Editing Born to Run (section)

==Release and promotion==
Springsteen and the E Street Band went on a tour of the U.S. East Coast on July 20, 1975, immediately after mixing on ''Born to Run'' was completed; Springsteen approved the final master recording while on the road.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|pp=197–198}} The tour continued into August, including an all sold-out five-night, ten-show stint at [[The Bottom Line (venue)|the Bottom Line]] nightclub in [[Greenwich Village]].{{sfn|Carlin|2012|pp=199–200}} Columbia purchased one-fifth of the venue tickets for rock journalists and media for promotion.{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|pp=39–40}} Expectations were high. Clemons remembered: "We were right on the verge. If we had flopped at the Bottom Line, it would have been very detrimental to us emotionally."<ref name="Fricke1987" /> The shows were a major success, receiving praise from both critics{{sfn|Masur|2010|pp=119–120}} and from Columbia's former president [[Clive Davis]].{{sfn|Carlin|2012|pp=199–200}} Kirkpatrick stated they "showed rock fans and media alike that Springsteen was no creation of industry hype; he was the real deal".{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=40}} ''Rolling Stone'' later included the shows in a 1987 list chronicling 20 concerts that changed rock and roll.<ref name="Fricke1987">{{cite magazine |first=David |last=Fricke |title=Live! Twenty Concerts that Changed Rock & Roll |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 4, 1987 |issue=501 |pages=89–90}}</ref>

''Born to Run'' was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia/CBS,{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=39}}{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=70–71}} directed at both consumers and the music industry, led by the executive Glen Brunman.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|pp=199–200}} In the buildup to the album's release, CBS spent $40,000 on advertisements that utilized Springsteen's first two albums and Landau's "I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote, which had been published in ''The Real Paper'' after Landau witnessed Springsteen perform "Born to Run" for the first time live in May 1975.{{efn|CBS and Columbia reignited promotion for Springsteen after seeing the quote; one executive used the quote on posters for record stores.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|pp=180–181}}}}{{sfn|Gaar|2016|pp=48–49}} The ads increased sales of both albums significantly enough to chart on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart, barely above number 60, two years after their original releases.{{sfn|Dolan|2012|pp=124–125}} Preorders for ''Born to Run'' were upwards of 350,000 units, more than twice the sales of ''Greetings'' and ''Wild'' combined.{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=127}}

Released on August 25, 1975,{{efn|name=release date|Other sources, including the [[Recording Industry Association of America]], cite a release date of September 1, 1975.{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=40}}{{sfn|Gaar|2016|p=198}}<ref name="RIAA" />}}<ref name="RSMaking" /><ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Born to Run |url=https://brucespringsteen.net/albums/born-to-run/ |website=Bruce Springsteen Official Website |access-date=August 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429032437/https://brucespringsteen.net/albums/born-to-run/ |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Born to Run'' peaked at number 3 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape]] chart,<ref name="bbchart"/> topped the ''[[Record World]]'' chart{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=70–71}} and reached number 36 on the [[UK Albums Chart|U.K. Albums Chart]].{{efn|name=UKchart|''Born to Run'' achieved a new peak of number 17 in the U.K. in 1985.<ref name="UK2">{{cite web |title=''Born to Run'' – Bruce Springsteen {{!}} Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run/ |website=Official Charts |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=January 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022232818/https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run/ |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}<ref name="ukchart" /> Elsewhere, ''Born to Run'' reached number 7 in Australia,{{sfn|Kent|1993|p=289}} the Netherlands,<ref name="NETHchart" /> and Sweden,<ref name="SWEchart" /> 20 in Ireland,<ref name="IREchart" /> 26 in Norway,<ref name="NORchart" /> 28 in New Zealand,<ref name="NZchart" /> and 31 in Canada.<ref name="CANchart" /> By the end of 1975, it had sold 700,000 copies.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=210}} By 2022, ''Born to Run'' was certified [[RIAA certification|seven times platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) in the U.S.<ref name="RIAA" /> The album was supported by two singles. The first, "Born to Run" with "Meeting Across the River" as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]], was released on August 25, 1975,{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=86–89}} reached number 23 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=128}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Top 100 for the Week of November 1, 1975 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1975-11-01/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref> and proved popular with radio stations and live audiences.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=210}} The second, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" backed by "She's the One",{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2020|pp=80–81}} appeared in January 1976{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=132}} and reached number 83.<ref name="UCRGuide" />

