Stories In The Night: A Tribute To The Concert Tales Of Bruce Springsteen

Forget about Crazy Janey, Hazy Davey and Killer Joe. The Boss is the one I wanna hear about the most.

In just a few days from now fans will get to read a bunch of great stories from Bruce Springsteen's life and career when his autobiography "Born To Run" is released. If you're a long-time fan of Springsteen, however, you know that he's already captivated us with some amazing stories over the years.

Here are my three favorite spoken-word moments taken from one of the greatest live box sets you'll ever hear - 'Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live/1975-85'.

"War" (9/30/85 L.A. Coliseum)
Recorded at the beginning of the Cold War era, Bruce gives caution to the younger fans in the audience before blasting into a powerful cover of the 1969 anti-Vietnam war protest classic by The Temptations "War".
Sadly Bruce's words still ring true over three decades later.
The Best Line: "Blind faith and your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed..."
"Growin' Up" (7/7/78 Roxy Theater - West Hollywood)
The humble Bruce begins his song "Growin' Up" with a quick story but, just wait, he's not done yet.
At the 2:40 mark we find out who his parents wanted him to be when he grew up, how much he drove his father nuts whenever he played that "Goddamn guitar" and how even his own lawyer couldn't defend him.
The Best Line: "So one of you guys wanted a lawyer the other wanted an author well, tonight, you're just both gonna have to settle for rock 'n' roll."
"The River" (9/30/85 L.A. Coliseum)
I can't tell you how many times I listened to the spoken word opening to this song when I was in college. I would let the tape roll and just chill in my dorm room. It was as if time stood still. There were times where I would listen to the opening, stop the tape when the song kicked in, rewind it to the beginning and listen again.
Bruce brilliantly paints the picture of his turbulent teen years and the ice-cold tension between him and his father in this spoken-word intro to "The River".
It's not until Bruce tells his father he won't be going off to the war in Vietnam that he realizes there may be some love there after all.
The Best Line: "My Dad said, 'Where you been?'. I said, 'I went to take my physical.' He said, 'What happened?' I said, 'They didn't take me.' And he said, 'That's good.'"

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