Bruce Springsteen -The Ghost of Tom Joad (Live Video Version featuring Tom Morello)

 Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He has released twenty studio albums, many of which feature his backing band the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is one of the originators of the heartland rock style of music, combining mainstream rock musical style with narrative songs about working class American life. During a career that has spanned five decades, Springsteen has become known for his poetic, socially conscious lyrics and energetic stage performances, sometimes lasting up to four hours in length.^[1] He has been nicknamed "the Boss".^[2]

The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter, actor, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. Morello was also a touring musician with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.^[3] He is also known for his acoustic solo act, the Nightwatchman, and Street Sweeper Social Club. Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, which airs a monthly program on Pacifica Radio station KPFK (90.7 FM) in Los Angeles.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a folk rock song written by Bruce Springsteen. It is the title track to his eleventh studio album, released in 1995. The character Tom Joad, from John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, is mentioned in the title and narrative. Originally a quiet folk song, "The Ghost of Tom Joad" has also been recorded by Rage Against the Machine and Junip. Springsteen himself has performed the song in a variety of arrangements, including with the E Street Band, and a live recording featuring Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello as guest. In 2013, Springsteen re-recorded the track with Tom Morello for his eighteenth studio album, High Hopes (2014).

Springsteen original[edit]

Besides The Grapes of Wrath, the song also takes inspiration from "The Ballad of Tom Joad" by Woody Guthrie, which in turn was inspired by John Ford's film adaptation of Steinbeck's novel. Springsteen had in fact read the book, watched the film, and listened to the song, before writing "The Ghost of Tom Joad",^[2] and the result was viewed as being true to Guthrie's tradition.^[2] Springsteen identified with 1930s-style social activism, and sought to give voice to the invisible and unheard, the destitute and the disenfranchised.^[3] His use of characterization was similarly influenced by Steinbeck and Ford.^[3]

However, like the rest of the album, "The Ghost of Tom Joad" is set in the early-to-mid-1990s, with contemporary times being likened to Dust Bowl images:^[4]

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks,

Goin' someplace, there's no goin' back.

Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge —

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge.

The third verse is the most direct link to The Grapes of Wrath, being an extensive paraphrase of Tom Joad's famous "Wherever there's a ..." speech.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" was originally recorded as an E Street Band number, intended for inclusion as one of the new tracks on his February 1995 Greatest Hits album.^[5] However, Springsteen did not like the arrangement, and he put the song aside for his next project.^[5]

The released "The Ghost of Tom Joad" was recorded between April and June 1995, at Springsteen's Los Angeles home studio.^[1] It was recorded with a light and muted accompaniment, featuring Springsteen on guitar and harmonica, E Street Band members Danny Federici on keyboards and Garry Tallent on bass, and session musicians Marty Rifkin on pedal steel guitar and dobro and Gary Mallaber on drums.^[1] Springsteen's vocal phrasing tends to fade off at the end of each line of the song.

Springsteen's recording was released with the album on November 21, 1995. It was given limited release as a single in The Netherlands and the UK, wherein the latter it reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not released as a single in the U.S., and radio airplay on album-oriented rock stations was practically non-exi

Bruce Springsteen's official live video for 'The Ghost Of Tom Joad'. Click to listen to Bruce Springsteen on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/BSpringSpot?IQid=GTJ As featured on The Essential Bruce Springsteen. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/BSpringEBiTunes?IQ... Google Play: http://smarturl.it/BSGTJPlay?IQid=GTJ Amazon: http://smarturl.it/BSpringEBAmz?IQid=GTJ More from Bruce Springsteen Dancing In The Dark: https://youtu.be/129kuDCQtHs Born To Run: https://youtu.be/IxuThNgl3YA I'm On Fire: https://youtu.be/lrpXArn3hII More great classic rock videos here: http://smarturl.it/ClassicRocks?IQid=GTJ Follow Bruce Springsteen Website: http://brucespringsteen.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brucesprings... Twitter: https://twitter.com/springsteen Instagram: https://instagram.com/springsteen/ Subscribe to Bruce Springsteen on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BSpringSub?IQid=GTJ