20 years ago today (February 26th, 1999), Bruce Springsteen performed with the Max Weinberg 7 on the Conan O’Brien Show. The bandleader was about to leave the show to begin the Boss’s reunion tour with the E Street Band. On the song Badlands the 2nd single from the album Darkness on the Edge of Town Max Weinberg credits Steve Van Zandt for its classic drum intro.
“’Badlands’ is one of my favorite songs to play in concert. That opening drum fill — buh-buh-bum-bum buh-buh-bum — I have a mental picture of Steve Van Zandt in the studio giving me that exact fill. In those days, recording was much different than today. Everybody played at one time, there was no sampling, there were no drum machines, you really had to know what you were doing. We recorded that in the Record Plant in New York City. The vocal on that song is pretty intense and it was an intense time.”
Photo Credit: Jill Bednar / PR Photos
