Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll

Smart and incisive, this unique book takes us through Bruce Springsteen's life by tracing the cultural, political, and personal forces that shaped his music. Beyond his constant stylistic adaptations, Springsteen developed over the decades from expressing the voice of a guy from working-class New Jersey to writing about the larger issues facing the country, including war, class disparity, and prejudice. Marc Dolan draws on a range of new and little-known sources--including hundreds of unreleased studio recordings and bootlegs of live performances--making this an indispensable reference for avid Springsteen fans as well as those interested in learning the stories behind his music. Combining political analysis, music history, and colorful storytelling, Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll reveals how a gifted, ambitious community college dropout achieved superstardom--and spent decades refining what he wanted his music to say.

"Since his early days playing in garages and clubs in New Jersey and New York, Springsteen nurtured a rock and roll heart, pouring out his passion into power ballads, driving anthems, and mesmerizing riffs about social issues. Like a good rocker, Dolan relies on three chords and a beat to propel a straightforward story of Springsteen's life in rock 'n' roll and the ways that Springsteen's music has shaped and been shaped by the history of our times. In an appreciative study that at times verges on the academic, Dolan traces Springsteen's journey through a song-by-song and album-by-album development. Springsteen's journey down thunder road to his glory days started on Christmas 1964, when his mother bought him an electric guitar and an amp, and he began practicing harder than ever to capture the energy and driving sound of the Beatles. Although many of his songs were covertly autobiographical, what made Springsteen's songs 'personal' was not so much their specific autobiographical detail or insights as the vision that they communicated of the observed world. As Dolan astutely points out, Springsteen's music has captured places and times from the defaulting of Manhattan in the 1970s to the culturally estranged home front of the Second Gulf War, and has tried to appeal to the broadest possible audience. (June)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A vibrant biography of one of the greatest rock 'n' rollers, the America that made him, and the America he made.

# 4 on the Christian Science Monitor’s List of “Smart Nonfiction Titles We Think You’ll Enjoy This Summer”
Featured in Summer Reading Specials from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and CMT

A vibrant biography of one of the greatest rock 'n' rollers, the America that made him, and the America he made.

Marc Dolan is an associate professor of English, American studies, and film studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.