Bruce Springsteen as Singer-Songwriter: The Adaptive Artist

Catalog description

The category of the "singer-songwriter" has a complex history. Since the late 1960s, "singer-songwriter" has been more than just a description of what an artist does. Many artists who both write and sing their own songs have never described themselves, or been described, as "singer-songwriters." James Taylor continues to stand as a prime example of the tradition while James Brown does not . . . despite the fact that both artists were writing and singing their own songs, with their careers overlapping at times. While exceptions are plentiful enough, some dominant features of the singersongwriter came to define the category: confessional lyrics, the predominance of acoustic guitar, a seeming absence of "showbiz" elements. Not surprisingly, artists identifying themselves as singer-songwriters have found the category limiting at times, productive at others, depending on the context and the individual. Nonetheless, "singer-songwriter" remains in wide use as artists look for descriptions of their art and artistic identities, despite the social and technological changes that have impacted its very meaning. Bruce Springsteen is among those frequently described as a singer-songwriter who, over time, have quietly challenged the term's narrow perimeters without ever rejecting the term's use value. As a case study, Springsteen allows us to interrogate the category "singer-songwriter," to understand its history, and to consider its value as an ongoing organizing principle and creative principle. With the rise of Americana as a genre, the singer-songwriter has assumed what is arguably an even more central place within the music industry. But what, in our time, does "singer-songwriter" mean? What does it include, and what does it exclude? Springsteen's example affords us the opportunity to ask these questions while understanding a major artist's career in light of them. Springsteen…