Bruce Springsteen's first two studio albums racked up tons of critical acclaim, but very little in the way of sales. Which meant it was up to his third album, 1975's 'Born to Run,' to keep "the next Bob Dylan" from being dropped by his label.

Columbia Records gave Springsteen a huge recording budget to pursue the "wall of sound" production style he desired, and then probably got very nervous when he spent over a year trying to get it right. Luckily, the undeniably cinematic and fantastic album, along with the massive (and artist-angering) marketing campaign that followed, were more than enough to finally help "The Boss" break through to massive commercial success.

 

 

 

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform 'Born to Run'

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