Bruce Springsteen dropped ZZ Top`s `I`m Bad, I`m Nationwide` into his set on April 21 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.
The Boss pulled out the Bruce rarity but it wasn`t the first time he played it. A YouTube search revealed that Springsteen played it once in 1984.The song came as a surprise to the band. Springsteen plucked the request from the audience. The band doesn't know this song. The band has never played this song, he said as he launched into the song.
The original ZZ Top song was a track from their 1979 album ‘Deguello’.
This is how the song came about according to the band:
Billy Gibbons: We saw a performance one evening, featuring Freddie King. At the conclusion of the show, we were attempting to describe the fierce intensity of that night’s experience - that kind of omnipotent ‘badness’ that is of a universal proportion. This seemed like the way to go.
Dusty Hill: You don’t want ‘I’m Bad, I’m Regional.’ People know that bad isn’t really a negative. Are you bad in a little pond? You could be bad worldwide, but it doesn’t sound as good as ‘nationwide.’ I like the ‘gold-tooth-display’ line. A lot of bling.
Frank Beard: ’Gold-tooth display’ was ahead of the curve.
Watch Springsteen pluck the song out of the crowd and perform it in Boston here:
Watch ZZ Top perform the song here:
