TREAT HER RIGHT

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

Info

TREAT HER RIGHT is a 1965 song by Roy Head And The Traits. See the original Roy Head And The Traits version for more details.

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

The above lyrics are for live 31 Jan 1998 performance of TREAT HER RIGHT at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert. Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi traded lead vocals on this song and were also joined on backing vocals by all the night's performers, including Bruce Springsteen.

The 31 Jan 1998 Show

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.

Twenty musicians with ties to the Jersey shore music scene answered Jon Bon Jovi's call, including Bruce Springsteen and several members of the then-disbanded E Street Band (Clarence Clemons, Danni Frederici, Patti Scialfa, Steven Van Zandt, 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 and sold out in just eight minutes. The concert that was organized in short order raised more than $112,000 for King's widow and his two sons.

Promotional poster for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

Ticket stub for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

"It was a chance to forget about [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 Springsteen's first full-length electric gig following the acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. Springsteen spent much (or possibly all) of the night onstage, singing or playing guitar only. Soundboard recording for the complete concert is available among collectors.

The 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen & Bon Jovi -- Live On Air

2xCD - Laser Media (1143272) - UK, 2016

This release contains part of the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre.

Live History

TREAT HER RIGHT was performed off-tour on 31 Jan 1998 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert.

TREAT HER RIGHT was performed off-tour on 04 Dec 1999 at The Diasco Residence in Colts Neck, NJ. In June 1999, at a Doug Flutie Autism Foundation fundraising gala held at Jon Bon Jovi's estate in Middletown Township, guests Anthony and Pam Diasco paid $60,000 during the evening's dinner auction for right to host a very private Bon Jovi band concert at their home. The performance took place on 04 Dec 1999 at their estate in Colts Neck, NJ. Although Springsteen's services were not part of the June auction, the Diascos got a bonus. He (as well as wife Patti Scialfa and Southside Johnny) attended the party and, backed by Bon Jovi, he performed a six-song set.

Credits

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

Available Versions

List of available versions of TREAT HER RIGHT on this website:

Page last updated: 05 Sep 2012