Back in the 1970’s when AOR radio ruled the world of rock music, WMMS in Cleveland was one of the biggest and most influential radio stations in the country, led by DJ and program director Kid Leo. Every Friday afternoon at 5:00, the station kicked off the weekend by playing Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born to Run,” a tradition started by Kid Leo. Outside of New Jersey, Cleveland was a second home for The Boss and Kid Leo was his biggest fan. I remember discovering Springsteen’s music several days before The River hit the stores. Kid Leo got his hands on a copy and played the entire double album front-to-back five times throughout the day! I caught it in the afternoon, and then made sure to come back and listen after dinner for two more sessions. I was hooked.
As we thought about our new Happy Hour feature for Friday afternoons, adding a great song in the form of an embedded music video to the drink recipes, beer and cigar reviews and other Happy Hour features seemed like an obvious idea, and kicking it off with “Born to Run” with Bruce Springsteen made perfect sense.
So, enjoy the video, which was released back in 1985 to promote Springsteen’s live album. Bruce looks younger and Clarence looks like a character from one of those bad 80’s movies starring Andrew McCarthy. It’s probably the best live version of “Born to Run” I’ve heard, and the video (particularly the second half) captures the energy and fun of a typical Springsteen concert.