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
Wrecking Ball (Bruce Springsteen album) Wrecking Ball (Bruce Springsteen album) Wrecking Ball is the seventeenth studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released March 6, 2012, on Columbia Records. It was named best album of 2012 by "Rolling Stone" and along with the album's first single, "We Take Care of Our Own", was nominated for three Grammy Awards. All but four songs were written in 2011. Three of the exceptions were songs previously released in live version, the other released on "Wrecking Ball": The album includes tracks that feature Clarence Clemons, who died in June 2011. Clemons performs the saxophone solos on "Land of