Streets of Philadelphia

In early 1993, Philadelphia director Jonathan Demme asked Springsteen to write a song for his film, adding "I want it to play in the malls." Springsteen replied, "Well, I'm interested, so I'd like to come up with a song for you. If you give me some time, I'll see, but I can't promise." Springsteen recalled adding, "I'm not very good at scores."

In late August 1993, following the conclusion of the 1992-1993 World Tour, Springsteen recorded a demo of his completed song at Thrill Hill Recording in Beverly Hills, California, including all the song's instrumentation. He mailed the tape to Demme, who later said, "my wife and I sat down and listened to it, and we were literally weeping by the end".{{cite book |last1=Sandford |first1=Christopher |title=SPRINGSTEEN Point Blank |date=1999 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York, NY |pages=220–221 |url=https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-date=February 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208191836/https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/ |url-status=live }} Meanwhile, background vocals were added by Tommy Sims (from the "Other Band").

In October 1993, Springsteen recorded the song at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, with Sims, Ornette Coleman on saxophone, and vocals by "Little" Jimmy Scott. It was mixed by Bob Clearmountain, included in the soundtrack, and the video was recorded. In mid-December, Springsteen replaced the video with his home demo from August, re-shooting some video scenes to eliminate Scott. The four-man combo version can be heard in a brief scene in the film when Tom Hanks exits Denzel Washington's office, but it was Springsteen alone playing over the opening credits.

"Streets of Philadelphia" was released on February 11, 1994. It is the first single from the film's original soundtrack, with Springsteen singing and playing all the instruments with Sims on background vocal.

The song became a worldwide chart success.{{cite book|last1=Dolan|first1=Marc|title=BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and the PROMISE of ROCK 'N' ROLL|date=2013|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.|location=New York, NY|pages=230–231|url=https://www.wwnorton.com/|access-date=February 9, 2020|archive-date=February 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218120505/https://wwnorton.com/|url-status=live}} "Streets of Philadelphia" achieved greater popularity in Europe than in the United States. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but became a number-one single in Germany, France, and Austria. It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, becoming Springsteen's highest charting hit in the UK. The song reached number four in Australia, and spent five weeks at number one in Ireland.

{{as of|2024}}, "Streets of Philadelphia" is Springsteen's most recent top ten hit in the United States. The song has been included in many subsequent Springsteen compilation albums, including Greatest Hits (1995), The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003), and Best of Bruce Springsteen (2024). It was also included on the album All Time Greatest Movie Songs, released by Sony in 1999.

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Springsteen's empathetic lyrics and performance zoom straight for the heart, traveling atop a slow and sturdy beat and pillowy synths. A powerful song with or without the image of the film to support it."{{cite magazine |first= Larry |last= Flick |title= Single Reviews |magazine= Billboard |date= February 19, 1994 |page= 57 |access-date= March 17, 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-02-19.pdf |author-link= Larry Flick |archive-date= March 7, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210307120611/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-02-19.pdf |url-status= live }} Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box named it Pick of the Week, describing it as an "appropriately somber song," writing, "Written in the first person, this slow-moving ballad documents the struggle of a downtrodden and forgotten soul left to wander the dark streets, out of sight of an uncaring society. Like Hanks' character in the film, Springsteen's unfortunate draws on our sympathy, not because he asks for help but because he appears unable to help himself, an important distinction. One of The Boss’ best."{{cite magazine|first=Troy J.|last=Augusto|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1994/CB-1994-02-12.pdf|title=Pop Singles — Reviews: Pick of the Week|magazine=Cash Box|date=February 12, 1994|page=|accessdate=February 27, 2022|archive-date=February 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227105420/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1994/CB-1994-02-12.pdf|url-status=live}} Kent Zimmerman from the Gavin Report concluded, "Bruce Springsteen's custom-written theme is as scary a portrait of AIDS as you're likely to hear all year long. Combining the gruesome fears of urban abandonment coupled with the tragedy of a fatal disease in just one song is surely a miracle of subtlety."{{cite magazine|first=Kent|last=Zimmerman|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/94/Gavin-1994-01-14.pdf|title=Gavin Picks — Albums|magazine=Gavin Report|date=January 14, 1994|page=|accessdate=March 10, 2022|archive-date=March 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305145453/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/94/Gavin-1994-01-14.pdf|url-status=live}} Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times deemed it "a moving ballad about a man whose body is being destroyed by AIDS", and "a work that shows Springsteen, despite all the questions raised by changes in his life in recent years, can still write purposeful songs that connect on a deeply emotional level." He added, "Springsteen sings in a voice that expresses the helplessness and heartache of someone dying of AIDS as convincingly as Springsteen once conveyed the dreams and aspirations of youth."Hilburn, Robert (July 7, 1994). "Calendar > Comment On Entertainment > Today's Top 10 List From Our Home Office". p. B8. Los Angeles Times.

