"I'm Goin' Down" by Bruce Springsteen

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2457
Date:  09/07/1985
Debut:  48
Peak:  9
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  By this point in time, Springsteen's massive hit album Born in the U.S.A. had spawned five Top 10 hits. As the fifth single, "Glory Days," was winding down it's run to #5, the album showed little signs of slowing down. After being on the chart for over a year, it was still riding high in the Top 10. Because of that, it seemed like a logical idea to keep the singles rolling out and this track was chosen to be the next one released. Like the previous singles, this one debuted high on the chart and wound its way into the Pop Top 10. It was also a hit at Rock radio reaching the same #9 position. With the results of this single, Springsteen was encroaching on territory carved out by Michael Jackson's Thriller album, which generated a record-setting seven Top 10 singles.

ReduxReview:  I didn't mind this song from the album, but it wasn't among my favorites. Apparently, Springsteen sings the word "down" about 80 times in the track and that was probably about 60 too many for me. The repetitiveness of the tune kinda drove me nuts. We get it - you ain't gettin' none and you're goin' down, down, down, down, down, etc. Ugh. The music was solid as was the short Clarence Clemmons sax solo, but overall it was mediocre Springsteen (which can still be steps ahead of many other artists...).

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  This song almost did not make it on the album. In the sessions that took place leading up to the Born in the U.S.A. album, Springsteen recorded around 70 songs. Some of these found their way to other albums like Nebraska and the 1998 compilation Tracks, while others remain vaulted away. There were many contenders for the Born album and initially "I'm Goin' Down" was gonna get left off the album in favor of another song called "Pink Cadillac." However, when nailing down the final track listing, Springsteen changed his mind and replaced "Pink Cadillac" with "I'm Goin' Down." However, all was not lost with the song. "Pink Cadillac" would be used for the b-side of "Dancing in the Dark." It would actually gather some airplay at Rock radio and would peak at #27 on that chart. But then the song became far more famous when Natalie Cole cover the track in 1987 and released it as a single. Her version made it to #5 on the Pop chart.

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