Hard Work Pays Off
When he first heard the finished album, he threw it into the alley. Someone in the band said how they saw Bruce fling it out of his hotel room window and into a river. He told Appel that he wanted to scrap half of it and substitute live recordings from upcoming concerts at The Bottom Line in New York (where he often played).
Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band Performing in 1984. Photo By Laubach/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
The album was released in August of 1975, and advance sales put it on the chart a week before it was even released. It quickly made the Top Ten, going gold in a matter of weeks. Their hard work – and frustration – paid off. Springsteen’s success was cemented for many years ahead. The album gave Springsteen his first hit single.