence
When Bruce Springsteen first arrived on the rock scene, he seemed to be on an upward trajectory to having a legendary career. While not known outside of his native Jersey for the longest time, the critics couldn't get enough of his rambly diatribes across his first albums, heralding him as the next generation's response to Bob Dylan. That was the critics though...the fans were virtually crickets.
Long before he became the Boss, Springsteen was getting more and more agitated that he couldn't capture the sound he heard in his head on vinyl, especially when approaching his new song Born to Run. Knowing the potential for it to be a smash hit, Springsteen put his E Street Band and his own sanity through the ringer to make the song happen, nearly bankrupting his entire album and entertaining the idea of putting out a live record instead.
By the time the record was taking shape, even Springsteen himself started to lose confidence, thinking that the song wouldn't be nearly the masterpiece that he heard in his head no matter how hard he tried. As time in the studio dragged on though, the band inched closer and closer until they had one of the most glorious odes to down on their luck rock and rollers the world had ever known. After Born to Run reached its final form, Bruce Springsteen was dead...the Boss had now arrived.