First and Second Albums Weren’t Big Hitters
Like Dylan, Springsteen is still with Columbia Records to this day. Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., was released in 1973, and it was well-received, yet its sales were disappointing (selling only 25,000 copies). In the same year, Springsteen’s second album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, was released.
Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band – October 28th, 1980. Photo By Call/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Again, the album was well-received, but it was the commercial aspect that failed to make a splash. His songs were greater in form and scope, with a less folksy and more R&B vibe. The lyrics often romanticized teenaged street life. The songs “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and “Incident on 57th Street” became fan favorites. But it was his next album that became his breakthrough work.