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Bruce is the Boss, but Sinatra is Still the Chairman of the Board
Even Springsteen would agree
Anyone who knows me, has read a few of my articles, or stood near me in the grocery store checkout line for more than two minutes knows that if I could only listen to one song for the rest of my life it would be Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” But what about the great man himself? What one song would he listen to for the rest of his life?
You might immediately assume it’s a classic by Chuck Berry, Elvis, the Beatles, or one of the other rock pioneers who so influenced both his life and his music; it’s not. It is a classic, though not even remotely a rock and roll one, by the man he once called the patron saint of New Jersey. As Springsteen told Stephen Colbert in a 2021 interview, that one song would be “Summer Wind” by Frank Sinatra.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention over the years. Springsteen has often talked about his mother’s love for Sinatra, a love that was passed down to him from an early age. At a tribute concert for Sinatra’s 80th birthday in 1995, Bruce also said this: “Since his rise from the streets of Hoboken, Frank has basically owned the place [New Jersey], but he has been gracious enough to loan me a small piece of it by the beach.” High praise indeed.
