"Streets of Philadelphia" is a song written and performed by American rock musician

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

for the 1993 film ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

'', starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, an early mainstream film dealing with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. Released as a single in 1994, the song was a hit in many countries, particularly in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway, where it topped the singles charts. In the United States, the single peaked at number nine on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, becoming his 12th and last top 10 hit. The song received acclaim and went on to win the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

and four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

: Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. In 2004, it finished at number 68 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song is listed among the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Background and release

In early 1993, ''

'' director

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

asked Springsteen to write a song for his film, adding "I want it to play in the malls." Springsteen replied, "Well, I'm interested, so I'd like to come up with a song for you. If you give me some time, I'll see, but I can't promise." Springsteen recalled adding, "I'm not very good at scores". In late August, after the conclusion of the "Other Band" Tour, he recorded a demo of his completed song at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, California (his home studio), supplying all of the instrumentation. He mailed the tape to Demme, who later said, "my wife and I sat down and listened to it, and we were literally weeping by the end". Meanwhile, background vocals were added by Tommy Sims (from the "Other Band"). In October, Springsteen recorded it at

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...

in Los Angeles, with Sims,

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Coll ...

on saxophone, and vocals by

"Little" Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

. It was mixed by

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a ve ...

, included in the soundtrack, and the video was shot. However, in mid-December, Springsteen suddenly replaced it with his home demo from August, re-shooting some video scenes to eliminate Scott. The four-man combo version can be heard in a brief scene in the film when

exits

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

's office, but it was Springsteen alone playing over the opening credits. "Streets of Philadelphia" was released on February 2, 1994, as the first single from the film's original soundtrack, with Springsteen singing and playing all the instruments and Tommy Sims on background vocals, and became a chart success worldwide. "Streets of Philadelphia" achieved greater popularity in Europe than in the United States. While it peaked at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, it became a number-one single in Germany, France and Austria. It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, becoming Springsteen's highest charting hit in Britain, and number four in Australia. , "Streets of Philadelphia" ranks as his most recent top ten hit. The song was included on the album '' All Time Greatest Movie Songs'', released by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

in 1999.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote, "Springsteen's empathetic lyrics and performance zoom straight for the heart, traveling atop a slow and sturdy beat and pillowy synths. A powerful song with or without the image of the film to support it." Troy J. Augusto from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' described it as a "appropriately somber song". He said, "Written in the first person, this slow-moving

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

documents the struggle of a downtrodden and forgotten soul left to wander the dark streets, out of sight of an uncaring society. Like

Hanks Hanks is a surname of English, or Dutch origin, meaning "son of Hankin" and may refer to: * Boo Hanks (1928–2016), American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer * Carol Hanks Aucamp (born 1943), American tennis player * Colin Hanks (born 1977) ...

' character in the film, Springsteen's unfortunate draws on our sympathy, not because he asks for help but because he appears unable to help himself, an important distinction. One of The Boss’ best." Kent Zimmerman from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The p ...

'' concluded, "Bruce Springsteen's custom-written theme is as scary a portrait of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

as you're likely to hear all year long. Combining the gruesome fears of urban abandonment coupled with the tragedy of a fatal disease in just one song is surely a miracle of subtlety."

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the '' Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wo ...

from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' deemed it "a moving ballad about a man whose body is being destroyed by AIDS", and "a work that shows Springsteen, despite all the questions raised by changes in his life in recent years, can still write purposeful songs that connect on a deeply emotional level." He added, "Springsteen sings in a voice that expresses the helplessness and heartache of someone dying of AIDS as convincingly as Springsteen once conveyed the dreams and aspirations of youth."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

said in his weekly UK chart commentary, "However good it may be the brooding ballad is hardly classic Bruce and can be expected to shuttle rapidly out next week". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "The man who used to walk upon E-Street, now roams the Philly lanes. This synth-dominated track from the ''OST

'' revives the "etherealism" of '' Tunnel Of Love''." Pete Stanton of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave "Streets of Philadelphia" four out of five, writing, "This is far gentler, far lovelier and far nicer than anything he's done for ages. Taken from the excellent film .. this should see Bruce back in the charts."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song, directed by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme in December 1993, begins by showing Springsteen walking along desolate city streets, followed by a bustling park and schoolyard, interspersed with footage from the film. After a quick shot of

Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...

, it ends with Springsteen walking along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

, with the

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...

in the background.

is also visible as the lead character he plays in the film, looking on as Bruce begins the final verse. One newspaper review called it "the saddest track cut this decade". The vocal track for the video was recorded live with a hidden microphone, to a pre-recorded

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

track. This technique, appropriate for emotionally intense songs for which conventional video lip-syncing would seem especially false, was used by

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumen ...

in part on his 1985 "Rain on the Scarecrow" video, and by Springsteen, in his 1987 " Brilliant Disguise" video, singing the song directly into the camera as he sits on the edge of his chair on a Sandy Hook, New Jersey sound stage.

Live performances

Because of the song's sterling achievements in the awards world, Springsteen played the song live in three high-visibility, prime-time awards show broadcasts: at the

66th Academy Awards The 66th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1993 and took place on March 21, 1994, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p. ...

in March 1994, at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

in September 1994, and at the

Grammy Awards of 1995 The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including So ...

in March 1995. Between this, ''Philadelphias strong box office performance, and the single being a top 10 pop hit, "Streets of Philadelphia" became one of Springsteen's best-known songs to the general music audience. Nonetheless, Springsteen went on to perform the song only sparingly in his own concerts. In solo guitar form and missing the song's trademark synthesizers-and-drums feel, it was performed semi-regularly on the solo and stark 1995–1997

Ghost of Tom Joad Tour The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour was a worldwide concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage in small halls and theatres, that ran off and on from late 1995 through the middle of 1997.Santelli, ''Greetings From E Street'', pp ...

