Prove It All Night

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"Prove It All Night"
ProveItAllNight.jpg
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Darkness on the Edge of Town
B-side "Factory"
ReleasedMay 23, 1978 (1978-05-23) [1]
RecordedSeptember 16, 1977
Studio
Genre Rock
Length3:57
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s) Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"
(1976)
"Prove It All Night"
(1978)
"Badlands"
(1978)

"Prove It All Night" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on May 23, 1978, as the first single from his fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town .

Contents

Content

The protagonist promises to prove his love all night, a vow that can be seen as either opportunistic or youthfully optimistic, depending on one's point of view. Thus it can be experienced as either humorous or sincere. Lyrically the song is similar to other Springsteen numbers such as "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" and "Thunder Road". [2] The entire song contains a sense of optimism that the two individuals' quest for love will someday be realized but, at the same time, it seems that the world is closing in on them in that the characters' chances of falling in love are growing more limited as time passes. The song begins with a piano intro played by Roy Bittan. The rhythm guitar work is quite faint, but fits the groove and feel of the song. Following the second stanza is a sax solo which precedes a somewhat intricate-sounding guitar solo by Springsteen. The solo, played quite fast, effectively voices the protagonist's mounting desire to elope.

Cash Box called it a "winner" with "strong upfront beat, chimes, piano/organ and [Clarence] Clemons' rich and rough sax" and "effective hook, raw singing, [and] searching guitar solo." [3] Record World called it "an instantly-memorable Springsteen rocker, dominated by keyboards and sax." [4]

An earlier take of the song has different lyrics; several lines and verses from "Something in the Night" were used instead.

Chart performance

The single gained little traction with Top 40 radio stations, reaching only number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 [5] and number 57 in Canada. [6]

Live performances

"Prove It All Night" has been a regular selection in Springsteen and E Street Band concerts since its release.

The song was performed in a different arrangement from the studio recording on two occasions on the River Tour in November 1980. [7] A live version of the song did finally appear on Springsteen's 2001 release Live in New York City documenting the Reunion Tour, [2] as did a Rising Tour performance on the 2003 Live in Barcelona DVD, but both were in a shorter, more conventional treatment.

In a concert in Barcelona during the Wrecking Ball Tour, Springsteen surprised the audience by playing the song again in the 1978 arrangement. It made its first appearance in the United States since 1980 by request at Fenway Park in Boston on August 15, 2012. It continued to make semi-regular appearances on the remainder of the tour, as well as on 2014's follow-up High Hopes Tour. It was also played by request in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 18, 2013.[ citation needed ]

Acclaim

The song was ranked as the number 6 single of 1978 by Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein [8] [9] and as one of the 7500 most important songs from 1944 through 2000 by Bruce Pollock.[ citation needed ]

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: [10]

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"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is the last song on the 1978 album of the same name, Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen. It was the last song recorded and mixed, and in April 1978 it was designated the title song to a thematic album whose songs portray the struggles of the less-fortunate, not only to survive, but to keep their spirit and will to live alive, the title track portrays a hard-luck loser in life who refuses to give up. Springsteen's fourth album, released three years after his 1975 effort Born to Run, was delayed two years because of legal problems with his former manager, Mike Appel. Expectations were high after he took one year to complete the album.

References

  1. Graff, Gary (May 23, 2023). "How Bruce Springsteen's 'Prove It All Night' Was Reborn Onstage". Ultimate Classic Rock . Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Prove It All Night allmusic review". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
  3. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 3, 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  4. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 10, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 795.
  6. "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 5, 1978" (PDF).
  7. "Brucebase - 1980". Brucebase.wikidot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  8. Marsh, D. & Stein, K. (1981). "Top of the Pops: The Best of the Top 40 Singles by Year "Book of Rock Lists"" . Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  9. "Rocklist.net...Dave Marsh Singles Lists: 1972 to 1980". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  10. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 132. ISBN   978-1-78472-649-2.