Bruce Springsteen’s“Dancing in the Dark”almost looked completely different. The original video, directed by Jeff Stein, was rejected by Columbia Records president Al Teller for not capturing the full-band energy of the song. That 3/4-inch U-matic master went into a file cabinet and stayed there for over 40 years. Now it’s headed to auction from September 24th through October 22nd, and it includes four performances by Springsteen.
The rejection turned out to be a plot twist. With the first video shelved, Brian De Palma stepped in to direct the version we all know, the one where a then-unknown Courteney Cox gets pulled up on stage to dance with Bruce. That moment became one of the most memorable music video scenes of the 1980s, and it only happened because the original tape got a hard no.
The auction also features a plaque signed by Springsteen celebrating 20 million worldwide sales ofBorn in the U.S.A., and proceeds benefit organizations supporting music programs in public schools. So a rejected video from decades ago is now helping fund the next generation of musicians. Which version would you have picked, the original or the one we got?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.