Human Touch (Bruce Springsteen song)

"Human Touch"
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Human Touch
B-side	"Souls of the Departed"
Released	March 9, 1992 (1992-03-09)
Studio	A&M (Hollywood, California) [1]
Genre	Rock [2]
Length	6:28 5:09 (radio edit)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter	Bruce Springsteen
Producers	Roy Bittan Jon Landau Chuck Plotkin Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
"Sad Eyes" (1990) "Human Touch" (1992) "Better Days" (1992)
Music video
"Human Touch" on YouTube

"Human Touch" is a song recorded by the American rock singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was the first single from his tenth studio album of the same name (1992) and was released on March 9, 1992 by Columbia Records. The song features Randy Jackson on bass guitar, and Toto's Jeff Porcaro on drums. In the United States, the song reached number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100—charting as a double A-side single with "Better Days"—and topped the Mainstream Rock chart for three weeks. ^[3]

The song reached number one in Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Spain and was a top-10 hit in several other countries, including Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. "Human Touch" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 1993 Grammy Awards. The music video, directed by Meiert Avis, received an MTV Video Music Awards nomination for Best Male Video.

Track listings

• US and European 7-inch and CD single ^[4]

1. "Human Touch" – 6:30
2. "Better Days" – 4:08

• US and European 12-inch and CD maxi-single ^[5]

1. "Human Touch" – 6:30
2. "Better Days" – 4:08
3. "Souls of the Departed" – 4:16

• European 12-inch and CD maxi-single ^[6]

1. "Human Touch" – 4:08
2. "Souls of the Departed" – 4:16
3. "Long Goodbye" – 3:26

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: ^[7]

• Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitar
• Randy Jackson – bass
• Jeff Porcaro – drums, tambourine
• Roy Bittan – keyboards
• Patti Scialfa – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Human Touch" Chart (1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [8] 17 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [9] 19 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10] 3 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [11] 2 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [12] 6 Denmark (IFPI) [13] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [14] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [15] 4 France (SNEP) [16] 20 Germany (GfK) [17] 15 Ireland (IRMA) [18] 4 Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [19] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [20] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [21] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [22] 12 Norway (VG-lista) [23] 1 Portugal (AFP) [19] 2 Quebec (ADISQ) [24] 5 Spain (AFYVE) [25] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [26] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 4 UK Singles (OCC) [28] 11 US Billboard Hot 100 [29] with "Better Days" 16 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [30] 8 US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [31] 1 Zimbabwe (ZIMA) [32] 8

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Human Touch" Chart (1992) Position Belgium (Ultratop) [33] 63 Canada Top Singles (RPM) [34] 13 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) [35] 62 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [36] 31 Germany (Media Control) [37] 89 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [38] 86 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [39] 75 Sweden (Topplistan) [40] 42 UK Airplay (Music Week) [41] 75

Certifications

Certifications for "Human Touch"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [42]	Gold	35,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway) [43]	Gold
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Human Touch"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Australia	March 9, 1992	CD cassette	Columbia	[44]
United Kingdom		7-inch vinyl CD cassette		[45]
	March 16, 1992	CD picture disc		[46]
Japan	March 19, 1992	Mini-CD	Sony	[47]

See also

• List of number-one hits in Norway
• List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)

References

1. Human Touch (US CD album booklet). Columbia Records. 1992. CK 53000.
2. "Bruce Springsteen "Human Touch"".
3. "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
4. Human Touch / Better Days (CD single liner notes). Columbia Records. 1992. 38K 74273.
5. Human Touch / Better Days (CD single liner notes). Columbia Records. 1992. COL 657957 6.
6. Human Touch (European CD maxi-single liner notes). Columbia Records. 1992. COL 657872 5.
7. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 308. ISBN   978-1-78472-649-2.
8. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
9. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
10. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2116." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
12. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2110." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
13. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 9, no. 16. April 18, 1992. p. 14. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
14. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 14. April 4, 1992. p. 34. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
15. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN   951-31-2503-3.
16. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
17. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Human Touch". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
19. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 15. April 11, 1992. p. 25. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 14, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
21. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
22. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
23. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". VG-lista. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
24. "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (PDF) (in French). BAnQ. 1992-03-21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
25. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
26. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
27. "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
29. "Bruce Springsteen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
30. "Bruce Springsteen Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
31. "Bruce Springsteen Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
32. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
33. "Jaaroverzichten 1992" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
34. "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1992" (PDF). RPM . Vol. 56, no. 25. December 19, 1992. p. 8. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
35. "The RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary tracks of 1992". RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2019– via Library and Archives Canada.
36. "1992 Year-End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. December 19, 1992. p. 17. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
37. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1992" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
38. "Single top 100 over 1992" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
39. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992" (in Dutch). MegaCharts . Retrieved July 31, 2019.
40. "Årstopplistan 1992, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on February 25, 2001. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
41. "1992 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week . January 9, 1993. p. 8. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
42. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved November 23, 2023.
43. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
44. "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 09/03/92: Singles". The ARIA Report . No. 110. March 8, 1992. p. 18.
45. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . March 7, 1992. p. 17. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
46. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 14, 1992. p. 21.
47. "ブルース・スプリングスティーン | ヒューマン・タッチ" [Bruce Springsteen | Human Touch] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved September 21, 2025.