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
The Essential Bruce Springsteen The Essential Bruce Springsteen The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of "Essential" sets released by Sony BMG (previously Sony Music Entertainment). It includes songs from various Springsteen albums and concerts up to the year 2003. The third disc includes previously unreleased cuts, B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, covers, and an alternate, "country-blues" acoustic version of "Countin' on a Miracle" from "The Rising". The album debuted on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart on November 29, 2003, at number 14, with sales of 90,000