Ben E. King's cover version
Sandy, the fireworks are hailing over Little Eden tonight
Forcing a light into all those stony faces left stranded on this 4th of July
Down in the town, the Circuit's full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizard play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasing those silly New York girls by the score
Hmmm
And Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight, for I may never see you again
Hey, Sandy girl
My, my, baby
Hm-hmmm
Hm-hmmm
Now, the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
Them boys in their high heels, oh, Sandy, their skins are so white
And for me, I just got tired of hanging in them dusty arcades, banging
on them pleasure machines
Chasing the factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promise they'd unsnap their jeans for me
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it and my shirt got caught
And they kept me spinning, babe, they didn't think I'd ever get off
Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life on the water
Running, laughing 'neath the boardwalk with the boss's daughter
I remember, Sandy, girl
My, my, my, my, my baby
Oh oh, whoa whoa whoa
Hmmm-hmmm
Sandy, that waitress I was seeing lost her desire for me
I spoke to her last night, she said she won't set herself on fire for me anymore
She worked that joint underneath the boardwalk, she was always the girl you saw bopping down the beach with the radio
The kids last night say she was dressed like a star in one of them cheap little seaside bars, and I saw her parked with lover boy out on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie for telling fortunes better than they do
For me this boardwalk life is through
You ought to quit this scene too
Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight, I promise I'll love you forever
I mean it, Sandy, girl
My, my, my, my, my baby
I promise, Sandy, girl
Sha, la, la, la, la baby
Hmmm-hmmm
My Sandy girl
Oh, oh, yeah
My, my Sandy girl
I promise you Sandy
I promise you Sandy
My Sandy girl
Hm-hmmm
Sha la la, la la la
Sha la la, la la la
Sha la la, la la
My Sandy girl
The above lyrics are for Ben E. King's cover version of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY). It was recorded in July 1997 at Jolly Roger Recording in Hoboken, NJ, and released that year on the various artists Bruce Springsteen tribute album One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen.
The track features a large ensemble of musicians. In addition to Ben E. King on vocals, it features Joe McGinty on piano, Gerard Guida on organ, Dave Amels on organ and percussion, Richard X. Heyman on harpsichord, Kenny Margolis on accordion, Dave Hofstra on upright bass, George Rush on electric bass, Chris Butler on six-string bass, autoharp, and percussion, Jon Graboff on electrical guitar and acoustic guitar, Jimmy Babjack on acoustic guitar, Dennis Diken on drums and percussion, Chris Nappi on vibraphone and glockenspiel, Crispin Cloe on baritone sax, Arno Hecht (The Uptown Horns) on baritone sax, Julianne Klopotic on violin, Dana Friedli on violin, Deni Bonet on violin, and Ted Falcon on violin. The track was produced and arranged by Dennis Diken and Dave Amels for Nun Bett-R Productions, engineered by Oliver Straus assisted by Gene Holder and Paul Verna, and mixed at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, NY.
Ben E. King wrote in the liner notes of the One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen tribute album:
As I drove away from the session for "Sandy" it occurred to me that I haven't had to tackle a song as challenging as this since "Spanish Harlem," because of all those words and the movement. I found "Sandy" to be "pleasantly busy." The verses seemed a bit crammed on the first few go-rounds, and the challenge was to see why it wasn't working initially. I knew it could work because Bruce made it work. That was one of the fun things about it.
Producers Dennis Diken and Dave Amels wrote:
Ben E. King was a dream to work with. A man with his talent has no business exuding as much humility as he does. He is class personified.
As producers and arrangers, we had to work close to the wire to meet our deadline, and we were very fortunate to grab seventeen of the New York/New Jersey area's finest musicians on short notice. The session was recorded with everyone playing together "live" in the studio, making excellent use of Jolly Roger Recording's awesome vintage microphone collection. Less than a handful overdubs were employed. When Ben E. arrived, the ensemble erupted in a standing ovation. Wish you could been there.
We hope that we captured the evocative ambiance inherent in Bruce's "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." One thing is certain, Ben E. King brought it home and made it his own.
Ben E. King's cover version of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) was only released on Bruce Springsteen tribute albums.
Thanks Michael Simpson (Walklikeasupercaley) for the 7-inch label scan.
List of available versions of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) on this website:
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Album version]
