Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1949 and started his musical career in 1964. By 1989, when the Popstar Taylor Swift was born, he already was one of the most influential and best-selling American artists of all time.
With 21 studio albums released, he sold an estimated amount of more than 140 million records worldwide. That number was already beaten by Taylor, who started her career in 2003 and released only 10 studio albums and re-recorded four of them. Until 2019 she had sold an estimated amount of more than 200 million records worldwide.
Both are really successful and influential, but what is Bruce Springsteen’s opinion on Swift?
What is Bruce Springsteen’s opinion on Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is certainly a phenomenon and that is recognized by other successful artists from different eras. Bruce Springsteen got to know her work through his daughter who is a big fan of Swift. She even made him listen to the album “‘Midnights” (2022) when Bruce went to picked her at the airport. They both listened to the entire album from Newark to Colts Neck. The musician recalled that in an interview with Howard Stern in 2022 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) and praised Taylor.
“My daughter is a Taylor Swift fan to the max. The other day I pick her up at the airport and she says: ‘Dad, Taylor Swift got a banging new record’. So I go ‘banging new record? Alright’. She plays it for me, top volume all the way from Newark to Colts Neck (laughs) and dancing in her seat.”
“I said ‘That’s what I like to see’. It was good (the record), she is super talented. She is a tremendous writer and I know the producer Jack Antonoff very well. They’re making big, great records. So there’s a lot of great work going on. People are still making great records and people are finding a lot of joy in those records. That’s gonna go on, it’s just gonna be different, you know,” Bruce Springsteen said.
Bruce Springsteen believes Taylor Swift will be influential for a long time
There are artists like Springsteen who were able to release many successful and influential albums over the decades. He was a huge inspiration for artists from many different ages and continues to inspire musicians and fans around the world. As Bruce said in an interview with The Project (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), he believes that Taylor Swift will be influential like that for a long time.
“A lot of my kids do that (make me listen to new artists). (My daughter) is interested in the Top 40, so I will listen to her if I wanna know about Taylor Swift (for example). I’ve just (heard) Taylor Swift’s new record (‘Midnights’ – 2022) from start to finish in the car the other day. (…) If you look at the music, she’s an excellent writer.”
“Lyrically she is a really good lyricist about this moment I would say, this moment, (like) everything Top 40, Top records should be. She is going to be a very influential artist for a long time. It’s the same old thing: quality, good record making that has something to say,” Bruce Springsteen said.
Taylor Swift is the most streamed artist on Spotify, the highest-grossing female touring artist and also the first billionaire to have music as the main source of income.