“Funny how a melody sounds like a memory.”
Does “Springsteen” even need an introduction? Being Eric Church’s most popular song and one of the biggest country songs of the 2010s, the track has left a huge impact on Church, his fans and even Bruce Springsteen himself. The song went #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, staying there for two weeks 12 years ago today.
It didn’t take long for “Springsteen” to connect with fans and critics alike. The track received two Grammy nominations in 2013 for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. Additionally, it received two ACM nominations in 2013 for Single and Song of the Year. Finally, it received three CMA nominations the same year for Single, Song and Music Video of the Year.
Springsteen is currently certified 7x platinum with over 463 million streams on Spotify, making it Church’s most commercially successful song to date.
As for the story behind “Springsteen,” ironically, the “Drink In My Hand” singer’s inspiration for the song did not come at a Bruce Springsteen concert; it was an entirely different artists’ concert that spawned the creation of the iconic track. However, given the impact Springsteen has had on Church, he felt the need to base the song around him. Church said,
“I went to a concert when I was younger with a girl, and to this day, when I hear that artist, it’s the soundtrack to that girl. I never think about her any other time, except when that song is on. That’s where the ‘Springsteen’ came from, and he seemed to be the perfect guy to craft that story around because of my love for him … I have such a reverence for Bruce Springsteen’s career and how he’s built it.”
Listen to it here: