On the cover of Rolling Stone

Bruce Springsteen appeared on the August 24, 1978 cover of Rolling Stone magazine. He was 28, and had finally made it. Pop stars are routinely baptized as such on the iconic cover of the magazine. Britney Spears made her first appearance at the experienced age of 17. In 1971, 11 year-old Michael Jackson appeared under a provocative question about how late his bedtime was. As rock legends die of various excesses, the Rolling Stone cover treatment has become a valediction and validation. John Lennon appeared on the first cover in 1967 when he was 26, and posed for the famous Annie Liebovitz cover on the day he died at age 40.

Born to Run

On August 3, 1974, Bruce Springsteen performed his last gig as an opening act. His third album was released on August 25th, a year later. He was 25. Born To Run proved to be his breakthrough, peaking at number three on the Billboard chart. With its background of strings, glockenspiel, keyboards and more than a dozen guitar tracks arranged by Phil Spector, the title song took three and a half months to record. Springsteen appears once in A Book of Ages.