Editing Bruce Springsteen (section)

===1984–1986: ''Born in the U.S.A.'' and cultural phenomenon===
In 1984, Springsteen released ''[[Born in the U.S.A.]]'', which sold 30&nbsp;million worldwide, and became one of the [[List of best-selling albums|best-selling albums of all time]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-20200576.html|title=Bruce Springsteen still shows who's boss|work=Irish Examiner|access-date=February 13, 2021|archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517000523/https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/music/bruce-springsteen-still-shows-whos-boss-200576.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with seven singles hitting the top ten. The [[Born in the U.S.A. (song)|title track]] was a bitter commentary on the treatment of [[Vietnam veteran]]s, some of whom were Springsteen's friends. The lyrics in the verses were entirely unambiguous when listened to, but the anthemic music and the title of the song made it hard for many, from politicians to the common person, to get the lyrics—except those in the chorus, which could be read many ways.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guterman |first=Jimmy |title=Runaway American Dream |date=2005 |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=153}}</ref> The song made a huge political impact, as he was advocating for the rights of the common working-class man.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Ronald Reagan Changed Bruce Springsteen's Politics |url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-107448 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220020008/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-107448 |archive-date=December 20, 2015 |access-date=December 14, 2015 |website=[[Politico]]|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:SpringsteenMadison.jpg|thumb|left|Springsteen and [[E Street Band]] member [[Clarence Clemons]] performing in [[Madison, Wisconsin]]]]
The song was widely misinterpreted as [[patriotic]], and in connection with the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential campaign]] became the [[Born in the U.S.A. (song)#Political reactions|subject of considerable folklore]]. In 1984, conservative columnist [[George Will]] attended a Springsteen concert and then wrote a column praising Springsteen's work ethic. Six days after the column's publication, then President [[Ronald Reagan]], in a campaign rally in [[Hammonton, New Jersey]], made brief mention of the song, saying, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire—New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Two nights later, at a concert in [[Pittsburgh]], Springsteen told the crowd, "Well, the president was mentioning my name in his speech the other day and I kind of got to wondering what his favorite album of mine must've been, you know? I don't think it was the ''Nebraska'' album. I don't think he's been listening to this one." He then began playing "Johnny 99", with its allusions to closing factories and criminals.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dolan |first=Marc |date=April 6, 2014 |title=How Ronald Reagan Changed Bruce Springsteen's Politics |work=Politico |url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-107448.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809012611/http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-107448.html |archive-date=August 9, 2014}}</ref>

"[[Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen song)|Dancing in the Dark]]" was the biggest of seven hit singles from ''Born in the U.S.A.'', peaking at No. 2 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' singles chart. The video for the song showed a young [[Courteney Cox]] dancing on stage with Springsteen, which helped start the actress's career. The song "[[Cover Me (Bruce Springsteen song)|Cover Me]]" was written by Springsteen for [[Donna Summer]], but his record company persuaded him to keep it for the new album. A big fan of Summer's work, Springsteen wrote another song for her, "[[Protection (Donna Summer song)|Protection]]". Videos for ''Born in the U.S.A.'' were directed by [[Brian De Palma]] and [[John Sayles]]. Springsteen played on the "[[We Are the World]]" song and [[We Are the World (album)|album]] in 1985. His live cover of the [[Trapped (Jimmy Cliff song)|Jimmy Cliff song "Trapped"]] from that album received moderate airplay on US Top 40 stations as well as reaching No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' [[Top Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CQEAAAAMBAJ&q=billboard%201985&pg=PT52 |title=Billboard |date=May 11, 1985 |access-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727134630/https://books.google.com/books?id=1CQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT52&q=billboard%201985 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Born in the U.S.A.'' period represented the height of Springsteen's visibility in popular culture and the broadest audience he would ever reach (aided by the release of [[Arthur Baker (musician)|Arthur Baker]]'s [[remix|dance mixes]] of three of the singles). From June 15 to August 10, 1985, all seven of his albums appeared on the [[UK Albums Chart]]: the first time an artist had charted their entire back catalogue simultaneously.<ref>Roberts, David. ''[[British Hit Singles & Albums|The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums]]'', p. 444. Guinness Publishing Ltd. 7th edition (1996). {{ISBN|0-85112-619-7}}</ref>

''[[Live/1975–85]]'', a five-record box set (also on three cassettes or three CDs), was released near the end of 1986 and became the first box set to debut at No. 1 on the U.S. album charts. It is one of the most commercially successful live albums of all time, ultimately selling 13&nbsp;million units in the U.S. During the 1980s, several Springsteen [[fanzines]] were launched, including ''[[Backstreets Magazine|Backstreets]]'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Backstreets |url=https://www.backstreets.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108235901/https://www.backstreets.com/ |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |website=backstreets.com}}</ref>