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "However good it may be the brooding ballad is hardly classic Bruce and can be expected to shuttle rapidly out next week".{{cite web|last=Masterton|first=James|title=Week Ending March 19th 1994|url=https://chart-watch.uk/archives/1994/week-ending-march-19th-1994|website=Chart Watch UK|date=March 13, 1994|access-date=September 6, 2021|author-link=James Masterton|archive-date=September 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907060931/https://chart-watch.uk/archives/1994/week-ending-march-19th-1994|url-status=live}} A reviewer from Music & Media commented, "The man who used to walk upon E-Street, now roams the Philly lanes. This synth-dominated track from the OST Philadelphia revives the "etherealism" of Tunnel Of Love."{{cite magazine |first= |last= |title= New Releases: Singles |magazine= Music & Media |date= February 12, 1994 |page= 11 |access-date= March 9, 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1994/MM-1994-02-12.pdf |archive-date= March 8, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061959/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1994/MM-1994-02-12.pdf |url-status= live }} Stephen Dalton from NME wrote, "The Boss fights through eerie ambient mists and prowls in a buried, snaking backbeat as he pleads for human warmth in a freezing world. It's a heartbreaker, surpassing most of Brucie's recent chest-beating in its soulful understatement."{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Dalton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53113361512/|title=Long Play|magazine=NME|date=March 19, 1994|page=51|access-date=August 17, 2023|archive-date=August 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816235921/https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53113361512|url-status=live}} Neil Spencer from The Observer felt Springsteen's "sombre" "Streets of Philadelphia" "reflects a dark night of the soul as the disease takes hold".Spencer, Neil (March 6, 1994). "Pop Releases". The Observer. Pete Stanton of Smash Hits gave the song four out of five, writing, "This is far gentler, far lovelier and far nicer than anything he's done for ages. Taken from the excellent film [...], this should see Bruce back in the charts."{{cite magazine|first=Pete|last=Stanton|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/52592190013/in/album-72177720304791051/|title=New Singles|magazine=Smash Hits|date=March 16, 1994|page=53|access-date=December 29, 2022|archive-date=December 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229040525/https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/52592190013/in/album-72177720304791051/|url-status=live}}

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme in December 1993, begins by showing Springsteen walking along desolate city streets, followed by a bustling park and schoolyard, interspersed with footage from the film. After a quick shot of Rittenhouse Square, it ends with Springsteen walking along the Delaware River, with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the background. Tom Hanks is also visible as Andrew Beckett, the lead character he plays in the film, looking on as Springsteen begins the final verse. One newspaper review called it "the saddest track cut this decade".

The vocal track for the video was recorded live with a hidden microphone, to a pre-recorded instrumental track. This technique, appropriate for emotionally intense songs for which conventional video lip-syncing would seem especially false, was used by John Mellencamp in part on his 1985 "Rain on the Scarecrow" video, and by Springsteen, in his 1987 "Brilliant Disguise" video, singing the song directly into the camera as he sits on the edge of his chair on a Sandy Hook, New Jersey sound stage.{{cite book |last1=Luerssen |first1=John |title=Springsteen FAQ All That's Left to Know About the Boss |date=2012 |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1617130939 |page=279 |url=http://backbeatbooks.com/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213183635/http://www.backbeatbooks.com/ |url-status=live }}

Because of the song's sterling achievements in the awards world, Springsteen played the song live in three high-visibility, prime-time awards show broadcasts: at the 66th Academy Awards in March 1994, at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1994, and at the Grammy Awards of 1995 in March 1995. Between this, Philadelphia's strong box office performance, and the single being a top 10 pop hit, "Streets of Philadelphia" became one of Springsteen's best-known songs to the general music audience.

Springsteen went on to perform the song only sparingly in his concerts. In solo guitar form and missing the song's trademark synthesizers-and-drums feel, it was performed semi-regularly on the solo and stark Ghost of Tom Joad Tour between 1995 and 1997. After that, the song was performed only appearing a dozen times on the E Street Band Reunion Tour in 1999 and 2000. As of January 2016, the song has been played only a few times across the nine tours since then.

• CD, 7-inch, and cassette single

1. "Streets of Philadelphia" – 3:15
2. "If I Should Fall Behind" – 4:43

• CD maxi and maxi cassette

1. "Streets of Philadelphia" – 3:15
2. "If I Should Fall Behind" – 4:43
3. "Growin' Up" – 3:13
4. "The Big Muddy" – 4:11

The B-sides were selected from the previous year's live album In Concert/MTV Plugged.

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:{{cite book |last1=Margotin |first1=Philippe |last2=Guesdon |first2=Jean-Michel |title=Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrlRzQEACAAJ |date=2020 |publisher=Cassell Illustrated |location=London |isbn=978-1-78472-649-2 |page=356}}

• Bruce Springsteen – vocals, keyboards, bass, drum machine, tambourine
• Tommy Sims – background vocals

Technical

• Bruce Springsteen – producer
• Chuck Plotkin – producer
• Toby Scott – engineer
• Bob Clearmountain – mixer

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Streets of Philadelphia"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1994|certyear=2023|certmonth=9|access-date=November 6, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Austria|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=1994|access-date=April 7, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|nocert=true|salesamount=100,000|salesref={{cite news|url=https://memoria.bn.br/DocReader/DocReader.aspx?bib=170054_02&pesq=Brasil&pasta=ano%20199&hf=memoria.bn.br&pagfis=58633|title=Notas Musicais|language=pt|date=July 17, 1994|access-date=August 8, 2023|newspaper=Jornal do Commercio}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=2020|id=9643|access-date=October 21, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=1995|access-date=April 7, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=1994|salesamount=400,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-09-17-N.pdf|magazine=Billboard|title=Movie Soundtracks Start Moving Units In Germany|page=55|first=Wolfganf|last=Spahr|issn=0006-2510|date=17 September 1994|accessdate=7 December 2023|archive-date=July 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720124949/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-09-17-N.pdf|url-status=live}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=2024|access-date=August 26, 2024|id=13105}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|nosales=true|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1994|certyear=1994|access-date=April 7, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=2024|access-date=September 5, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=2020|id=6333-1989-1|access-date=February 15, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Bruce Springsteen|title=Streets of Philadelphia|award=Platinum|relyear=1994|certyear=2022|access-date=May 25, 2022|refname="riaa"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true}}

The song has been covered live by Jack Folland, Tori Amos, Melissa Etheridge, David Gray, Waxahatchee and Lonely the Brave. Recorded covers have been released by Ray Conniff (on his 1997 album, I Love Movies), Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Marah, Liv Kristine, Molly Johnson, Bettye LaVette, SALEM, Gregorian and I Muvrini with Anggun. Philadelphia rappers, Cassidy & the Larsiny Family have made a cover of this song on the Put Ya L in the Sky mixtape, in an effort to stop crime in the city. French artist Patrick Bruel and U2 covered the song, translating the lyrics into French while retaining the music.

After the movie Philadelphia was released, many artists covered it. In 1993, when Rhino Records assembled its box set, Academy Award Winning Songs (1934–1993), the same year, it was unable to license the Springsteen track and instead commissioned Richie Havens to record a cover version.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/streets-of-philadelphia-mt0030217449|title=Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen | Song Info|website=AllMusic|access-date=January 2, 2022|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421210239/https://www.allmusic.com/song/streets-of-philadelphia-mt0030217449|url-status=live}}

In 2010, the French string quartet Quatuor Ébène recorded a version on their album Fiction, with drummer Richard Héry, sung by the quartet's violist Mathieu Herzog.

The song is also covered by The Fray on their album Scars and Stories, released in 2012.

In 2011, the German group Gregorian released a Gregorian chant version of the song in their album Masters of Chant Chapter VIII.

Also in 2011, Idols South Africa season seven winner Dave van Vuuren performed the song on the show and recorded it on his album Free the Animals.[http://www.musica.co.za/cd/id/6009143495036/David_Van-Vuuren-Free_The_Animals Musica.co.za] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222054757/http://www.musica.co.za/cd/id/6009143495036/David_Van-Vuuren-Free_The_Animals |date=February 22, 2014 }}, Retrieved 4 February 2014

In 2009, it was covered by Luis Eduardo Aute in Catalan as "Els carrers de Philadelphia", for the CD of TV3's telethon La Marató.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccma.cat/tv3/marato/disc/2019/1650/|title=El disc|website=Ccma.com|access-date=January 2, 2022|archive-date=January 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102210437/https://www.ccma.cat/tv3/marato/disc/2019/1650/|url-status=live}}

In February 2013, Sir Elton John performed the song at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences tribute concert honoring Bruce Springsteen as the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/02/09/bruce-springsteen-musicares-honoree-friday-night/1902639/|title=Bruce Springsteen honored at star-studded MusiCares|author=Edna Gundersen|website=Usatoday.com|access-date=January 2, 2022|archive-date=February 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210091311/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/02/09/bruce-springsteen-musicares-honoree-friday-night/1902639/|url-status=live}}

Fat White Family's Saul Adamczewski and Childhood (band)'s Ben Romans-Hopcraft, covered the song on their 2018 album, Karaoke for One: Vol 1, under the band name Insecure Men.

Waxahatchee covered the song in 2021 for the deluxe issue of her 2020 album Saint Cloud.

{{Portal|Philadelphia}}

• List of number-one hits of 1994 (Austria)
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1994
• List of European number-one hits of 1994
• List of number-one hits of 1994 (France)
• List of number-one hits of 1994 (Germany)
• List of number-one singles of 1994 (Ireland)
• List of 1964–1994 number-one hits in Norway

{{Reflist}}

• [http://brucebase.wikidot.com/song:streets-of-philadelphia Brucebase history of song]
• [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1991676|pure_url=yes}} "Streets of Philadelphia" review at Allmusic]
• [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r203879|pure_url=yes}} Information on the "Streets of Philadelphia" single at Allmusic]
• {{YouTube|tKdk97y2Wjg|Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia}}

{{Bruce Springsteen songs}}

{{Navboxes

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