CoronaVinyl Day 382 (B): On The Line by Gary U.S. Bonds

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "B," and I went with Gary U.S. Bonds's 1982 album On The Line.

Bonds was an R&B and rock and roll singer who had a string of Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early '60s, including 1960's "New Orleans" (#6) 1961's "Quarter to Three" (#1) and "School Is Out" (#5), and 1962's "Dear Lady Twist" and "Twist, Twist Senora" (both #9).  He was a big influence on a lot of musicians who followed him, most notably Bruce Springsteen, who often sang "Quarter to Three" at live shows.

Bonds kind of disappeared from the musical consciousness for twenty years, until he teamed up with Springsteen and the E Street Band for two albums in the early '80s, 1981's Dedication and 1982's On The Line.

Springsteen and Little Steven (who went by "Miami Steve" on the album) produced On The Line, Springsteen wrote seven songs on the album, Little Steven wrote one, Bonds wrote two, and the other was a Box Tops cover.  The album definitely has a Springsteen feel to it, which I liked.  It's definitely an example of a rock star paying homage to one of his influences while at the same time offering his own style.

Springsteen has some uncredited backing vocals, while the rest of the E Street Band plays on the album (and is credited).  The only single released from the album, "Out Of Work," was a success, reaching #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

On The Line is not on Spotify, but someone made a YouTube playlist with 9 of the 11 songs on the album, so I embedded that below.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Soul Deep"
This is the aforementioned Box Tops cover, and Bonds and the band give it the E Street treatment. 

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Angelyne"
This one was originally supposed to be a duet between Bonds and Springsteen, but Springsteen's record label got its panties in a bunch over his appearance on the album, so Little Steven stepped in for The Boss.  It sounds like a classic early '80s Springsteen song.