Song of the Day 5/13: Bruce Springsteen, “Wild Billy’s Circus Story”

Old-timers might remember that when Bruce Springsteen was first signed to Columbia Records, he was promoted as the “new Dylan” — or, rather, the latest in a long line of new Dylans, because that comparison was hung around the neck of every troubadour with a guitar from Donovan on down. If you had seen this performance at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in March 1973, though, you might have thought John Hammond was right this time.

Springsteen, touring to promote his first album, was opening that night for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. This song wasn’t recorded until a few months later for inclusion on his second LP, “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle,” by which point some of the lyrics had been changed. The arrangement isn’t as spare, either, and the song has a jokier feel on its official release.