Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band recorded "Because the Night" at Atlantic Studios, New York on June 1, 1977, the first day of sessions for "Darkness on the Edge of Town", though the lyrics only consisted of the song title and some mumbling. Springsteen struggled with the song for almost four months until his engineer, Jimmy Iovine, got involved. At the time, Iovine was also producing the album "Easter" for Patti Smith at the Record Plant, New York, where "Darkness" was being recorded at the same time.