Watch Springsteen rip through ‘Because the Night’ backed by the Roots

The song 'Hungry Heart' was written for punk icons the Ramones

After seeing the groundbreaking punk band in Asbury Park, Springsteen went home to write them a song. When his manager, Jon Landau, heard "Hungry Heart," he told Springsteen he couldn't give it away, especially after seeing the success of "Because the Night," another Springsteen composition that became a massive hit for Patti Smith.

Watch some of Bruce Springsteen's most memorable live performances

The Boss is as renowned for his songwriting as his live performances, especially those backed by the E Street Band. Check out some of the most significant cuts from his career on the road, including a legendary 1975 set from London's Hammersmith Odeon credited with breaking Springsteen on the world stage.

A research study found that Springsteen's popularity is due to his lyrics' authenticity

The Penn State study compiled lyrics from 18 albums and analyzed the words that "convey genuineness and honesty" and those that suggest cognitive activity. They found that Springsteen's songs are often focused on the present and "tend to express positive emotion," which they believe might explain why his fans are so devoted.

Watch Springsteen open a somber 9/11 tribute

“America: A Tribute to Heroes” was a fundraising telethon on Sept. 21, 2001, and simulcast across the four major networks. Springsteen opened the program with “My City of Ruins,” a song originally written about Asbury Park that took on new significance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwriters

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwritersThe New Jersey native has sold over 150 million albums, won 20 Grammy Awards, and influenced several generations of heart-on-sleeve songsmiths. In 1999, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1982's ‘Nebraska’ was recorded alone at home, a rarity at the time for a major artist

“Born to Run” became a hit in part due to its massive sound, something that was only possible thanks to the magic of the studio. That continued with 1980’s “The River,” which gave Springsteen his first top 10 single. With “Nebraska,” though, Springsteen abandoned the studio, opting to release the spare recordings he made at home, by himself. At the time, such a decision was a rarity for a platinum artist.

Jon Landau reviewed a Springsteen show, then became his manager

Jon Landau reviewed a Springsteen show, then became his managerJon Landau, a writer for a Boston newspaper, saw Springsteen and his recently-named E Street Band perform in 1974 and wrote, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen." He would go on to coproduce "Born to Run" and work as Springsteen's manager for decades.

Springsteen's nickname 'the Boss' began as a joke

Springsteen's E Street bandmates originally called him the "Gut Bomb King" because of his affinity for candy. He hated the name and jokingly began calling himself "the Boss" instead. When critics began digging into Springsteen's backstory after the success of "Born to Run," they unearthed the nickname.

A teenage Springsteen struggled with his father

Springsteen's father didn't understand why his son was interested in pursuing a music career, leading to a tense relationship that was often exacerbated by his father's struggles with mental illness. Embed: Podcast

Springsteen says 'Born in the USA' is his 'most misunderstood' song

In 1984, Ronald Reagan was running for reelection and referenced Springsteen at a New Jersey event, saying, "America's future rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire — New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Days later, Springsteen would make his opposition to Reagan clear at a Pittsburgh show. Years later, he'd call the song "one of my greatest and most misunderstood pieces of music."

Springsteen's first band was called the Castiles

Springsteen joined a local garage rock band at 16. The band was influenced by British Invasion acts like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as the burgeoning American psychedelic scene.

He signed to Columbia Records in 1972

Springsteen had been performing solo at various venues, including some famous folk spots in Greenwich Village. Columbia executives saw this performance of “Growing Up”—which would later appear on his first album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ”—and invited him to formally audition for the label before signing him.

Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska' was influenced by writer Flannery O'Connor

Springsteen became obsessed with the "Southern gothic" writer when he began working on the songs for "Nebraska," inspired by O'Connor's tragic characters and grotesque imagery.

Bob Dylan asked Patti Smith to perform in his place at the Nobel Prize ceremony

Dylan didn't attend the ceremony, citing "other commitments," and asked Patti Smith, the legendary poet and punk pioneer, to perform in his place. Smith sang "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," accompanied by an orchestra, though she had to request to restart one verse after stumbling over Dylan's dense lyrics.

Billie Holiday ensured performances of 'Strange Fruit' had the right context

In the song's earliest performances at Cafe Society in New York, one of a few truly integrated nightclubs in the society, the song was always performed last, after bar service had stopped, with a single spotlight on Holiday so audiences would pay close attention to the lyrics. Later, Holiday included her ability to perform the song in her concert contracts, allowing her to sing it even if venue owners were nervous about its protest message.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

The 1973 ‘back to school jam’ was the night hip-hop was born

Hip-hop began in New York’s Bronx borough with the “back to school jam,” an August 1973 dance party hosted by Cindy Campbell and her brother, DJ Kool Herc, in their apartment building’s recreation room.

Sondheim was the king of the patter song

Patter songs are up-tempo numbers that match beats and syllables, requiring singers to flex serious verbal dexterity. Stephen Sondheim's patter songs are some of the most famous in Broadway history, featuring rapid-fire speech and clever turns of phrase. This video breaks down some of the finest examples.

Watch Billy Joel deepfake himself in the 'Turn the Lights Back On' music video

Though deepfakes are often synonymous with manipulation and bad intentions, some artists have found creative uses for the technology. In this example, Billy Joel depicts himself in various eras of his career in keeping with the song's nostalgic message.

A Spider-Man musical became one of Broadway's biggest flops

Once hyped as a revolutionary stage production with music by U2's Bono and The Edge, and direction from Julie Taymor of "The Lion King," "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" became one of Broadway's most expensive flops.

Music was a profound inspiration for Basquiat

The prolific artist loved music, obsessing over David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, and numerous jazz figures. Many of his favorites appeared in his paintings, creating a body of work that also acts as a glossary of influences. Below is a 1984 portrait of Max Roach, the jazz drummer. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Beyoncé's 2018 headlining set is among the festival's most famous

The singer's admirers dubbed the performance "Beychella"—which included a full marching band and a reunited Destiny's Child. It was a symbol-laden commentary on the significance of Beyoncé's status as the first Black woman to headline the festival.

Hughes’ ‘Harlem’ inspired Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’

Hughes' 11-line poem from “Montage of a Dream Deferred” is one of the most recognizable verses in American literature. Part of that is due to its legacy as the inspiration for the title of Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark 1959 play “A Raisin in the Sun,” the first show written by a Black woman to appear on Broadway.

Watch a performance of the influential ballet 'Appalachian Spring'

This performance of the American ballet—choreographed by Martha Graham, with music composed by Aaron Copland—about a small community in 19th-century Pennsylvania, aired in 1959 on Pittsburgh's WQED.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

How musical guests disappeared from late night TV

The late-night landscape has changed dramatically in the past five years, with the most visible difference being a severe lack of music. This writer set out to learn why that is—and what it means for audiences and artists alike.

The music theory behind a lonesome country classic

Townes Van Zandt's "I'll Be Here in the Morning" might read like a clever inversion of a standard country music trope. But Cush, a musician in his own right, walks through the song's structure to show how its story is far more complicated than its lyrics suggest.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.