Just over 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan became the first American president to name-drop Bruce Springsteen . “America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts,” he told a crowd at a New Jersey campaign stop in September of 1984. “It rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire — New Jersey’s own, Bruce Springsteen.
” Springsteen was, of course, at a pop-cultural peak in that moment, fresh from the release of the world-conquering blockbuster Born in the U.S.A.
, with a flag on the cover and an easy-to-misconstrue title track. In the decades since, he’s made his left-leaning political views quite clear, campaigning for Democratic candidates and even partnering with Barack Obama for a podcast series and book. And even in the far-flung political era of 2024, where Beyoncé’s “Freedom” scores Kamala Harris ‘ campaign, Springsteen’s name and music keep popping up — Donald Trump has him on his mind, Tim Walz is a vocal fan, and “ Born in the U.
S.A. ” played at the Democratic National Convention.
Steven Hyden ‘s excellent new book, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A.
and the End of the Heartland , traces the pop-cultural and political impact of that album. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss Springsteen’s continuing political relevance and more. (To hear more from Hyden on his book, check out the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast — his segment begin.