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"Atlantic City" is a song written and recorded by
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album ''
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
''. Springsteen has often played the song in a full band arrangement in concert.


Background

Springsteen first recorded two demos of the song in April 1981 at his home in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Initially he titled the song "Fistful of Dollars" (from the
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...
movie ''
A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, al ...
''). He recorded another demo in late 1981, this time changing the title to "Atlantic City". He recorded at least five takes on his Portastudio at Colts Neck during a two-week period, December 17 to January 3, 1982, with take three chosen for ''
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
''. In a letter to Jon Landau, Springsteen noted that "this song should probably be done with the whole band really rockin' out". At The Power Station on April 26–28, 1982, with the E Street Band during the 'Electric Nebraska' sessions, Springsteen spent three days trying to make a rock record out of the demo. Landau insisted on releasing the solo version, "No way was it as good as what he had goin' on that demo tape".


History

Springsteen wrote in his ''Greatest Hits'' sleeve notes that he recorded the track in his bedroom "for $1,050 (the cost of the four-track Tascam recorder), mixed through an old Gibson guitar unit to a beat box". He provides the vocals, guitar, harmonica, and mandolin for the song. The song depicts a young couple's escape to
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
, but it also wrestles with the inevitability of death as the man in the relationship intends to take a job in
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
upon arriving in the city, partially due to desperation caused by his “debts.” The opening lines of "Atlantic City" refer to the then-recent
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
violence in nearby
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sin ...
, with Springsteen singing: "Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night/Now they blew up his house too." The "Chicken Man" refers to
Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...
boss Phil "the Chicken Man" Testa, who was killed by a rival gangster who planted a nail bomb in his Philadelphia rowhouse in March 1981. While Atlantic City is considered the turf of the Philadelphia crime family, there was considerable in-fighting at the time among the Italian-American Mafia for dominance of the organized crime rackets in the city following the city's proposed legalization of gambling in 1976. By the 1970s and early 80s, Atlantic City had experienced a significant decline from its heyday as a prominent resort town in the early 20th century, and the introduction of legal gambling was proposed as a potential means of reviving the economically struggling city. The song evokes the widespread uncertainty regarding legalized
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
during its early years in Atlantic City and its promises to resurrect the city, as well as the young man's uncertainty about taking the less-than-savory job: "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies someday comes back." The song is also included on his 1995 '' Greatest Hits'' album and on the 2003 compilation '' The Essential Bruce Springsteen''. " 8 Years", a 2006 episode of the television series ''
Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or ...
'', was based around nine Springsteen songs, with "Atlantic City" played during its climactic murder scene. In 2012 following
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds span ...
, New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in ...
quoted the song's chorus during a cameo on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''. The song plays over the opening of episode 3 of season 4 of '' Billions''. A few scenes later, the character "Dollar" Bill Stern (played by Kelly AuCoin) sings the opening lines of the song. In September 2021,
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...
ranked the song No. 289 on its list of the “500 Best Songs of All Time”.


Music video

A
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
, directed by Barry Ralbag, was produced for "Atlantic City", which received moderate play on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...
in the United States. Springsteen does not appear in the video, which features stark, black-and-white images of Atlantic City. The video also contained clips of the demolition of the main dome of the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel.


Live performances

From the Born in the U.S.A. Tour on, "Atlantic City" has made fairly regular appearances in Springsteen's band concerts, with a soft-hard-cycle arrangement very similar to that of " Darkness on the Edge of Town". Such live versions appear on Springsteen's '' In Concert/MTV Plugged'' (1993) and '' Live in New York City'' (2001) albums. For the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, "Atlantic City" was drastically rearranged and featured multiple outros; as such it appears on the '' Live in Dublin'' (2007) album.


Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: *
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
– vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin


Other versions

The Band covered the song for their 1993 album ''Jericho''. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...
'' called it a "clear highlight". After the Band split up,
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...
continued to perform "Atlantic City" in his solo performances. Rock outfit
The Hold Steady The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...
covered the song on the War Child soundtrack in 2009. Country artist Riley Green covered the song on his 2018 EP ''County Line''. Greensky Bluegrass performs the song live. Country singer John Anderson recorded the song on his 2001 album, '' Nobody's Got It All''. English singer song-writer,
Jamie T Jamie Alexander Treays (born 8 January 1986), better known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, guitarist and record producer from Wimbledon, South London. Jamie T released his debut album, '' Panic Prevention' ...
, covered the song on his 2010 EP "Emily's Heart". St. Louis-based folk duo River Kittens recorded the song and released an accompanying video in 2021.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Hank Williams III covered the song on his 2002 album '' Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'''. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit covered the song on their 2017 album Live from Welcome to 1979.


References


External links


Single covers from the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, UK and JapanReview
on
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
{{authority control 1982 singles Culture of Atlantic City, New Jersey The Band songs Bruce Springsteen songs Columbia Records singles CBS Records singles Songs written by Bruce Springsteen 1982 songs Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen