Editing Born to Run (section)

==Development==
[[Bruce Springsteen]]'s first two albums, ''[[Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.]]'' and ''[[The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle]]'', were released in 1973 through [[Columbia Records]]. While the albums were critically acclaimed, both sold poorly.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|p=70}} By 1974 his popularity was limited to the [[East Coast of the United States]],{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=31}} and the label's confidence in him began to wane.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=71–72}}{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=108}} Management at Columbia had changed and they began to favor the then-upcoming artist [[Billy Joel]].{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=32}}{{sfn|Springsteen|2016|p=194}} Low morale plagued Springsteen's team, including both his manager, [[Mike Appel]], and his backing group the [[E Street Band]].{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|p=70}} After Springsteen rejected [[CBS Records International|CBS Records]]' suggestion to record in [[Nashville, Tennessee]] with session musicians and a brought-in producer,{{efn|CBS was the international distributor of Columbia outside of the United States.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|p=20}}}}{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=32}}{{sfn|Eliot|1992|p=116}}{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=102}} the label agreed to finance one more album on the agreement that if it failed, they would drop him.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=71–72}}{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=108}}{{sfn|Springsteen|2016|p=203}} Appel successfully negotiated a slightly larger budget for the album but limited recording to [[914 Sound Studios]] in [[Blauvelt, New York]],{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=71–72}} the studio Springsteen used for the recordings of his first two albums.<ref name="UCRGuide" />

{{quote box|quote=I had these enormous ambitions for [the album].{{nbsp}}... I wanted to make the greatest rock record that I'd ever heard. I wanted it to sound enormous, to grab you by your throat and insist that you take that ride, insist that you pay attention—not just to the music, but to life, to being alive.<ref name="RSMaking">{{cite magazine |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |title=Bruce Springsteen on Making 'Born to Run': 'We Went to Extremes' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run-album-making-50232/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810232707/https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run-album-making-50232/ |url-status=live }}</ref>|source=—Bruce Springsteen, 2005|width=25em|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
The phrase "born to run" came to Springsteen while lying in bed one night at his home in [[West Long Branch, New Jersey]]. He said the title "suggested a cinematic drama I thought would work with the music I was hearing in my head".{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=32}}{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=172}} Inspired by the musical sounds and lyrical themes of 1950s and 1960s [[rock and roll]] artists such as [[Duane Eddy]], [[Roy Orbison]], [[Elvis Presley]], [[Phil Spector]], [[the Beach Boys]], and [[Bob Dylan]], Springsteen began composing what became "[[Born to Run (song)|Born to Run]]".{{sfn|Springsteen|2016|pp=207–209}} He later wrote: "This was the turning point. It proved to be the key to my songwriting for the rest of the record."{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=174}} He anticipated that sound he was seeking would be a "studio production".{{sfn|Guterman|2005|p=65}} The album became the first time Springsteen [[Recording studio as an instrument|used the studio as an instrument]] rather than simply replicating the sound of live performances.{{sfn|Masur|2010|p=41}}