"Human Touch" is a song recorded by the American rock singer
Bruce Springsteen. It was the first
single from his 1992 album
of the same name and was released on March 9, 1992. The song features future ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' judge
Randy Jackson on
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
and
Toto's
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...
on drums. It is sometimes played by Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert despite their having been dismissed at the time of the original recording.
The song reached number one in Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Spain and was a top-10 hit in several other countries, including Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the United States, the song reached number 16 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100—charting as a
double A-side with "Better Days"—and topped the
Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks. "Human Touch" was nominated for
Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
at the
1993 Grammy Awards
The 35th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1993 and recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The nominations were announced on January 7, 1993. The evening's host was the American stand-up comedian Garry Shan ...
. The music video, directed by
Meiert Avis, received an
MTV Video Music Awards nomination for
Best Male Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...
.
Track listings
CD maxi
# "Human Touch" – 6:28
# "Souls of the Departed" – 4:16
# "Long Goodbye" – 3:26
7-inch vinyl
# "Human Touch" – 6:28
# "Souls of the Departed" – 4:16
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:
*
Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitar
*
Randy Jackson – bass
*
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...
– drums, tambourine
*
Roy Bittan
Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...
– keyboards
*
Patti Scialfa
Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into ...
– backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
*
Human Touch (Rick Springfield song)
"Human Touch" is a 1983 single performed by Australian musician Rick Springfield from his album ''Living in Oz''. The song reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the U.S. It was also his most successful hit in the UK ...
*
List of number-one hits in Norway
This list shows the songs which have been number one on the official chart list (VG-lista) in Norway. The single list started in 1958, and the albums list in 1967. The show is broadcast every Wednesday by NRK P3, one of Norwegian Broadcasting ...
*
List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
When introduced by '' Billboard'' in March 1981, the Mainstream Rock chart was entitled Top Tracks and designed to measure the airplay of songs being played on album-oriented rock radio stations. The chart has undergone several name changes over th ...
References
{{Authority control
1992 singles
1992 songs
Bruce Springsteen songs
Columbia Records singles
Music videos directed by Meiert Avis
Number-one singles in Denmark
Number-one singles in Italy
Number-one singles in Norway
Number-one singles in Spain
Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen
Song recordings produced by Chuck Plotkin
Song recordings produced by Jon Landau
Songs written by Bruce Springsteen