The night Sam and Dave brought Bruce Springsteen to tears at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park
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Did you see soul music legends Sam and Dave in the 1970s at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park?
Chances are no, but Bruce Springsteen was in the audience of their sparsely attended show in the late â70s at the Kingsley Street venue. He spoke of the night on the Wednesday, Sept. 1, edition of his âFrom My Home to Yoursâ E Street Radio deejay show on SiriusXM.
The theme of the show was the marriage-minded âGoing to the Chapel,â and the Boss recollected the Fast Lane show after playing Sam and Dave's âWhen Something Is Wrong With My Baby.â
âYes, that was Sam and Dave, back in the days when they were speaking to one another, with 'When Something Is Wrong With My Baby (Something Is Wrong With Me),'" Springsteen said. âIâve seen them perform that live in Philadelphia. Also at the Satellite Lounge in Fort Dix, N.J., and at the Fast Lane. Thatâs right, the Fast Lane in Asbury Park.â
Springsteen was a regular at the Fast Lane in the late '70 and early '80s.
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âI saw Sam and Dave three times while they were still playing together and, literally, every time, they brought me to tears,â Springsteen said. âAnd certainly with this song. They were just one of the most powerful, incredible duos of all time. And when I saw them at the Fast Lane, it was heartbreaking because it was a relatively small crowd there and they simply sang their hearts out. And I can tell you, I stood in the back of the room and wept at seeing this great, great, great talent, later in the day of their performing together, bringing in, really, quite a small audience. It was just so undeserved. They were so epic and so profound that it touched me incredibly deeply.â
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Tony Pallagrosi, the former member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes who would go on promote concerts in New Jersey, was there, too, when Sam and Dave came to town.
âThey were brilliant and they were heroes of mine,â Pallagrosi said. âI had the records and I was a big fan of the songs they sang and I was a big fan of the arrangements. It was sad that there weren't that many people there but it was long before nostalgia took over.â
Sam Moore and Dave Prater came out of Miami in the mid-1960s to light up the charts with their Stax Records hits, including âSoul Man,â âHold On, I'm Comin'," âI Thank You,â âWrap It Upâ and more.
As Springsteen referenced, they had a falling out and split up a year or two soon after the Fast Lane show. Prater, who lived in Paterson, died in a 1988 car accident. Moore has collaborated with Springsteen several times since then, including appearing at the Boss' holiday shows in the early 2000s at Convention Hall in Asbury Park.
Sam and Dave had also joined the Asbury Jukes onstage when Pallagrosi was in the band.
âThe first time the Jukes played New York City, Sam and Dave came to see us and sat in,â Pallagrosi said. âWe did three or four Sam and Dave tunes with them singing. That was just mind blowing, they were just so good.â
âAfter the show, Sam walked up to me with the first Jukes album,â Pallagrosi said. âHe asked me to autograph it. I said, 'No man, I want your autograph. I'm definitely not worthy of autographing an album for you.' He just took my hand and said, 'Hey man, it's cool. Just enjoy it.â
âI'll never forget that.â
Springsteen is about to wrap up his limited run of âSpringsteen of Broadwayâ at the St. James Theatre in New York City. The last show is Saturday, Sept. 4.
'From My Home to Yours' Sept. 1 setlist
âYou Never Can Tellâ by Chuck Berry
âGonna Get Marriedâ by Major Lance
âIâm Gonna Get Marriedâ by Lloyd Price
âChapel of Loveâ by the Dixie Cups
âI Wanna Marry Youâ by Bruce Springsteen
âMexican Divorceâ by the Drifters
âI Threw It All Awayâ by Bob Dylan
âThe Married Menâ by the Roches
âD-I-V-O-R-C-Eâ by Tammy Wynette
âOn the Other Handâ by Randy Travis
âCustomary Thingâ by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
âI Knew the Brideâ by Dave Edmunds
âStand by Your Manâ by Tammy Wynette
âWhen Something Is Wrong With My Babyâ by Sam & Dave
âLifeâs Little Ups and Downsâ by Charlie Rich
âCanât Help Falling in Loveâ by Elvis Presley
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.