Drifters ( The ) - Under the boardwalk

First performance: 24/06/1989

Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 5 times and once as a snippet:
 
 
Bruce and The E Street Band are the closing act at the NBC Telethon "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together". Earlier in the telethon, Bruce joins in on backing vocals and acoustic guitar as Jimmy Fallon, Steven Tylerand Billy Joel perform Under The Boardwalk, backed by Joel's band. Money collected from the telethon was be donated to the American Red Cross

1991-01-20 McLoone's Rum Runner, Sea Bright, NJ
Bruce joins Max Weinberg, Tim McLoone, and others onstage at a benefit for singer Jim Faulkner
 

1989-07-27 Headliner (The), Neptune, NJ
With the Fabulous Greaseband (a seven member "Best of the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's Rock 'n' Roll Party Band." Their highly entertaining and energetic delivery of the greatest dance songs ever written has kept the group on top for the last thirty five years.
 
 

1989-07-23 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park, NJ
With Cats on a Smooth Surface ( an American rock group, that starting in 1978 and throughout the 1980s was the house band at The Stone Pony )
 
Bobby Bandiera
 
 
  • Snippet
2020-07-15 SiriusXM Studio, New York City, NY

'Bruce Springsteen: From My Home, To Yours… Part 8' airs on Sirius XM's E Street Radio, wrapping around theme "Summertime, Summertime". Bruce tells stories about Freehold, Manasquan, Asbury Park, Route 33, the Hazlet, Eatontown and Shore Drive-In theaters and other places. Plus he reveals he likes to go skinny-dipping. He also sings the opening lines of "Under The Boardwalk" before playing The Rolling Stones' version.
  

Songinfo

"Under the Boardwalk" is a song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. The song's chorus is unusual in that it switches from a major to minor key. The opening line of the song references the Drifters' prior hit "Up on the Roof", showing the occasional thermal weakness of the rooftop getaway and setting the stage for an alternate meeting location, under the boardwalk. The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a suspected heroin overdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on most of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including "Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session to find a new frontman, former Drifters lead vocalist Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording. There are two versions of the song. The mono 45 USA released version contains the line "We'll be falling in love". However, on the stereo album version, the line "We'll be making love" is sung. These are two entirely different recordings, not edits of one another, as the line "on a blanket with my baby is where I'll be" is sung differently in each version.

  

Bruce on the artist

2020-07-15 SiriusXM Studio, New York City
Bruce plays the song during his "From My Home, To Yours… Part 8" on Sirius XM's E Street Radio, wrapping around theme "Summertime, Summertime". Bruce tells stories about Freehold, Manasquan, Asbury Park, Route 33, the Hazlet, Eatontown and Shore Drive-In theaters and other places. Plus he reveals he likes to go skinny-dipping. He also sings the opening lines of "Under The Boardwalk" before playing The Rolling Stones' version.
 
 
 
Bruce appears on Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, discussing Letter To You, Christmas albums, his upcoming Saturday Night Live appearance, and more. During the interview he reveals what songs had an influence on writing ' letter to you' :
 
" I always liked music what where the singer sounded happy  and sad simultaneously, you know....and I wrote about this a little but in the memoir that I wrote, where I always loved the drifters' "saturday night at the movies", "up on the roof", "under the boardwalk", ...for some reason, the singer always sounded hopeful,... resigned. Like he had his spirit but sad at the same time. And I felt the whole world open to you. So those are the kind of songs that I like, ..you know...and I think hit the deepest. "  
  

Lyrics

Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be havin' some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be fallin' in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)
From the park you hear the happy sound of the carousel
You can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell, yes you can
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be havin' some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be fallin' in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)
Yeah, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be havin' some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be fallin' in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)