BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“Cover Me” is an 1984 song, written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. It was the second single released from his massively successful album Born in the U.S.A.
“Cover Me” was one of the first songs recorded for the lengthy set of sessions that produced the album, and in fact was recorded as a demo, as the song was to be given to disco queen Donna Summer. However, Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau heard the result and decided the combination of Springsteen’s rock impulse, fierce guitar solo, and a strong dance beat had hit potential, and so kept the song for the upcoming Springsteen album, not even bothering to re-record it. Donna Summer was given “Protection” instead. Springsteen even recorded a duet with Summer, but it was never released. Springsteen was still unsure about “Cover Me”, and Landau had to constantly argue to keep it included on the album.
The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts[1] in late summer 1984. It was the second of a record-tying seven Top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A.
No music video was made for the song.
Continuing the club play goal started with “Dancing in the Dark”, Arthur Baker created the 12-inch “Undercover Mix” of “Cover Me”. This was a large-scale transformation: a new bass line was cut, an unused backing vocal by industry legend Jocelyn Brown was restored, and reggae and dub elements were introduced. It was released on October 15, 1984.
As with the previous effort, the result displeased some of Springsteen’s more strait-laced fans, but did gain actual club play: the remix went to number 11 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
SIDE A:
Cover Me (Undercover Mix) 6:11
Cover Me (Dub I) 4:10
SIDE B:
Cover Me (Radio) 3:48
Cover Me (Dub II) 4:13
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Cover Me | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #7 |
| 1984 | Cover Me | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #2 |
| 1984 | Cover Me | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | #11 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44 05087
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Pop/Rock
Style: Pop/Rock
Credits: Design – Andrea Klein
Photography By – Annie Leibovitz
Engineer [12″ Remix] – Toby Scott
Mastered By – George Marino
Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain
Producer [Original] – Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin, Jon Landau, Steve Van Zandt
Recorded By – Bill Scheniman
Remix, Producer [Additional 12″ Production] – Arthur Baker
NOTES:
Special versions from the Columbia Lp: “BORN IN THE U.S.A.” QC 38653
Track times are listed incorrectly on sleeve.
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
