“The Night Time Is the Right Time” was the theme of Bruce Springsteen’s 24th DJ show on SiriusXM satellite radio.
Bruce Springsteen’s 24th DJ show on SiriusXM satellite radio, titled “The Night Time Is the Right Time,” debuted June 30 on the network’s E Street Radio channel (channel 20). It featured music by James Brown, Van Morrison, Ray Charles and The Bee Gees; friends such as John Mellencamp and Bob Seger; one fairly obscure group, (The Penetrators); and Springsteen himself (“Night”).
Springsteen didn’t talk much and told only one story, about how “Because the Night,” which he co-wrote, came to be a collaboration with Patti Smith. “It needed a woman’s voice, it needed Patti’s voice and her vision,” Springsteen said.
You can read what Springsteen said throughout the show here, and see videos for the songs that were played. In some cases, a version of the song may have been played that is different from what is embedded in this post.
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Hello, family, friends, E Street Nation, night creepers, day sleepers, fans from coast to coast and around the world, welcome to Vol. 24 of “From My Home to Yours,” titled “The Night Time Is the Right Time.”
“Night,” Bruce Springsteen
“(Night Time Is) The Right Time,” Ray Charles
We started off with yours truly and the E Street Band on the “Night,” and then the genius of Ray Charles on “(The Night Time Is) The Right Time.” Here’s Chrissie Hynde with The Pretenders, “(I’ve Got the) Night in My Veins.”
“Night In My Veins,” The Pretenders
“Night Train to Memphis,” Roy Acuff
That was “Night Train to Memphis,” by Roy Acuff. Roy Acuff was born in 1903, in Maynardville, Tenn. He was known as the King of Country Music and he was the Grand Ole Opry’s key figure for 40 years. He was the first living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Let’s get on the “Night Train.”
“Night Train,” James Brown
The was the hard funk of James Brown, the man who is, without a doubt, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Whatever you’re hearing with a funky groove on it today, or if you’re listening to any R&B, hip-hop, rap, the roots of the Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother No. 1 James Brown are buried in there somewhere. Now here’s the smooth pop/R&B of The Bee Gees.
“Night Fever,” The Bee Gees
“Ain’t Even Done With the Night,” John Mellencamp
That was “Ain’t Even Done With the Night,” by John Mellencamp. And here’s Patsy Cline, with “Walkin’ After Midnight.”
“Walkin’ After Midnight,” Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline, one of the first country artists to cross over into pop, and one of the most influential voices of popular music. “Walkin’ After Midnight” was her first smash on both the country and pop charts. She tragically died in a plane crash outside of Camden, Tenn. She was the first female to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. We love you, Patsy.
“Night of the Drunken Cheerleaders,” The Penetrators
“Here Comes the Night,” Them
That was Van “Van the Man” Morrison and Them, his great, great garage band of the ’60s, and I believe that track was written by Bert Berns. And before that was “Night of the Drunken Cheerleaders,” by The Penetrators.
“Wild Night,” Van Morrison
“Night Moves,” Bob Seger
That was Bob Seger and the beautiful “Night Moves.” Man, I love that voice. And before that, of course, “Wild Night.”
James “Jimmy” Iovine, engineer, record producer, music mogul and entrepreneur par excellence, took me for a ride in nineteen-seventy-something in his orange Mercedes Benz. Now this is the first Benz anyone had ever seen, much less an orange one. And he drove me out towards Coney Island, somewhere, and he asked if he could send the E Street Band’s recording of the unfinished “Because the Night” to Patti Smith, who he was producing at the time. Now Jimmy had, has always had, and still has some very sly ears. Now me, I had a nice hook and a melody on a song that I could not finish the lyrics for. So Patti took it and turned it into the hit it became, writing a beautiful love song for her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith. Now it wouldn’t have been a hit if I had finished it and released it. It needed a woman’s voice, it needed Patti’s voice and her vision. She turned it into something that I alone could never have created. And for that, I forever thank my lovely, lovely friend.
And that’s our show. Thank you for spending this time with me, and until we meet again, go in peace.
“Because the Night,” Patti Smith
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Springsteen has been doing “From My Home to Yours” shows since April of 2020. You can read transcripts of what he has said on the previous 23 shows, and see YouTube videos of all the songs he has played, via these links:
APRIL 8, 2020 (a tribute to the late John Prine and more)
APRIL 24, 2020 (thoughts on life during pandemic, New York songs and more)
MAY 6, 2020 (when the pandemic is over, he promises, “50,000 people will once again scream their heads off somewhere in New Jersey”)
MAY 20, 2020 (a tribute to the late Little Richard and more)
JUNE 3, 2020 (protest songs and more)
JUNE 17, 2020 (a “rock ‘n’ roll requiem” for those who have died from coronavirus)
JULY 1 (discussion with and songs by Southside Johnny and Steven Van Zandt)
JULY 15 (summertime songs and memories)
JULY 29 (discussion with and songs by Patti Scialfa).
AUG. 14 (“In Dreams,” nocturnally themed songs and memories)
SEPT. 2 (songs about work, in honor of Labor Day)
SEPT. 16 (end of summer)
OCT. 7 (songs about cars)
OCT. 28 (Election Day- and Halloween-oriented songs)
NOV. 25 (Election Day victory, “music about music”)
DEC. 16 (“Hits of the Week”: music that he has been listening to lately)
JAN. 20 (“Lawyers, Guns & Money: An Inaugural Special”)
FEB. 24 (“New Born Soul”: songs of rebirth)
MARCH 10 (“Fans and Bands”: Songs about bands, their muses, and their fans).
MARCH 31 (“Here Comes the Weekend”)
APRIL 28 (“Waiting on a Friend”)
MAY 26 (“Radio Radio”)
JUNE 9 (“Old Bones”: Songs about aging)
The shows have lasted between one and two hours each, with repeats and on-demand availability following the initial broadcast. “The Night Time Is the Right Time” will be repeated June 30 at 6 p.m.; July 1 at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.; July 2 at 6 a.m., 2 p.m. and midnight; July 3 at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.; and July 4 at 1 and 7 p.m.
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