. After that, the song became a rarity, only appearing a dozen times on the 1999–2000 E Street Band Reunion Tour, and, as of January 2016, only a few times across the nine tours after that.

Accolades

Track listings

* CD , 7-inch, and cassette single # "Streets of Philadelphia" – 3:15 # "If I Should Fall Behind" – 4:43 * CD maxi and maxi cassette # "Streets of Philadelphia" – 3:15 # "If I Should Fall Behind" – 4:43 # "Growin' Up" – 3:13 # "The Big Muddy" – 4:11 The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s were selected from the previous year's live album ''

In Concert/MTV Plugged ''In Concert/MTV Plugged'' is a 1992 concert video and 1993 live album by Bruce Springsteen. It is part of MTV's ''Unplugged'' series, recorded on September 22, 1992 at the Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles near the start of Springsteen ...

''.

Personnel

– vocals, keyboards, drum machine * Tommy Sims – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

The song has been covered live by Jack Folland,

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, Melissa Etheridge, David Gray,

Waxahatchee Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield (born 4 January 1989), previously a member of P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield g ...

and Lonely the Brave. Recorded covers have been released by

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

(on his 1997 album, ''I Love Movies''),

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA) was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth (born April 22, 1977) of Redwood City, California. CFTPA was active from 1997 to 2010, and released five studio albums, alongside numerous other rel ...

, Marah,

Liv Kristine Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...

Molly Johnson Margaret Leslie "Molly" Johnson, Order of Canada, OC is a Canadian Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter of pop and jazz. Biography Johnson began as a child performer, receiving formal training from the National Ballet School and the Banff Schoo ...

Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released t ...

, SALEM, Gregorian and I Muvrini with

Anggun Anggun Cipta Sasmi (; born 29 April 1974), better known as Anggun C. Sasmi or more often mononymously as Anggun, is an Indonesian-born French singer-songwriter and television personality. Born in Jakarta, she began performing at the age of sev ...

. Philadelphia rappers, Cassidy & the

Larsiny Family Larsiny or Larsiny Family is an American hip hop group/label from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rapper Cassidy helped found the crew Larsiny with his home-town- Family Members Cousins A R AB Cal Akbar and Shiz Lansky, who is featured on ...

have made a cover of this song on the ''Put Ya L in the Sky'' mixtape, in an effort to stop crime in the city. French artist

Patrick Bruel Patrick Benguigui (; born 14 May 1959), better known by his stage name Patrick Bruel (), is a French singer-songwriter, actor and professional poker player. Biography Early life Patrick is the son of Pierre Benguigui and Augusta Kammoun, d ...

and U2 covered the song, translating the lyrics into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

while retaining the music. After the movie ''Philadelphia'' was released, many artists covered it. In 1993, when Rhino Records assembled its box set, ''Academy Award Winning Songs (1934–1993)'', the same year, it was unable to license the Springsteen track and instead commissioned

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar styl ...

to record a cover version. In 2010, the French string quartet

Quatuor Ébène In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

recorded a version on their album ''Fiction'', with drummer Richard Héry, sung by the quartet's violist Mathieu Herzog. The song is also covered by

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, '' How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia ...

on their album '' Scars and Stories'', released in 2012. In 2011, the German group Gregorian released a Gregorian chant version of the song in their album ''Masters of Chant Chapter VIII''. Also in 2011,

Idols South Africa ''Idols'' is a television show on the South African television network Mzansi Magic, and previously on M-Net, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol''. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa. The general ...

season seven winner Dave van Vuuren performed the song on the show and recorded it on his album ''Free the Animals''. In 2009, it was covered by

Luis Eduardo Aute Luis Eduardo Aute Gutiérrez (13 September 1943 – 4 April 2020) was a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and film director. Biography First years in the Philippines Luis Eduardo Aute was born in Manila on 13 September 1943. His father, a C ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

as "Els carrers de Philadelphia", for the CD of

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television * Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

'' La Marató''. In February 2013, Sir

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

performed the song at the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

tribute concert honoring Bruce Springsteen as the 2013

MusiCares Person of the Year The MusiCares Person of the Year is an award presented annually by MusiCares, the charity arm of The Recording Academy, the same organization that distributes the Grammy Awards, to commend musicians for their artistic achievement in the music in ...

Fat White Family Fat White Family are an English rock band, formed in 2011 in Peckham, South London. History The band, fronted by Southampton-born and Cookstown-raised Lias Kaci Saoudi, formed in 2011. Lead guitarist Saul Adamczewski was previously the frontman ...

's Saul Adamczewski and Childhood (band)'s Ben Romans-Hopcraft, covered the song on their 2018 album, ''Karaoke for One: Vol 1'', under the band name Insecure Men.

covered the song in 2021 for the deluxe issue of her 2020 album '' Saint Cloud''.

References

External links

Brucebase history of song
* "Streets of Philadelphia" review at Allmusic* Information on the "Streets of Philadelphia" single at Allmusic* {{DEFAULTSORT:Streets Of Philadelphia 1993 songs 1994 singles 1990s ballads Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Bruce Springsteen songs Columbia Records singles Culture of Philadelphia European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Grammy Award for Song of the Year Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Norway Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Songs about Philadelphia Songs about HIV/AIDS Songs about streets Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Songs written for films