The Bruce Springsteen B-side that became a hit | CPT PPP Coverage

In contrast, Springsteen’s own highest-charting song by 1979 was ‘Born to Run’, which topped out at number 23. Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, was so exacerbated by Springsteen’s habit of giving away songs that he refused to let him do it anymore. When Springsteen wrote a song for the Ramones based specifically on a request by Joey Ramone, Landau vetoed the decision and told Springsteen to record it himself. The song, 1980’s ‘Hungry Heart’, wound up being Springsteen’s first top-ten single.

While Springsteen was recording the initial demos for what would become 1982’s Nebraska, he came up with an old-school rock and roll number titled ‘Pink Cadillac’. A few things were working against the song. For one, Springsteen had already written a song about Cadillacs: ‘Cadillac Ranch’ from 1980’s The River. More importantly, when Nebraska shifted from an electric E Street Band album to a solo acoustic project, ‘Pink Cadillac’ no longer had a place in the album’s sombre tone.

With the E Street Band, Springsteen eventually gave ‘Pink Cadillac’ the official studio treatment. It was in strong contention for inclusion on Born in the U.S.A., but just a few weeks before the album’s release, it was bumped in favour of ‘I’m Goin’ Down’. Instead, ‘Pink Cadillac’ became the B-side to the album’s first single, ‘Dancing in the Dark’.

Springsteen frequently performed ‘Pink Cadillac’ on the Born in the U.S.A. tour, but it didn’t appear on an official Springsteen album until the 1998 compilation 18 Tracks. In the meantime, the public became familiar with ‘Pink Cadillac’ through Natalie Cole’s 1988 cover. Springsteen had previously prevented Bette Midler from recording a version of the song in 1983, but evidently, it was a woman who needed to bring the song to the people. Cole’s version charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

By that point, Springsteen didn’t have to worry about missing out on another hit single. All seven singles from Born in the U.S.A. charted within the top ten, with ‘Dancing in the Dark’ being the biggest winner, topping out at number two. Unfortunately, Springsteen never managed to snag a number one single under his own name. Maybe if he had put out ‘Pink Cadillac’ as its own single, he would have gotten his elusive chart-topper, but who’s to say?

Check out Springsteen’s and Cole’s versions of ‘Pink Cadillac’ down below.