The Fever

The E Street band in '72: Clarence, Bruce, David Sancious,
Vini Lopez, Danny Federici, Garry Tallent

During the 1970's and most of the 80's, one way to nearly guarantee a successful single was to cover a song written by Bruce Springsteen; preferably one that Bruce had not released or even recorded himself. There are many great examples, such as Manfred Mann's version of "Blinded By The Light", The Pointer Sisters' take on "Fire", Greg Kihn's "Rendezvous", Dave Edmunds' "From Small Things, Big Things Come", Patti Smith's "Because The Night" and even David Bowie, who clocked in with "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City", recorded during his sessions for "Young Americans", although he wisely decided not to release it on that album. Such was the public hunger for all things Bruce at the time, music that even sounded like Springsteen became a hit, like the soundtrack to the movie "Eddie & The Cruisers".

"The Fever" is another early Bruce Springsteen song, recorded at 914 Sound Studios in May 1973, during sessions for Springsteen's second album "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle". It was pressed on a now extremely rare 7" single as a demo. The single was credited to the pseudonym "The Jersey Devil" on Bruce Records, Springsteen's own indie label at the time. The song was already being performed by Springsteen in concert, beginning in March 1973. As things go in the music biz, the single was never intended for public release, but for then-manager Mike Appel's Laurel Canyon publishing company, who registered it as "Fever For The Girl". Then, in early 1974, Appel sent the song to several East Coast FM rock radio stations during the ramp-up of promotion prior to the release of "Born To Run". Whether the song was to be included on that album was unknown at that point.

David Bowie, Ed Sciaky & Bruce. August '74

I can't personally vouch for how the song went over in other cities, but in Philadelphia, the song exploded! With vigorous backing by influential Philly DJ and early Bruce fan, Ed Sciaky, the song was played often on WMMR as part of their regular rotation. Phone-in requests would have had the song played at least 4 times daily. And yet, despite all the positive response, "Fever" was to remain unreleased.

It did get recorded by UK singer Alan Rich in 1975, but that record failed to make any impact. In 1976, it was covered again by Bruce's Jersey Shore homeboys, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, on their debut album "I Don't Want to Go Home". Re-titled as "The Fever", it became a regionally successful single. For what it's worth, The Pointer Sisters also gave the song a go on their "Priority" album in 1979.

Here's New Jersey's most famous coattail riders, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes with their version of "The Fever".

All kidding aside, Southside & The Jukes were a sturdy soul band in their own right and were well known for a strong live show and their killer horn section. They can be found on tour somewhere to this day.

The original Springsteen recording finally achieved official release in 1999 on the "18 Tracks" outtakes collection. All but three selections had been on the boxed set, "Tracks", released a half year before. The single disc was likely intended to capture more casual fans and those who didn't spring for the box set.

Initially, "Tracks" was a Bruce bonanza; a treasure trove of unused material featuring four CD's of never-before-heard songs, demos and B-sides dating from his auditions for John Hammond, through his work in the 1990's. However, there was quite the indignant furor raised by hardcore Bruce fans over the decision to omit not only "The Fever", but also a "Darkness..." era outtake, "The Promise", and a "Human Touch" outtake, "Trouble River" from the "Tracks" box. "18 Tracks" served as a Band-Aid on the problem by issuing the songs there, rather than going to the trouble and expense of remastering the entire "Tracks" box. Not everyone was happy about this arrangement, considering the annoyance at being forced to pop for another CD for just three songs, but it was better than not having those songs at all. This lesson was certainly remembered when Springsteen began going through the countless hours of even more outtakes left behind from the "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" sessions for his 2010 double CD, "The Promise".

Here's Bruce and the 1973 E Street Band with "The Fever". It's longer and a lot blues-ier than Southside's take, keeping with the "punk/soul" ethos of the early E Street sound. Clarence's sax solo is just great and the whole band is deep in the groove. I should note that the song never did get a proper mix or a decent mastering job until the release of "18 Tracks". It was recorded as a demo, with everyone in the room and it sounds like it, but it's much better now than it was then. Enjoy!

As you might well imagine, absolutely everything Springsteen is available at Amazon. There's a surprising quantity of music from Southside Johnny that's still in print too, if you're so inclined.