Bruce Springsteen made a special appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Monday night (October 31), and the New Jersey legend treated Stern and his listeners to an intimate performance of classic hit Thunder Road that even had the veteran talkshow host getting emotional live on air.
In a video since posted on YouTube, Springsteen can be seen discussing the recording process for Jungleland, the closing track from the singer-songwriter's 1975 album Born To Run. The song features a famous solo from E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, with Stern noting that Springsteen had Clemons in the studio "for 16 hours" to get the solo right.
When Springsteen admits that he can no longer play the piano intro to Jungleland, he gets behind a piano set up in the studio to show off the songs he can still tinkle the ivories for. After flirting with a bit of Born To Run number Backstreets, Springsteen reveals that he actually wrote most of that album on the piano, before surprising Stern with a piano-led run through hallmark anthem, Thunder Road.
The gorgeous rendition leaves Stern feeling teary-eyed as he admits: "You finally got me to cry on the air, it's the first time ever."
Watch the heartwarming moment below.
Bruce Springsteen's new and twenty-first studio album, Only The Strong Survive, lands later this month, November 11, via Columbia. The album is made up entirely of covers of r&b and soul classics, featuring Springsteen's take on songs by Jerry Butler, Frank Wilson, William Bell and many more.
