Atlantic City (song)

"Atlantic City" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska. Springsteen has often played the song in a full band arrangement in concert.

History

Springsteen wrote in his Greatest Hits sleeve notes that he recorded the track in his bedroom "for $1,050 (the cost of the four-track Tascam recorder), mixed through an old Gibson guitar unit to a beat box."

The song depicts a young couple's escape to Atlantic City, New Jersey, but it also wrestles with the inevitability of death as the man in the relationship intends to take a job in organized crime upon arriving in the city. The opening lines of "Atlantic City" refer to mafia violence in nearby Philadelphia, with Springsteen singing: "Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night, now they blew up his house too" (the "chicken man" was mafia boss Philip Testa, who was killed by a bomb planted at his Philadelphia house in March 1981). The song evokes the widespread uncertainty regarding gambling during its early years in Atlantic City and its promises to resurrect the city, as well as the young man's uncertainty about taking the less-than-savory job: "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies someday comes back."

Although the song came out around the same time as the film of the same name, the two works are unrelated.

The song is also included on his 1995 Greatest Hits album and on the 2003 compilation The Essential Bruce Springsteen.

"8 Years", a 2006 episode of the television series Cold Case, was based around nine Springsteen songs, with "Atlantic City" played during its climactic murder scene.^[1] In 2012 following Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie quoted the song's chorus during a cameo on Saturday Night Live.^[2]

Music video

A music video was produced for "Atlantic City", which received moderate play on MTV in the United States. Springsteen does not appear in the video, which features stark, black and white images of Atlantic City.

Live performances

From the Born in the U.S.A. Tour on, "Atlantic City" has made fairly regular appearances in Springsteen's band concerts, with a soft-hard-cycle arrangement very similar to that of "Darkness on the Edge of Town". Such live versions appear on Springsteen's In Concert/MTV Plugged (1993) and Live in New York City (2001) albums. For the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, "Atlantic City" was drastically rearranged and featured multiple outros; as such it appears on the Live in Dublin (2007) album.

Covers

The song "Atlantic City" has been covered by other artists, here presented in chronological order:

The Reivers (1986)
BoDeans (1987)
The Band on Jericho (1993)
Scooter & The Streethearts (1996)
Counting Crows (1997)
Kurt Neumann of the BoDeans (1997)
Kim Fox (1997)
Rollin' in the Hay (1998)
The Badlees on The Day's Parade, Rite-Off Records Catalog # 1135-2 (1998)
John Anderson (2001)
Hank Williams III on Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' (2002)
Common Streets (Ron Junker, Mike Gatto) on Garden State of Mind, Vol. 1 (2002)
Sticks and Stones on The Strife and The Times (2003)
Pete Yorn on Live from New Jersey (2004)
Ed Harcourt on Elephant's Graveyard (2005)
Eddie Vedder (2005)
The Muckrakers (single digital release)
Atticus Finch
Automatic 7 on At Funeral Speed (2007)
Paul Baribeau and Ginger Alford for their "Darkness on the Edge of Your Town Tour" CD and Tour (2006, re-released 2009)
Rodney Parker and Fifty Peso Reward on The Lonesome Dirge (2008)
Levon Helm from the album FestivaLink presents Levon Helm Band MerleFest Ramble at MerleFest (April 26, 2008)
Mat Kearney (2009)
The Hold Steady on War Child's Heroes compilation (2009)
Jamie T Emilys Heart Single (2010) ^[3]
Justin Townes Earle on The Onion's The A.V. Club^[4]
Gerhard Gundermann made a German version of the song
Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem 97x Green Room October 21, 2008
The Racket Boys (2009)
Kyle Morton of Typhoon (American band), with Danielle Sullivan Oct 17, 2010 ^[5]
Benjamin Francis Leftwich (2011)
Geoff Rickly of Thursday (band) 2012 Warped Tour ^[6]
Ben Harper at the Machine Shop August 20, 2012 ^[7]
Mumford & Sons, with Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, on their Daytrotter Session, October 1, 2012 ^[8]
Peter Joseph Burtt & The Kingtide on "Bone to Stone" (2013) ^[9]
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, August 25, 2013 The Vic Theatre Chicago
Ed Sheeran at Maida Vale May 2014
Couple Days on Pretty Good (2014) ^[10]
Greensky Bluegrass on JamCruise 2013
Greensky Bluegrass at Red Rocks Aug. 6 2015
Mumford and Sons and friends at the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover June 6 2015 at Seaside Heights, NJ
Joe Russo's Almost Dead 2015
Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers for Radio Woodstock's Garden Sessions (November 17, 2015)^[11]
Common Richard on Home Made Fade In (December 2014)^[12]
Brian Fallon & The Crowes(of the Gaslight Anthem), January 16th, 2016 The Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC. Fallon has covered this other times in his solo tour.

