Studio rehearsal version
A-one, two, three, four
A little slow. Alright. Yeah. Garry!
Yeah well I got to have you, baby
Oh got to hang on down
Got to have you, Mama
I know we can work it out, ooh
Because I got to have you, baby
Yes, I got to have it in my soul
Oh but if things don't happen no faster
I'll pack up my clothes and move to Alaska
I said I Alaska
Ah, you know I need you honey
Oh goddess, yes I do
You know I need you, baby
[Steven Van Zandt:] There ain't nothing old Brucie wouldn't do
Oh!
Because I got to have you, baby
I got to have you in my soul
Yes now you know I need you, honey
Almost as much as I need rock and roll
??? solo on guitar!
I got–
Whoa!
On the guitar, Steve Van Zandt!
[Steven Van Zandt guitar solo]
Now bring it down!
I said I got to have you, baby
Oh papa, ain’t no doubt
Yes I got to have you, mama
I know, know we can work it out
Because I got to have you, baby
I got to have you now in my soul
Oh but don't leave my heart broken
I'll pack up my clothes and move to Hoboken
Yeah! David, hit it. Yeah!
Alright!
[David Sancious piano solo]
Oh here we go!
Yes I got to have you, mama
Lord, I got to have you, baby
And you have got to have me
Whoa!
I got to have you down in my soul
Whoa whoa whoa whoa yeah
Yeah!
I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY is a song written by Bruce Springsteen probably around 1971. The song was performed live with The Bruce Springsteen Band in 1971 and 1972.
The above lyrics are for a Bruce Springsteen Band studio rehearsal of I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY that took place in early 1972 at Challenger Eastern Surfboards in Highlands, NJ. See the below section for more details.
Bruce Springsteen wrote numerous songs in 1971 but did not record any material in a professional recording studio during that period. However, studio rehearsal sessions were frequently conducted at the Challenger Eastern Surfboards factory in Highlands, NJ, in 1971 and early 1972. The primary purpose of the sessions was not to make audio recordings, but to prepare for live shows. So only a fraction of this extensive body of rehearsal sessions was ever recorded, and when they were, it is an unfortunate reality that the reel-to-reel tapes made at Challenger Eastern were often erased and reused to record live shows.
It should be noted that this is not Challenger's more famous Wanamassa, NJ factory location, the one that Springsteen had lived at and rehearsed in during the 1969-1971 Child and Steel Mill era. Tinker West had relocated that factory to Highlands, NJ in mid-1971 and had then constructed a more professional rehearsal room for the various bands he managed. It also included a control room like a regular studio.
Fortunately, high-quality audio of one Challenger East session is known to exist – a continuous 8-song / 83-minute segment of a rehearsal that took place in early 1972 at Challenger Eastern Surfboard. The recording was engineered and produced by Carl "Tinker" West. The session line-up was Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, David Sancious, Garry Tallent, and Vini Lopez.
The recording is on three reel-to-reel tapes. The audio on the first two, which contains the first six songs listed above, is in circulation among collectors. The third reel, which contains the last two songs listed above, is not in circulation and remains in the hands of a private collector. This third tape may have been recorded before the other two. In 2017, one song from the third tape, COMING HOME, became widely available among collectors.
The original tapes note the audio as emanating from 1972 but do not mention the exact date. However, according to Brucebase, this session is most definitely from very early in the year, prior to Springsteen's March 1972 contract signing with Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos. Bearing in mind that The Bruce Springsteen Band had been idle for over a month due to Springsteen's trip to California, it's likely that this rehearsal took place in order to prepare for the numerous shows scheduled for late January thru early March. Indeed, the arrangements of these songs are remarkably similar to those that have surfaced from live gigs during this specific period. Brucebase lists the recording under its 14 Mar 1972 entry.
In addition to 76 minutes of music, the recording contains nearly 7 minutes of between-song studio chat, much of it between Springsteen and Tinker West. The discussions seem to indicate that the primary intent of the session is for rehearsing, not recording, with the recording merely being done because West wanted to test some new recording equipment. The sound quality is uniformly excellent. Although all the audio is from the same day, it is evident from the discussions that the rehearsals had been going on for some hours before the recording started.
I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY is known to have been performed at least once in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972), on . All of these confirmed performances are from between November 1971 and March 1972. Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates in 1971 and 1972.
Thanks Ken Rosen for the corrections. Most of the above info about the Challenger Eastern Surfboards rehearsals and the song's live history is taken from Brucebase.
The above lyrics are not complete and some arts may be guessed. If you can help, please contact at or via the below form.
List of available versions of I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY on this website:
I GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY [Studio rehearsal version]