The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle departed from the folk influences of Springsteen's 1973 debut album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." and was instead characterized by "a grand fusion of nostalgic rock 'n' roll and soulful R&B". There is disagreement on "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle"'s release date between official sources and third-party sources, including various Springsteen biographies covering the era. Springsteen's official website provides a release date of September 11, 1973; however, it is known that Springsteen was still in the studio recording for the album past this date. The consensus among other sources is that the album was released in
Asbury Park, New Jersey a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel. Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first artesian well water system. As many as 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury Park during the summer season in the early years, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury Park. By 1912, "The New York Times" estimated that the summer population could reach 200,000. The "country by the sea" destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked