How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.

Bruce's story continues in rural Holmdel, New Jersey, alone with a four-track tape recorder. He goes back into his childhood, drives the streets of his early years, searching for answers. Looking for meaning. The seminal album, Nebraska, is what comes out.

What happens next is an unravelling. And then a rebuilding. The Bruce who returns is unrecognisable. "He's got muscles now. Does that mean we have to get muscles now?!" - Warren Zanes. The album Born In The USA, with the anthemic album track and hit single Dancing In The Dark, takes Bruce stratospheric.

In October, 1985, after two years and 156 shows, the Born In The USA tour comes to a close at the Coliseum Los Angeles. Four sold out nights of 80,000 people. The final night is one of melancholy and of joy. And a foreboding of change to come.

~~~

“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?

In each episode, Laura takes us to the front row of a live performance that reveals a different side of The Boss, and hears him across the decades in his own words from the archive. We'll also hear from fellow worshippers in the Church of Springsteen, and disciples from the E Street Band, including drummer Max Weinberg, tributes from those influenced by Bruce, such as Bryce Dessner from The National, as well as Freehold town historian Kevin Coyne and music critics and biographers such as Richard Williams, Eric Alterman, Steven Hyden, Warren Zanes and Diane H. Winston.

The Bruce Springsteen Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning Joni Mitchell Story, and the podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producer: Eliza Lomas

How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.

Bruce’s story continues in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he's living above a beauty parlour, broke, writing songs amongst the hairdryers. It's here he writes his first album, Greetings From Asbury Park. And in 1975, when New York is in turmoil and America in crisis, Springsteen releases his landmark album, Born To Run. This launches him to stardom.

London Hammersmith, 1975. Bruce's wildest dreams come true when the opportunity comes to perform in the home country of his greatest musical heros. But what follows is far from the Springsteen shows of exuberant legend. And this newfound fame soon comes to replace Freehold, New Jersey, as the town he wants to flee.

~~~

“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?

In each episode, Laura takes us to the front row of a live performance that reveals a different side of The Boss, and hears him across the decades in his own words from the archive. We'll also hear from fellow worshippers in the Church of Springsteen and disciples from the E Street Band, including drummer Max Weinberg, tributes from those influenced by Bruce, such as Bryce Dessner from The National, as well as Freehold town historian Kevin Coyne and music critics and biographers such as Richard Williams, Eric Alterman, Steven Hyden, Warren Zanes and Diane H. Winston.

The Bruce Springsteen Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning Joni Mitchell Story, and the podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producer: Eliza Lomas

How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.

Bruce’s story begins in the small factory town of Freehold, New Jersey. His father, Douglas, is distant. The love from his Grandmother Alice is fierce. His life changes forever when he hears Elvis and The Beatles, and learns the guitar.

Laura travels to 23rd January, 1971. Bruce is 21 years old. This wiry figure with long curly hair takes the mic at the Upstage Club, Asbury Park. There is a vast distance between this scruffy boardwalk town venue and the stadiums he will one day fill, but Springsteen has a plan. Off stage, Bruce is a shy and introverted teenager. But when he plays, the transformation is startling. People liken it to Bruce Banner turning into the Incredible Hulk. This is where he finds his congregation - his vision of community forms here.

~~~

“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?

Producers: Eliza Lomas and Mair Bosworth

How did the greats become the greats? And what did it cost them to get there? Legend is the award-winning music biography series from BBC Radio 4 exploring the lives of pioneering artists who shaped modern music.

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from New Jersey became the iconic, muscular – and oft-misunderstood – rock star of the 1980s, and ultimately the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What does his story reveal about America today?

Across the series, Laura Barton takes a front-row seat at five key gigs which illuminate a different side of The Boss. She travels to Asbury Park in 1971 to hear how teenage Bruce began to learn his magic trick at The Upstage Club. She hears about his nerve-wracking London Hammersmith gig in 1975, the electrifying final night of the Born in the U.S.A tour in 1985, and his emotional homecoming show at St Rose of Lima school gym in 1996. Lastly, Laura heads to Milan to witness the final concert of his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams tour.

Featuring Bruce in his own words across the decades, alongside voices from the E Street Band, devoted fans, biographers, and critics.

Listen from Friday 10 October, first on BBC Sounds.

A BBC Audio Production for BBC Radio 4

Legend is a new music biography series from BBC Radio 4 exploring the extraordinary life stories of pioneering artists who changed music forever.

In the final episode, we hear how Joni comes full circle. She reunites with the daughter she gave up for adoption, retires then returns to music, suffers from and then recovers from a near-fatal brain aneurysm, all those years after contracting and surviving polio. With the love and support of a community of musicians, Joni once again returns to the stage, celebrating all that she's created over 80 years.

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

We follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in the past year: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct”.

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. We hear tributes from musicians who have played alongside Joni and from those who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We hear from friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In episode five, we hear how meeting a towering figure of jazz leads to a new collaboration, but Joni's hopes for a hit are unfulfilled. As the 1980s arrive, Joni continues to experiment with new sounds, but discovers the cost of being a middle-aged woman in pop. This is the decade of new politics and new love, hard knocks and bad omens. Joni experiences a series of misfortunes, and the pain of giving up her daughter resurfaces once more, in a song.

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

We follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in the past year: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct”.

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. We hear tributes from musicians who have played alongside Joni and from those who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We hear from friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In episode four we follow Joni from 1974 through to 1978. In 1974 Court and Spark is released to huge acclaim but already Joni is heading in new directions musically. This is the era of The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. Through '74 and '75 she tours extensively and joins Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Her creative restlessness and refusal to be put in a box take her in new directions, but also into controversial territory.

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct” (Lindsay Zoladz).

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from Joni's friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In episode three we follow Joni from 1970 through to 1974 - an incredibly fertile period during which she creates her albums Blue, For the Roses and Court and Spark. A period of romantic highs and lows, heady successes and hermit-like retreats, of psychoanalysis and vulnerability, and of new creative directions.

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct”.

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from Joni's friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In episode two we follow Joni from 1964 through to late 1969. Joni makes a 'bad marriage', signs adoption papers, leaves a bad marriage, makes it to Greenwich Village and then to LA's Laurel Canyon. We find out about the inspiration for some of her best known songs, including Little Green and Both Sides Now. In 1968, her recording career begins with her debut album 'Song to a Seagull'; with two more records following in quick succession - Clouds, and Ladies of the Canyon. In 1969, she is heartbroken to miss out on one of the biggest events of her generation - Woodstock. But - despite not getting to go - she writes a song that will help to define the event, and the era, in the popular imagination.

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct”.

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from Joni's friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In the first episode, we hear how young Joni loves to watch the trains go by from the window of her house in a Saskatchewan prairie town. Even as a child, there is a desire to see what's around the next bend. She's a tomboy and an athlete, until polio forces her into a period of convalescence; she's no longer picked first for sports teams but when she gets the use of her legs back she rock 'n' roll dances her way through her teens. Her childhood ambition is to be a painter, but when she finally makes it to art school everything changes....

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct” (Lindsay Zoladz).

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas