• Writer: Bruce Springsteen
• Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, and Steve Van Zandt
• Recorded: Spring 1983 at the Power Station in New York City
• Released: June 17th, 1984
• Players:
  Bruce Springsteen — vocals, guitar
  Steve Van Zandt — guitar
  Garry Tallent — bass
  Max Weinberg — keyboards
  Danny Federici — keyboards
  Clarence Clemons — percussion
  Max Weinberg — drums
• Album: Born In The U.S.A. (Columbia, 1984)
• Also On:
  Live/1975-85 (Columbia, 1986)
  Greatest Hits (Columbia, 1995)
  Tracks (Columbia, 1998)
  18 Tracks (Columbia, 1999)
  Live In New York City (Columbia, 2001)
  The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Columbia/Legacy, 2003)
• The title track from Born In The U.S.A. was the album’s second single and peaked at Number Nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The song began life in 1981 when filmmaker Paul Schrader sent Bruce Springsteen a script titled Born In The U.S.A., for what later became the Michael J. Fox/Joan Jett movie Light Of Day. Springsteen had recently read Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic‘s memoir Born On The 4th Of July and had also played a benefit for the Vietnam Veterans of America in Los Angeles.
• Springsteen noted, “The sound of ‘Born In The U.S.A.’ was martial, modal, and straight ahead. The lyrics dealt with the problems Vietnam vets faced when they came back home after fighting in ‘the only war that America had ever lost.’ In order to understand the song’s intent, you needed to invest a certain amount of time and effort to absorb both the music and the words.”
• “Born In The U.S.A.” actually became one of Springsteen’s most misunderstood songs, with many listeners — along with politicians, including then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan — embracing it as patriotic anthem. Still, Springsteen explained, “On the album, ‘Born In The U.S.A.’ was in its most powerful presentation. If I tried to undercut or change the music, I believe I would have had a record that might have been more easily understood, but not as good.”
• Springsteen recorded the first version of “Born In The U.S.A.” in January 1982 for his solo album Nebraska, but he wasn’t happy with it. He brought it out for the full-band sessions for the Born In The U.S.A. album and wound up using the third take, which they recorded live in the studio. Drummer Max Weinberg said cutting the song was “the greatest single experience I’ve ever had recording.”

FAST FORWARD:

• Springsteen returned the favor for the “Born In The U.S.A.” inspiration to Schrader by writing the title song for Light Of Day.
• Springsteen allowed the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew to sample “Born In The U.S.A.” for their song “Banned In The U.S.A.”
• “Born In The U.S.A.” was also licensed for the closing credits of the 1987 documentary Dear America.
• Guitarist Steve Van Zandt left the E Street Band after they finished Born In The U.S.A. to work on a solo career. In addition to the albums he’s released, he’s also made a name for himself as an actor on the HBO series The Sopranos.
• Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.