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Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, by Columbia Records. Co-produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, the album was recorded in New York City with the E Street Band over two years between January 1982 and March 1984. Some of the songs originated from the same demo tape that yielded the solo effort Nebraska (1982), while others were written after that album's release. The sessions yielded between 70 and 90 songs; some were released as B-sides while others later saw release on compilation albums. Born in the U.S.A. is a rock and roll album with a more pop-influenced sound than Springsteen's previous albums. Its production is typical of mainstream 1980s rock music, with prominent use of synthesizers. The lyrics contrast with the album's livelier sound and continue the themes of previous records, particularly Nebraska. Topics include working-class struggles, disillusionment, patriotism, and personal relationships, while several tracks feature humor. The cover photograph of Springsteen against the American flag was taken by Annie Leibovitz and has appeared on lists of the best album covers ever. Accompanied by a vast promotional campaign that featured seven singles, five music videos, and three dance remixes, Born in the U.S.A. was a massive commercial success, becoming the best-selling album of 1985 and topping the charts in nine countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. All seven of its singles, including "Dancing in the Dark", "Born in the U.S.A.", "I'm on Fire", and "Glory Days", reached the U.S. top ten. The album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it Springsteen's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. At the time, music critics praised the album's storytelling and musical performances, while others criticized the use of similar lyrical themes as Springsteen's previous albums. Springsteen and the E Street Band supported the album on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. Born in the U.S.A. made Springsteen a superstar and brought him his largest amount of success to date as a recording and performing artist. He later expressed reservations about the album itself and the fame it brought him. Nevertheless, retrospective assessments consider Born in the U.S.A. one of the best records by Springsteen and of the 1980s decade. It has appeared on lists of the greatest albums of all time, including by Rolling Stone and NME, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. Background Bruce Springsteen rented a ranch in Colts Neck, New Jersey, following the conclusion of the River Tour in September 1981. While there, he spent time writing new material, including a song called "Vietnam", about a Vietnam veteran returning home from the war to an unenthusiastic response. During the tour, Springsteen read Born on the Fourth of July, a 1976 autobiography by Ron Kovic, an anti-war activist who was wounded and paralyzed during the Vietnam War. Kovic's story inspired Springsteen to meet various Vietnam War veterans in Los Angeles, California, which affected him more and inspired the writing of several tracks that centered on or included themes about the Vietnam War: "Vietnam", "Shut Out the Light", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "Highway Patrolman", and "Brothers Under the Bridges". As Springsteen continued developing "Vietnam", the director Paul Schrader asked him to write music for an ultimately unmade film called Born in the U.S.A. The screenplay concerned a Cleveland factory worker who works during the day and plays guitar in a bar band at night. Springsteen, fascinated with the title, revised the lyrics and music of "Vietnam" to create "Born in the U.S.A." After writing "Born in the U.S.A.", Springsteen wanted to record a demo of the track and the others he had written during the period. Using a four-track tape recorder, Springsteen demoed the songs in his Colts Neck home between December 17, 1981, and January 3, 1982. These included "Born in the U.S.A.", "Nebraska", "Atlantic City", "Mansion on the Hill", "Downbound Train", and "Child Bride". Springsteen intended to rerecord the Colts Neck demos with the E Street Band – pianist Roy Bittan, saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist Danny Federici, bassist Garry Tallent, guitarist Steven Van Zandt, and drummer Max Weinberg – during sessions booked to begin in April 1982 at the Power Station in New York City, where The River (1980) had been recorded. Recording history Initial sessions and Nebraska Weeks after recording the demos in Colts Neck in late January 1982, Springsteen and the E Street Band were at the Hit Factory in New York City recording a session for Gary U.S. Bonds' album On the Line, which Springsteen had written seven songs for and co-produced with Van Zandt. During the session, the band recorded "Cover Me", a song Springsteen had written for Donna Summer. His manager-producer Jon Landau convinced Springsteen to keep it for his next album after hearing the finished recording; Springsteen subsequently wrote Summer another song, "Protection", and recorded a version with the E Street Band. In April, Springsteen and the E Street Band regrouped at the Power Station to record the demos as full-band versions for release on the next album. Production was handled by Springsteen, Landau, Van Zandt, and The River's mixer Chuck Plotkin, while Toby Scott returned from the Hit Factory sessions as engineer. The band spent two weeks attempting full-band arrangements of the Colts Neck tracks, including "Nebraska", "Johnny 99", and "Mansion on the Hill", but Springsteen and his co-producers were dissatisfied with the recordings. Plotkin described the performances with E Street as "less meaningful ... less compelling ... less honest" than the demo recordings. Other songs from the tape, including "Born in the U.S.A.", "Downbound Train", and "Child Bride" (now rewritten as "Working on the Highway"), proved successful in full-band arrangements. According to the author Dave Marsh, the night the band recorded "Born in the U.S.A." was when "they knew they'd really begun making an album." Over the next few weeks into May, the band's productivity increased as they recorded material absent from the Colts Neck tape, including "Darlington County", "Frankie", "Glory Days", "I'm Goin' Down", "I'm on Fire", "Murder Incorporated", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)", "This Hard Land", "None but the Brave", and "Wages of Sin", as well as a new recording of "Cover Me". Despite the band's productivity and excitement about the recorded material, Springsteen remained focused on the rest of the Colts Neck songs. Realizing the tracks would not work in full-band arrangements, he decided to release the demos as is. Springsteen briefly considered releasing a double album of acoustic and electric songs before deciding to relea.... Discover the Caryn Rose popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Caryn Rose books.