===Media hype and backlash===
The album was highly anticipated and publicized. In October 1975,{{sfn|Masur|2010|p=129}} Springsteen became the first artist to appear on the covers of the magazines ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[Newsweek]]'' simultaneously.<ref name="UCRMags">{{cite web |last=Lifton |first=Dave |title=Revisiting Bruce Springsteen's 'Time' and 'Newsweek' Covers |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bruce-springsteen-time-newsweek/ |access-date=August 22, 2023 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=October 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617132317/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bruce-springsteen-time-newsweek/ |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Time''{{'s}} [[Jay Cocks]] focused on him as an artist,{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|pp=45–46}} while ''Newsweek''{{'s}} [[Maureen Orth]] focused on Columbia's promotional campaign{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=128}}<ref name="UCRMags" /> and the hype surrounding Springsteen,{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|pp=45–46}} insisting that he was an industry-made pop star.{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=206}}

The question of hype became a story in itself, as critics wondered if Springsteen was legitimate or the product of record company promotion.<ref name="EdwardsNYT">{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Henry |title=If There Hadn't Been a Bruce Springsteen, Then the Critics Would Have Made Him Up; The Invention of Bruce Springsteen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/05/archives/if-there-hadnt-been-a-bruce-springsteen-then-the-critics-would-have.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=October 5, 1975 |archive-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230641/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/05/archives/if-there-hadnt-been-a-bruce-springsteen-then-the-critics-would-have.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RockwellNYT">{{cite web |last=Rockwell |first=John |author-link=John Rockwell |title=The Pop Life; 'Hype' and the Springsteen Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/24/archives/the-pop-life-hype-and-the-springsteen-case.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=October 24, 1975 |archive-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230642/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/24/archives/the-pop-life-hype-and-the-springsteen-case.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The journalist [[John Sinclair (poet)|John Sinclair]] of the ''[[Ann Arbor Sun]]'' claimed that Dave Marsh and Jon Landau were "co-conspirators on a massive Springsteen hype".{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=131}} Examinations on the hype continued after the album's release with articles by ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek|BusinessWeek]]'' and England's ''[[Melody Maker]]'', the latter arguing that Springsteen was "no hype" at all because he "is really good", and {{"'}}hype' only services artists who do not deserve the attention".{{sfn|Masur|2010|p=133}} In retrospect, Masur stated: "Most of the backlash against Springsteen came in the form of disgust with the hype, not the music, even though writing about the hype only fed the publicity machine."{{sfn|Masur|2010|p=132}} 

Springsteen was hurt by the media backlash, particularly an article by Henry Edwards in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that slandered both himself and ''Born to Run''.<ref name="EdwardsNYT" />{{sfn|Masur|2010|p=133}}{{sfn|Dolan|2012|pp=129–130}} He felt that the publicity got out of his control{{sfn|Carlin|2012|p=207}} and Columbia's campaign that labeled him the future of rock and roll was a mistake.{{sfn|Masur|2010|pp=134–135}}{{sfn|Dolan|2012|p=130}} He also reportedly felt a loss of innocence after the album's release, claiming to have reached a low point in the immediate months.{{sfn|Masur|2010|pp=134–135}} When the backlash subsided, sales tapered off and ''Born to Run'' was off the chart after 29 weeks.{{sfn|Clarke|1990|p=1109}} In his 1999 book ''Flowers in the Dustbin'', former ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Newsweek'' writer James Miller wrote that the "mass-marketing" of Springsteen in the U.S. and [[David Bowie]]'s [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]] in the U.K. led to the notion that "the age of innocence in rock was well and truly over—probably forever".{{sfn|Miller|1999|p=325}}