"Fire" | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | |||||||||||||||||||||
from the album Live/1975-85 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
"Fire" | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Robert Gordon with Link Wray | |||||||||||||||||||
from the album Fresh Fish Special | |||||||||||||||||||
|
"Fire" | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Pointer Sisters | |||||||||||
from the album Energy | |||||||||||
B-side | "Love Is Like a Rolling Stone" | ||||||||||
Released | 2 October 1978 (US) 9 March 1979 (UK) |
||||||||||
Format | 7" single | ||||||||||
Recorded | 1978 | ||||||||||
Genre | Rock • R&B | ||||||||||
Length | 3:28 | ||||||||||
Label | Planet | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | Bruce Springsteen | ||||||||||
Producer(s) | Richard Perry | ||||||||||
The Pointer Sisters US singles chronology | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin
Richard Gottehrer, Robert Gordon
"Fire" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen in 1977 which had its highest profile as a 1978 single release by the Pointer Sisters.
Bruce Springsteen envisioned "Fire" as a song which could be recorded by his idol Elvis Presley, the song being written during the period after Springsteen had seen Presley perform at a May 28, 1977 concert at the Spectrum in Philadelphia: Springsteen would say "I sent [Elvis] a demo of it but he died before it arrived."
Springsteen did complete a studio recording of "Fire" which was one of 52 tracks at least partially recorded which did not make the cut for Springsteen's 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town: these tracks were omitted on the grounds of inconsistency with Springsteen's thematic vision for that album. Springsteen's manager Jon Landau has speculated Springsteen had a special concern that, if included on Darkness on the Edge of Town, "Fire" would be Columbia Records' single of choice despite being non-representative of the overall album.
Despite its omission from the Darkness on the Edge of Town album, "Fire" was included in the set list of Springsteen's Darkness Tour and has been a Springsteen concert staple ever since. On the 1986 Springsteen concert album Live/1975-85 "Fire" is represented by a December 16, 1978 performance at Winterland in San Francisco. Issued as a single, this version of "Fire" reached No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also charted in Ireland (No. 18), the UK (No. 54), Australia (No. 82). The music video to promote the single was an acoustic performance of the song by Springsteen at a Bridge School Benefit concert in 1986.