Prove It All Night
Encyclopedia
"Prove It All Night" is the penultimate song on Bruce Springsteen
's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town
, and the first single released from it.
The single gained little traction with Top 40 radio stations, reaching only #33 on the Billboard Hot 100
; however it gained considerable play on progressive rock
and album-oriented rock
radio formats.
" and "Thunder Road
". The entire song contains a sense of optimism that the two individuals' quest for love will someday be realized but, at the same time, it seems that the world is closing in on them in that the characters' chances of falling in love are growing more limited as time passes.
concerts since its release. To the Springsteen faithful, by far the most famous arrangement of it occurred during their fabled 1978 Tour
, when it was reshaped into an eleven-minute epic with a long, howling guitar-over-piano introduction and a frenetic organ-and-guitar-over-drums outro. Excerpts of one such performance from a July 1, 1978 Berkeley Community Theatre
show were heard during a syndicated radio interview with New York disc jockey Dave Herman on the King Biscuit Flower Hour
, and this version would become a fan favorite still referred back to decades later; one of the criticisms of Springsteen's 1986 Live/1975-85
box set was that it omitted the 1978 version "Prove It All Night". A live version of the song did finally appear on Springsteen's 2001 release Live in New York City
documenting the Reunion Tour
, as did a Rising Tour
performance on the 2003 Live in Barcelona
DVD, but both were in a shorter, more conventional treatment.
songs "bubbling under" the top 3000. The song has also been listed as the #6 single of 1978
by Dave Marsh
and Kevin Stein and as one of the 7500 most important songs from 1944 through 2000 by Bruce Pollock.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in the late spring of 1978. The album marked the end of a three year period of forced hiatus from recording brought on by contractual obligations and legal battling with former manager Mike Appel...
, and the first single released from it.
The single gained little traction with Top 40 radio stations, reaching only #33 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
; however it gained considerable play on progressive rock
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
and album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
radio formats.
Content
In keeping with a storied tradition of rock songs, these lyrics very effectively equate love with the surrendering of a women's virtue. The protagonist promises to prove his love all night, a vow that can be seen as either opportunistic or youthfully optimistic, depending on one's point of view. Thus it can be experienced as either humorous or sincere, like so many great love songs. Lyrically the song is similar to other Springsteen numbers such as "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
"Rosalita " is a 1973 song by Bruce Springsteen, from his The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle album, and is especially famed as a concert number for Springsteen and The E Street Band...
" and "Thunder Road
Thunder Road (song)
"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and often appears on lists of the top rock songs of all time.Rolling Stone magazine placed it as #86 on its...
". The entire song contains a sense of optimism that the two individuals' quest for love will someday be realized but, at the same time, it seems that the world is closing in on them in that the characters' chances of falling in love are growing more limited as time passes.
Live performance
"Prove It All Night" has been a semi-regular selection in Springsteen and E Street BandE Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
concerts since its release. To the Springsteen faithful, by far the most famous arrangement of it occurred during their fabled 1978 Tour
Darkness Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town...
, when it was reshaped into an eleven-minute epic with a long, howling guitar-over-piano introduction and a frenetic organ-and-guitar-over-drums outro. Excerpts of one such performance from a July 1, 1978 Berkeley Community Theatre
Berkeley Community Theatre
The Berkeley Community Theatre is a theatre, located in Berkeley, California on the campus of Berkeley High School. The Art Deco-style theater has 3,491 seats, including a balcony section...
show were heard during a syndicated radio interview with New York disc jockey Dave Herman on the King Biscuit Flower Hour
King Biscuit Flower Hour
The King Biscuit Flower Hour was a syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock artists.-History:...
, and this version would become a fan favorite still referred back to decades later; one of the criticisms of Springsteen's 1986 Live/1975-85
Live/1975-85
Live/1975–85 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It consists of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts between 1975 and 1985. It was released as a box set with either five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs...
box set was that it omitted the 1978 version "Prove It All Night". A live version of the song did finally appear on Springsteen's 2001 release Live in New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert...
documenting the Reunion Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000....
, as did a Rising Tour
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003...
performance on the 2003 Live in Barcelona
Live in Barcelona
Live In Barcelona is a full concert video DVD of a performance by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band of their Rising Tour performance of October 16, 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain....
DVD, but both were in a shorter, more conventional treatment.
Acclaim
The aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net did not place this song in its list of the top 3000 songs of all time, but rated it as one of the 19801980 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....
songs "bubbling under" the top 3000. The song has also been listed as the #6 single of 1978
1978 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....
by Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
and Kevin Stein and as one of the 7500 most important songs from 1944 through 2000 by Bruce Pollock.