Sources

References

↑ 'Cold Case,' Hot Tunes: Springsteen's Soundtrack
↑ "Chris Christie on 'SNL'". Retrieved January 5, 2013.
↑ TV On The Radio, Hot Chip, Beck Show Some Cover Love For The New War Child Compilation
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↑ "Home Made Fade In by Common Richard on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-02-09.

External links

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen Garry Tallent Roy Bittan Max Weinberg Steven Van Zandt Nils Lofgren Patti Scialfa Jake Clemons Charles Giordano Soozie Tyrell Former members Ernest Carter Clarence Clemons Danny Federici Suki Lahav Vini Lopez David Sancious Former touring musicians Everett Bradley Barry Danielian Clark Gayton Curtis King Ed Manion The Miami Horns Cindy Mizelle Michelle Moore Tom Morello Curt Ramm Jay Weinberg

Studio albums	Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) Born to Run (1975) Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) The River (1980) Nebraska (1982) Born in the U.S.A. (1984) Tunnel of Love (1987) Human Touch (1992) Lucky Town (1992) The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) The Rising (2002) Devils & Dust (2005) We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) Magic (2007) Working on a Dream (2009) Wrecking Ball (2012) High Hopes (2014)

Live albums	Live 1975–85 (1986) In Concert/MTV Plugged (1993) Live in New York City (2001) Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2006) Live in Dublin (2007) Live From the Carousel (2011) Apollo Theater 3/09/12 (2014) The Agora, Cleveland 1978 (2015) Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975 (2015) Nassau Coliseum, New York 1980 (2015) Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey 1984 (2015) LA Sports Arena, California 1988 (2015) Schottenstein Center, Ohio 2005 (2015) Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome 2013 (2015) Arizona State University, Tempe 1980 (2015)

Compilation albums	Greatest Hits (1995) 18 Tracks (1999) The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) Greatest Hits (2009) The Promise (2010) Collection: 1973–2012 (2013)

Box sets	The Born in the U.S.A. 12" Single Collection (1985) Tracks (1998) The Collection (2004) Born to Run: 30th Anniversary Edition (2005) The Collection 1973–1984 (2010) The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (2010) The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973–1984 (2014) The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015)

EPs	Live Collection (1987) Chimes of Freedom (1988) Blood Brothers (1996) PBS Exclusive (2007) Magic Tour Highlights (2008) American Beauty (2014)

