Elvis Presley Never Heard the Song Bruce Springsteen Wrote for Him—Then Soul Royalty Made It a Smash

Classic rock history is full of remarkable “what ifs,” but few carry the emotional weight of Bruce Springsteen‘s song for Elvis Presley that another group made a smash.

Written during the spring of 1977, “Fire” was meant to be the ultimate collaboration between two generations of rock icons. When tragic timing prevented the track from ever reaching the King, the song took an unexpected detour into music history.

According to Elvis.com.au, Springsteen was a huge fan of the King of Rock and Roll. He followed his career intently and in 1977 he attended a Presley concert along with E Street bandmate Steve Van Zandt.

Far Out quoted Springsteen as saying that he was somewhat disappointed in the King’s performance. He said, “It was not a good night.”

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Legend has it that afterward, the New Jersey rocker wrote “Fire” for Presley. Ultimately, the song didn’t reach him before his death in August 1977, so the song next went to rockabilly singer Robert Gordon one year later, appearing on the LP Fresh Fish Special.

Later in 1978, legendary soul singers The Pointer Sisters were given the song at the suggestion of their producer, Richard Perry. The song became a hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979.

The trio of Anita, June, and Ruth Pointer released “Fire” as the first single from their album Energy. It became their first gold single.

Springsteen wouldn’t release his own version of the song until November 1986 on the live box set Live/1975–85. It was issued as a live single in January 1987.

Springsteen’s fondness for Presley was so immense that he did the unthinkable. While on tour promoting the LP Born to Run in 1975, he jumped Graceland’s fence in an attempt to meet his idol. He relayed the story during an appearance on the Graham Norton Show.

“Jumped over the wall, ran up the drive, got to the front door, and I was just about to knock on the front door, and a security guy came out of the bushes,” Springsteen explained. “He said, ‘Can I help you?’ I said, ‘Yes, is Elvis here?’”

Ultimately, Presley was in Las Vegas. But Springsteen had a message for his idol.

“I said, ‘Well, okay, can you tell him, and I generally don’t like to do this, but that Bruce Springsteen was here. He may not know who that is, but I was just on the cover of Time and Newsweek,’” he shared. “That was the closest I ever got to Elvis Presley.”

Elvis Presley never got the chance to make “Fire” his own, but the song’s unexpected path to the top of the charts remains an incredible piece of music history. It brought two eras of musical royalty together and delivered a smash hit.

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