"Pink Cadillac" is a song by Bruce Springsteen released as the non-album B-side of " Dancing in the Dark" in 1984. The song received moderate airplay on album-oriented rock radio and appeared on the ''Billboard''

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...

chart for 14 weeks, peaking at No. 27. The song was also a prominent concert number during Springsteen's

Born in the U.S.A. Tour The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's '' Born in the U.S.A.'' album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen; after two years of bodybuil ...

. The song follows

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's "

Little Red Corvette "Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful ...

" and

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

's " Mustang Sally" in using automobile travel as a metaphor for sexual activity, in particular the lyric "I love you for your pink Cadillac", which was intended to be a veiled reference to a

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

. Springsteen, in fact, vetoed the first attempt by a female singer to release a version of "Pink Cadillac", that being Bette Midler in 1983. However, "Pink Cadillac" had its highest profile incarnation via an R&B interpretation by

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, which became a top-ten single in 1988.

Bruce Springsteen version

Background

Springsteen originally wrote "Pink Cadillac" as "Love Is a Dangerous Thing" in December 1981; this version was lyrically distinct from the eventual "Pink Cadillac" except for the line "Eve tempted Adam with an apple", which Springsteen decided to make the basis for a more lighthearted lyric. The first lyrics Springsteen wrote for "Pink Cadillac" were: "They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple but man I ain't going for that/ I know it was her pink Cadillac". The auto imagery was inspired by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's 1954 rendition of "

Baby Let's Play House "Baby Let's Play House" is a song written by Arthur Gunter and recorded by him in 1954 on the Excello Records label and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records. A line from the song ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, tha ...

" in which Presley replaced the original lyric: "You may get religion" with: "You may have a pink Cadillac", a reference to the custom painted Cadillac that was then Presley's touring vehicle.

Recording

First recorded by Springsteen in an acoustic version in early January 1982 in the session whose tracks would comprise the ''

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 ...

'' album, "Pink Cadillac" was not formally recorded by Springsteen until the sessions for his '' Born in the U.S.A.'' album, in the spring of 1983. At the end of one session, when most of the crew had left the studio, Springsteen impulsively cut a basic track of him singing "Pink Cadillac" to his guitar accompaniment; this track was completed with the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

the following morning. Although not included on the completed ''Born in the U.S.A.'' album, being bumped from the track list that April in favor of " I'm Goin' Down", "Pink Cadillac" was released in 1984 as the B-side of the album's lead single, " Dancing in the Dark". The track would appear as one of two songs (along with " Cover Me") on a CD3 released in 1988, but was not included on any Springsteen album until '' Tracks'' in 1998, and '' 18 Tracks'' in 1999, both these titles being anthologies of Springsteen's

outtakes An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

-and-B-sides. Springsteen's version of "Pink Cadillac" is often compared to the ''

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'' theme by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, which it resembles in its main riff and saxophone break. In 2006, Springsteen appeared on a recording of "Pink Cadillac" by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

on his album '' Last Man Standing''.

In concert

Performing the song live, Springsteen explained the song as being "about the conflict between worldly things and spiritual health, between desires of the flesh and spiritual ecstasy," in a long tongue-in-cheek spoken introduction. Springsteen performed the song at a concert in

Turku, Finland Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, on May 7, 2013. The song was requested by fans and chosen by Springsteen as part of a tradition where Springsteen collects signs suggesting songs to be played from fans in the front rows and then chooses a few of those songs (not otherwise on the setlist) to be played.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: * Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitar *

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...

– saxophone *

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

– bass * Max Weinberg – drums

Natalie Cole version

In mid 1987,

recorded "Pink Cadillac" at the suggestion of producer Dennis Lambert; Cole recalls: "I thought to myself, 'I'm too old to be doing this kind of stuff', but then I'd never worked with anyone quite like Dennis before. He was very passionate about his work ndhis enthusiasm gave me the confidence that I could pull he songoff." The track was intended for an album release on the Modern label; that project was canceled and Cole's "Pink Cadillac" and another Lambert production: "I Live For Your Love", were picked up by EMI-Manhattan Records to appear on Cole's 1987 album ''Everlasting''. "Pink Cadillac" was released as that album's third single in March 1988. In May 1988, the song reached number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, matching Cole's previous best with " I've Got Love on My Mind" and becoming her first top ten hit since 1978. "Pink Cadillac" also reached number 9 on the R&B chart, number 16 on the A/C chart and, via a remix by David Cole (no relation) and

Robert Clivilles The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, number one on ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart. It became her first top ten hit in the United Kingdom by reaching number five on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, her first top forty hit there since 1978. According to Cole, "word got back" to her that Springsteen "thought it was very cool that a woman could ing "Pink Cadillac"and it would come out so great". (Springsteen had vetoed a 1983 release of Bette Midler's version of the song as gender-inappropriate, as detailed below.) The song was played on the 7836th episode of the American daytime television soap opera '' General Hospital'' on November 11, 1993, during a scene when Luke and Laura were in a pink Cadillac car on their way to GH. The music video was directed by Maurice Phillips.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Jerry Lee Lewis version

covered the song on his 2006 album '' Last Man Standing'' with additional vocals by Springsteen himself. The single was released in 2006 on

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

stations in the United States. The computer-animated music video premiered on CMT in November 2006.

Other versions

Bette Midler added "Pink Cadillac" to the set list for her 1982-83 De Tour tour and recorded the song for inclusion on her 1983 '' No Frills'' album; however, Springsteen blocked the release of Midler's version on the grounds that "Pink Cadillac" was not a "girl's song". According to the Midler biography ''Still Divine'' by Mark Bego, Midler was severely disappointed by Springsteen's veto, which forced her to record a new track ("

Beast of Burden A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for ...

") for ''No Frills'' at considerable expense. Midler's August 1984 video release ''Art or Bust'' video - comprising footage from the two De Tour concerts at the University of Minnesota - included "Pink Cadillac" as the opening number.''The Press-Courier'', 15 August 1984. Aretha Franklin is sometimes mis-credited as a singer of "Pink Cadillac" as the imagery occurs in her 1985 comeback hit " Freeway of Love" with the same metaphoric sense as in the Springsteen original, the lyric being: "We're going riding on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac". "Pink Cadillac" has long been a staple of

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

's live repertoire; at a 2 October 1996

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

concert by Etheridge, Springsteen joined her onstage to close the show with a duet of "Pink Cadillac". Etheridge has never recorded "Pink Cadillac", although her live performance is widely available as a bootleg recording. Carl Perkins recorded a version of "Pink Cadillac" on his album ''Friends, Family & Legends'' of 1992.

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

released a version on their 1986 album, ''Killbilly Hill''.

Brian Conley Brian Paul Conley (born 7 August 1961) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of ''The Brian Conley Show'', as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-ye ...

recorded "Pink Cadillac" for his 1993 ''Brian Conley Sings'' album. The 2003 album ''Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen'' includes a rendition of "Pink Cadillac" by

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

. It appeared on the 2004 album '' Live in Asbury Park, Vol. 2'' by

and Temple of Soul.

Bobby Mackey Robert Randall "Bobby" Mackey (born March 25, 1948) is a traditional country music singer whose career has spanned 40 years. His musical style can be described by his loyalty to Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Buck Owens, Conway T ...

released it as a single in 2011. Grace Gaustad released
cover
in February of 2022.