Grammys flashback: A brief history of Bruce Springsteen at the awards

Jaime Rodriguez
·4 min read
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“The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen, is easily one of the most iconic living artists in music with hits like “Streets of Philadelphia,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born to Run,” among many others. Such a strong career has warranted a lot of awards attention, so it’s no wonder that the Boss has racked up an impressive 20 Grammys, the most for a rock soloist.

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Despite eventually becoming a Grammy magnet, Springsteen’s first few records received no love from the Recording Academy. His debut, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” (1973), as well as his sophomore album, “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle” (also 1973) were commercial disappointments and got blanked come nominations time. That said, most people became aware of Springsteen with his third album, the mainstream breakout “Born to Run” (1975). A few years after that, in 1981, Springsteen received his first Grammy nomination: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for a live medley of the classics “Devil with the Blue Dress,” “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Jenny Take a Ride.” And his fifth studio album, “The River,” earned the Boss a nomination in that same category the following year, although many would probably argue he deserved more than just that.

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Springsteen’s real Grammy breakthrough came with his next album, the iconic “Born In the U.S.A.” The album collected four nominations, including for Record of the Year (“Dancing in the Dark” in 1985 and “Born in the U.S.A.” in 1986) and Album of the Year, with a win for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (“Dancing in the Dark”). His next album, “Tunnel of Love,” did not receive nominations in the general field, but did grant Springsteen his first pop nomination, as well as a win for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.

While his early ’90s release “Human Touch” lost its two nominations, the Boss’s comeback Oscar-winning hit “Streets of Philadelphia” (from the film “Philadelphia”) would put him in his most beloved period with the Recording Academy. It won Song of the Year, to date his only general field win, and took home four Grammys total, only losing Record of the Year to Sheryl Crow‘s “All I Wanna Do.”

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After “Philadelphia” Springsteen became more of a Grammy darling. “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” “The Rising,” “Devils and Dust,” “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions,” “Magic” and “Working on a Dream” all won the singer at least one Grammy, either in rock or folk categories. Of those, “The Rising” was up for Album of the Year and likely came close to winning; it was widely predicted to prevail, but was upset by newcomer Norah Jones‘s “Come Away with Me.” The Boss nevertheless won three trophies for that 9/11-inspired collection.

“Magic” was also a big one for the Boss, taking home four Grammys total over two years, and proving what a reliable rock favorite he was. His last Grammy to date was for “Working on a Dream,” the titular single from his 16th album, taking home Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance in 2010. But that doesn’t mean Springsteen isn’t still getting love from the academy. He picked up three noms for “Wrecking Ball” including Best Rock Album. And he just got a nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for “Only the Strong Survive,” and was likely next-in-line behind winner Laufey for “Bewitched.”

Springsteen’s Grammy history is admirable. Throughout his career he’s racked up nominations in pop, folk, rock, visual media, spoken word and music video/film categories, a testament to his versatility as a performer. He has also been up for awards for five decades now, and I expect him to keep showing up like he has been doing. And hey, considering how the Grammys love to reward veterans, maybe we will be calling Springsteen a general field winner again soon – just look at Bonnie Raitt.

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