Bruce Springsteen Covered Us Trivia Quiz

Answer: I Fought the Law

Springsteen incorporated the song into his performance in Nashville in honor of The Clash front-man on what would have been Joe's 56th birthday. Strummer had passed away 22 December 2002.
'I Fought the Law' was originally performed by Sonny Curtis & The Crickets (post Buddy Holly) in 1959, however, it was the Bobby Fuller Four who turned the song into a hit (1965). Fuller, unfortunately, was found dead before the song had reached the US Top Ten.
The Clash recorded the song on their 1979 EP 'The High Cost of Living' and also included it on their US release of their debut album 'The Clash'. The latter was so that they had a 'bankable' release to launch their assault on the American market.
'Wrong 'Em Boyo' was covered by The Clash on their album 'London Calling' (1979). This was a take on a song by Jamaican band 'The Rulers' called 'Stag O Lee', which itself is a version of a traditional song that predates the 1900s.
'Police On My Back' was originally recorded by 'The Equals' (featuring a blonde haired Eddy Grant - remember 'Electric Avenue') and appeared on The Clash's 1980 album 'Sandinista'. 'Every Little Bits Hurts' is a Brenda Holloway number The Clash incorporated on their box set 'Clash on Broadway' (1991).

Answer: Gypsy Woman

The song reached number two on the R&B charts for Mayfield in 1961 and appeared as a track on The Impressions' self titled debut album in 1963. Curtis Mayfield was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Impressions in 2003.
On the tribute album, 'It's All Right' was performed by Steve Winwood, 'You Must Believe Me' by Eric Clapton and 'People Get Ready' by Rod Stewart.

Answer: Jersey Girl

Tom Waits wrote 'Jersey Girl' to his wife, Katherine, and it appears on his 1980 album 'Heartattack and Vine'. Springsteen claims he immediately identified with the song, seeing the character as a mature version of both 'Sandy' and 'Rosilta', the title characters from two of his songs on his album 'The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle' (1973).
The song became one of his concert staples and appears as the B-side to his 1984 single 'Cover Me' and also on the 1986 box set 'Live/1975-85'.

Answer: Warren Zevon

'My Ride's Here' was co-written by Zevon and Paul Muldoon. It was the title track of his sixteenth album and was released in 2002. Springsteen also contributed the live track to the Warren Zevon tribute album 'Enjoy Every Sandwich' (2004).
September of 2003 was a disastrous month for the music industry. Along with Zevon's death we also witnessed the passing of Robert Palmer, Johnny Cash, Sheb Wooley ("Purple People Eater" fame) and Australian country music legend Slim Dusty.

Answer: True

The song was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman as part of the soundtrack for the Elvis Presley movie of the same name (1964).
Springsteen, himself a great fan of The King, incorporated the song into his live acts, eventually recording a version for an Elvis tribute album 'The Last Temptation of Elvis' (1990). Bruce also provided a studio version for the soundtrack of the 1992 Nicolas Cage movie 'Honeymoon in Vegas'.
The song can also be heard on 'The Essential Bruce Springsteen' compact disc released in 2003.

Answer: War

"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed" cried Springsteen at the Los Angeles Coliseum (30 September, 1985) before tearing into an ear piercing rendition of the Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong composition.
The Temptations were the first to record the song (1969) but it was Starr's tour-de-force vocals that made it famous in 1970.
Springsteen incorporated the song into his concert box set, 'Live/1975-85' (1986), and released it as a single in November 1986. Ironically, the B-side of the single is 'Merry Christmas Baby'.
'War Lord' was a 1965 release for The Shadows, 'Warpaint' found the charts for The Brook Brothers in 1961 and 'Waterloo Sunset' was a big hit for The Kinks in 1967.

Answer: Detroit Medley

The songs may be changed from time to time or even some of the lyrics within the songs are amended to fit with the place they're performing at or to acknowledge a local event.
The medley arose from an experiment by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels in the mid 1960s. Ryder combined a traditional blues song 'CC Rider' with Little Richard's 1957 hit 'Jenny Jenny'. It worked so well he repeated the effort two years later, combining Shorty Long's 'Devil With a Blue Dress' with another Little Richard classic, 'Good Golly Miss Molly'.
The first known live performance of the medley by Springsteen was at the University of Michigan, 23 September, 1975, on the occasion of his 26th birthday. Versions can be found on the 30th Anniversary special edition release of 'Born to Run' and it is also a highlight of the 'No Nukes' concert release from Madison Square Garden in 1979.

Answer: Hungry Heart

Whilst these are not technically a cover songs I couldn't resist sharing this little coincidence.
'Tomorrow Never Knows' is the title of the last track (side two) of The Beatles' 1966 album 'Revolver'. 'Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)' is the eighth track on John Lennon's 1974 release 'Walls and Bridges' and 'Life Itself' appears on George Harrison's 'Somewhere in England' (1981).
The song 'Hungry Heart' does not appear on 'Working on a Dream', instead it was the first single lifted off Bruce's 1980 album 'The River'.

Answer: Who'll Stop the Rain

Springsteen has long been an admirer of the work of Creedence Clearwater Revival's (CCR) frontman, John Fogarty. The song is one of the inspirations behind 'The Ties That Bind', the first track on Springsteen's 1980 album 'The River' (1980). The words 'who's gonna stop the rain' appear in the first line of the third verse.

As a further sign of respect Springsteen appears on the cover of the album wearing a plaid shirt, similar to the fashion statement John Fogarty made during the 'hippie' cultured early 1970's. Springsteen provided the induction speech when CCR were included in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

It provided the only occasion that Bruce has performed the song with John Fogarty.

Answer: Trapped

Springsteen commenced using the song in concerts in 1981 and recorded a version of the song for the 'USA for Africa' 1985 benefit album 'We Are the World'. It also appears on 'The Essential Bruce Springsteen' (2003) disc.
This is one of Jimmy Cliff's more obscure tracks and his version is difficult to find on album, though there is a take on his 1989 release 'Images'.