"Incident on 57th Street" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen that
was first released as the opening song on Side 2 of his 1973 album
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. It has been described
by critics as a key development in Springsteen's songwriting career
and regarded by fans as one of his greatest songs.
According to Springsteen, the theme of "Incident on 57th Street" is
redemption, a theme he would return to again many times. The story
is set in New York City and tells the story of "Spanish Johnny"
and "Puerto Rican Jane." It has parallels to Leonard Bernstein's
West Side Story in telling a Romeo and Juliet-like story with
Latin American characters set in New York.
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the second studio LP by
American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen and was released
on November 11, 1973 by Columbia Records. As with his first album
released earlier in the year, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street
Shuffle was well-received critically but had little commercial success
initially. The LP would peak at #59 on the Billboard 200 Albums
chart two years later in October 1975.
A Playlist of all HT Class of '73 Songs of the Day is available by clicking below:
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