Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” charted

Glory Days Bruce Springsteen

Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen (see lyrics here) Released: May 31, 1985 First Charted: May 25, 1985 Peak: 5 US, 9 CB, 4 GR, 3 RR, 3 AR, 17 UK, 17 CN, 29 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 60.15 video, 159.98 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Glory Days” became Bruce Springsteen’s fifth top-10 hit from 1984’s Born in the U.S.A. blockbuster. The album would generate two more top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the second artist in history – after Michael Jackson with Thriller – to spin that many top-10’s from one album. Those seven songs would also be top-10 hits on the album rock chart, where Springsteen would also chart two more songs from the album, meaning nine of the album’s twelve songs charted. The song traverses familiar territory for Springsteen in its nostalgic look back at the so-called “glory days.” He tells a tale of a man looking back at the people he knew in high school. The first verse is an autobiographical reflection on Springsteen crossing paths with a former Little League baseball teammate named Joe DePugh. WK They really did cross paths in 1973 when DePugh was walking into a bar while Springsteen was walking out. They went back in and reminisced until the bar closed. SF The video played on the baseball aspect of the song, casting Springsteen as the song’s protagonist practicing his pitching at the beginning and end of the video. Most of the rest of the video is comprised of shots of Springsteen performing the song in a bar with the E Street Band. The video features Steven Van Zandt, who’d left the band the year before, and Nils Lofgren and Patti Scialfa, who weren’t with the band when the song was initially recorded. WK Cash Box described “Glory Days” as “rowdy, raucous and set for good AOR and CHR airplay…with something for everybody and for all markets.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bruce Springsteen SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/7/2022; last updated 2/21/2023.