Bruce Springsteen Performs The Doors Cover at American Music Honors Ceremony
Bruce Springsteen sang The Doors’ “Light My Fire” for the first time ever on April 18 at Monmouth University’s Pollack Theater in West Long Branch. This marked the fourth year…
Bruce Springsteen sang The Doors' "Light My Fire" for the first time ever on April 18 at Monmouth University's Pollack Theater in West Long Branch.
This marked the fourth year of the awards program created by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. The Doors received an award, and so did Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, the E Street Band, and Dr. Dre.
"There is no one in the room in danger of filling Jim Morrison's leather pants tonight," Springsteen told the crowd before the performance, according to Far Out Magazine.
Surviving Doors drummer John Densmore played drums. Steve Van Zandt also came on stage, bringing the Disciples of Soul with him. Springsteen ended the song with a howl that sounded like Jim Morrison's voice. "Light My Fire" sat at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks back in 1967.
Densmore told a story about Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, attending a Doors concert in Asbury Park in 1986. "The Doors played in Asbury Park, and guess who was in the audience — the Boss!" Densmore said to Far Out Magazine. "Hey, if our music helped Bruce shout out his bride, I'm hip. It apparently worked. They've been together quite a while."
Jimmy Iovine brought Dr. Dre up to receive his award, making him the first hip-hop artist to get the American Music Honor. "Hip-hop was born in the Bronx, out of necessity, when schools cut arts funding, neighborhoods were neglected, and there were no guitars, pianos, or other instruments to experiment with," Dr. Dre said in his speech, according to Rolling Stone.
Jon Landau brought the E Street Band forward. "No modern computer or algorithm would have ever chosen this group of people to work together," Landau said. They played "Thunder Road" after getting their award.
Springsteen showed up during a four-day break from his Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour. His last show was on April 16 at the Mortgage Matchup Centre in Phoenix. All future tour dates are listed on his website.
