I PLAYED THE FOOL^©

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

Page last updated: 27 Sep 2007

Written by Steven Van Zandt. Check out Southside Johnny's original version for more details.

The song was first performed live with Bruce Springsteen on 16 Jul 1994, at The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Southside Johnny, Max Weinberg, Patti Scialfa, and Jon Bon Jovi.

The song was played again with Bruce Springsteen on 31 Jan 1998 during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert held at Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, and the above lyrics correspond to that performance. Steve Van Zandt and Southside Johnny were trading vocals, and Bruce Springsteen probably was playing guitar during this song (assuming he was on stage all night).

The "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert was organized by the Long Branch Police Department, The Asbury Park Press, and FPI Concerts, along with Jon Bon Jovi. The concert was to honor slain Long Branch police officer Sgt. Patrick King and raise money for the Sgt. Patrick King Memorial Fund to provide for his family. King, 45-year-old father of two young boys, was fatally shot on 20 Nov 1997 by a fugitive who had vowed to kill himself and a police officer rather than be captured and returned to jail.

20 musicians with ties to the Jersey shore music scene answered Jon Bon Jovi's call, including Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa and several members of the then-disbanded E Street Band (Clarence Clemons, Danni Frederici, Patti Scialfa, Little Steven, and Max Weinberg), Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera, and Richie Sambora among others. Actor Danny DeVito was the event's MC. Tickets, which were priced at $125, went on sale on 17 Jan 1998 noon, selling out in eight minutes. The concert that was organized in short order raised more than $112,000 for King's widow and his two sons.

"It was a chance to forget about it [the murder] a little bit," Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen, one of about 50 city police officers who attended the show, told The Asbury Park Press. "The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable". Johantgen said he found it ironic that Bon Jovi and other performers thanked the audience for coming to the sold-out show. "From the police perspective, I kept thinking, 'We should be thanking you for giving your time'," Johantgen said.

This was a near-reunion of the fabled E Street Band and Bruce's first full-length electric gig following the acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. Springsteen spent much of (or maybe all) the night onstage, singing or playing guitar only. Soundboard recording for that concert is available among collectors.

The above lyrics are for the live 31 Jan 1998 performance at Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ. Check out Southside Johnny's original version.

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.

Request:
Was Bruce Springsteen playing guitar on all of the 31 Jan 1998 show's tracks on which he didn't sing? Info should be found on Backstreets magazine #58 [Spring 1998]. If you can assist, please contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.