Bruce Springsteen has announced Only The Strong Survive, a new studio album comprised of 15 soul music covers. The project will be released on CD and 2 LP on November 11th via Columbia Records.
Only The Strong Survive celebrates soul music from the legendary catalogues of Motown, Gamble and Huff, Stax and many more. The album will also feature guest vocals by Sam Moore, as well as contributions from The E Street Horns, full string arrangements by Rob Mathes, and backing vocals by Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Dennis Collins and Fonzi Thornton.
Springsteen said of the new LP: “I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I’ve tried to do justice to them all—and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music. My goal is for the modern audience to experience its beauty and joy, just as I have since I first heard it. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.”
Only The Strong Survive marks Springsteen’s first studio album since 2020’s Letter To You. Springsteen will also be reuniting with the legendary E Street Band in February for his 2023 international tour, which to date has sold over 1.6 million tickets across the United States and Europe.
Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
