57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON)

Live 05 Jun 1992 version



[Spoken intro:] Thank you. I'm bringin' Little Steven up here... came out to visit me... gonna help us out with this. Yeah, he still looks good.

(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!) one, two, one two three four!
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)

(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)

Well I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Man came by to hook up my cable TV
We settled in for the night my baby and me
We switched 'round and 'round 'til half-past dawn
But there was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Hey!
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Come on!

Well now home entertainment was my baby's wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
Tied it to the top of my Japanese car
Came home and pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on, hey!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) Say!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) Hey!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)

We might'a made some friends with some billionaires
We might'a got all nice and friendly if we'd made it upstairs
All I got was a note said "Bye-bye John
Our love's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Hey!

(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)

Well I bought a .44 magnum, it was solid steel cast
And in the blessed name of Elvis I just let it blast
'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
And they busted me for disturbin' the almighty peace
Judge said "What you got in your defense son?"
"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on

Well I can see by your eyes man you're just about gone
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
You're fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-(seven channels and nothin' on) woahhh
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) woahhh
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 05 Jun 1992 performance of 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) at Hollywood Center Studios #4 in Hollywood, CA, during a warm-up public rehearsal show for the upcoming World Tour 1992-1993. Part of the show, including 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON), was broadcast on FM radio in the United States. The song featured a guest appearance by Steven Van Zandt.

The 05 Jun 1992 Show

After weeks of interviews and rehearsing his new band, Bruce Springsteen invited about 300 guests to a "mysterious location" in Los Angeles for a special preview of his upcoming World Tour 1992-1993. Billed as "The Dress Rehearsal", the warm-up rehearsal concert took place on 05 Jun 1992 at Hollywood Center Studios #4 in Hollywood, CA. A 90-minute portion of the show was broadcast on FM radio in the United States. After starting with a version of BETTER DAYS, Springsteen and the band performed a total of 15 songs for the broadcast (kicking off with BORN IN THE U.S.A. and concluding with HUNGRY HEART) and an additional five songs after going off the air.

Contest winners were flown to Los Angeles from across the U.S. and Europe. Radio stations sponsored trivia contests to qualify for the grand prize, as did MTV Europe. While rumors had circulated early in the spring about some sort of warm-up show, the broadcast was only confirmed about a month ahead of time. Its location remained a well-kept secret. Even the contest winners were kept in the dark as to the precise whereabouts of the performance.

Pass for the 05 Jun 1992 show at Hollywood Center Studios #4, Hollywood, CA
Pass for the 05 Jun 1992 show at Hollywood Center Studios #4, Hollywood, CA
(Taken from Brucebase)

  1. BETTER DAYS
  2. BORN IN THE U.S.A.
  3. LOCAL HERO
  4. LUCKY TOWN
  5. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
  6. IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND
  7. 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON)
  8. THE BIG MUDDY
  9. LIVING PROOF
  10. MY HOMETOWN
  11. LEAP OF FAITH
  12. MAN'S JOB
  13. ROLL OF THE DICE
  14. HUMAN TOUCH
  15. GLORY DAYS
  16. HUNGRY HEART
  17. WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY
  18. NINETY-NINE AND A HALF (WON'T DO)
  19. REAL WORLD
  20. DANCING IN THE DARK
  21. BOBBY JEAN

The complete 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Studios Live '92
Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Studios Live '92

CD - Rox Vox (RV2CD2040) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- Dress Rehearsal Broadcast 1992
Bruce Springsteen -- Dress Rehearsal Broadcast 1992

CD - Hobo (HB004) - Europe, 2016

This release contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- LA92
Bruce Springsteen -- LA92

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- Dress Rehearsal Broadcast 1992
Bruce Springsteen -- Dress Rehearsal Broadcast 1992

2xLP - Parachute Recording Company (PARA078LP) - UK, 2017

This release contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live '78-'92
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live '78-'92

2xCD - Obiterdictum (no catalog number) - Greece, 2017

This release contains part of the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Studios Human Touch Tour 1992 - FM Broadcast
Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Studios Human Touch Tour 1992 - FM Broadcast

2xLP - Bad Joker (BOSS5-2058) - EU, 2017

This release contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Center Studios
Bruce Springsteen -- Hollywood Center Studios

Digital album - Radioland (no catalog number) - Europe, 2017

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood.
Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road - Live
Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road - Live

20xCD - KP Music (SPRING01) - Europe, 2020

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place, the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 15 Aug 1975 early show broadcast from Bottom Line, the 17 Oct 1975 early show broadcast from The Roxy Theatre, the 09 Aug 1978 broadcast from The Agora, the 30 Sep 1978 broadcast from Fox Theatre, the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood, the 20 Aug 1994 show with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers at Marz American Style, plus some various TV performances from 1992-1995.

Credits

Some of the above information about the 05 Jun 1992 concert is take from Backstreets magazine issue #40 (Indian Summer 1992).

Available Versions

List of available versions of 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) on this website:

57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Album version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Live 16 Nov 1990 version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Live 17 Nov 1990 version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Live 05 Jun 1992 version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Live 10 Jul 1992 version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Teddy Zig Zag's cover version]

Page last updated: 01 Jan 2017