Singles	"Blinded by the Light" (1973) "Spirit in the Night" (1973) "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" (1974) "Born to Run" (1975) "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (1976) "Prove It All Night" (1978) "Badlands" (1978) "The Promised Land" (1978) "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" (1979) "Hungry Heart" (1980) "Fade Away" (1981) "Sherry Darling" (1981) "The River" (1981) "Cadillac Ranch" (1981) "Point Blank" (1981) "Atlantic City" (1982) "Open All Night" (1982) "Dancing in the Dark" (1984) "Cover Me" (1984) "Born in the U.S.A." (1984) "I'm on Fire" (1985) "Glory Days" (1985) "I'm Goin' Down" (1985) "My Hometown" (1985) "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (1985) "War" (1986) "Fire" (1987) "Brilliant Disguise" (1987) "Tunnel of Love" (1987) "One Step Up" (1988) "Tougher Than the Rest" (1988) "Spare Parts" (1988) "Human Touch" (1992) "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" (1992) "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994) "Secret Garden" (1995) "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1996) "Sad Eyes" (1999) "The Rising" (2002) "Lonesome Day" (2002) "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (2003) "Devils & Dust" (2005) "Radio Nowhere" (2007) "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (2008) "Working on a Dream" (2008) "My Lucky Day" (2008) "The Wrestler" (2009) "We Take Care of Our Own" (2012) "Death to My Hometown" (2012) "High Hopes" (2013)

Promo singles/charted songs	"Be True" (1981) "Ramrod" (1981) "Johnny 99" (1982) "No Surrender" (1984) "Stand on It" (1985) "Because the Night" (live) (1986) "Chimes of Freedom" (live) (1988) "Youngstown" (1995) "American Skin (41 Shots)" (2001) "Pay Me My Money Down" (2006) "Long Walk Home" (2006) "My City of Ruins" (2011) "Rocky Ground" (2012)

Other notable songs	"Growin' Up" (1973) "For You" (1973) "Incident on 57th Street" (1973) "The Fever" (1973) "Thunder Road" (1975) "Night" (1975) "Backstreets" (1975) "She's the One" (1975) "Meeting Across the River" (1975) "Jungleland" (1975) "Adam Raised a Cain" (1978) "Racing in the Street" (1978) "The Ties That Bind" (1980) "Independence Day" (1980) "Out in the Street" (1980) "Stolen Car" (1980) "Wreck on the Highway" (1980) "Nebraska" (1982) "Highway Patrolman" (1982) "Darlington County" (1984) "Working on the Highway" (1984) "Downbound Train" (1984) "Bobby Jean" (1984) "Pink Cadillac" (1984) "Jersey Girl" (1986) "Light of Day" (1993) "Murder Incorporated" (1995) "Land of Hope and Dreams" (2012) "Just Like Fire Would" (2014)

Video releases	Video Anthology / 1978–88 (1989) In Concert/MTV Plugged (1992) Blood Brothers (1996) The Complete Video Anthology / 1978–2000 (2001) Live in New York City (2001) Live in Barcelona (2003) VH1 Storytellers (2005) Wings For Wheels (2005) Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2005) Live in Dublin (2007) Magic Tour Highlights (2008) London Calling: Live in Hyde Park (2010) The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010) Springsteen & I (2013) Born in the U.S.A. Live: London 2013 (2014) A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (2014) Bruce Springsteen's High Hopes (2014) High Hopes in South Africa (2014) Hunter of Invisible Game (2014)

Tours	Born to Run tours (1974–77) Darkness Tour (1978) The River Tour (1980–81) Born in the U.S.A. Tour (1984–85) Tunnel of Love Express (1988) Human Rights Now! (1988) Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour (1992–93) Ghost of Tom Joad Tour (1995–97) Reunion Tour (1999–2000) Rising Tour (2002–03) Vote for Change (2004) Devils & Dust Tour (2005) Seeger Sessions Band Tour (2006) Magic Tour (2007–08) Working on a Dream Tour (2009) Wrecking Ball Tour (2012-13) High Hopes Tour (2014) The River Tour 2016 (2016)

Related articles	Discography E Street Band Steel Mill The Sessions Band The Miami Horns E Street Radio Little Steven's Underground Garage Outlaw Pete Mike Appel Jon Landau Brendan O'Brien Bob Clearmountain The Max Weinberg 7 Southside Johnny Joe Grushecky Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska

Book Category

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Music from Big Pink The Band Stage Fright Cahoots Moondog Matinee Northern Lights – Southern Cross Islands Jericho High On The Hog Jubilation

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