All for Elvis
In May 1977, Springsteen and Van Zandt attended an Elvis Presley concert in Philadelphia. A couple of days later, Bruce wrote the song “Fire” and sent a demo of the track to Presley himself, hoping he might cover it. It’s unclear whether the tape got sent or not, but Presley died that August. In the end, Springsteen gave “Fire” to Robert Gordon. Gordon’s version was then covered by the Pointer Sisters, who made it a hit in 1979.
Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen, Photo By Debra L Rothenberg/Shutterstock
Speaking of Elvis, Springsteen caused a security scare at Presley’s Graceland. After a concert in 1976 in Memphis, the reportedly drunk Springsteen went to Graceland at three a.m., jumped the wall, and ran to the front door. But security grabbed him before he made it to the door. It wouldn’t have done much good since Elvis was in Lake Tahoe at the time anyway.