Bruce Springsteen was advocating for the rights of the common working-class man. The song was widely misinterpreted as jingoistic, and in connection with the 1984 presidential campaign became the subject of considerable folklore. In 1984, conservative columnist George Will attended a Springsteen concert and then wrote a column praising Springsteen's work ethic. Six days after the column was printed, in a campaign rally in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire—New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Two
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen song) 4, becoming the 29th best-selling single of the year. The recording also won Springsteen his first Grammy Award, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. In the 1984 "Rolling Stone" readers poll, "Dancing in the Dark" was voted "Single of the Year". The track has since gone on to earn further recognition and is as such listed one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen song) "Dancing in the Dark" is a song written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen.