Book will explore connections between ‘Bridge & Tunnel Boys’ Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel

The cover of “Bridge & Tunnel Boys: Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and the Metropolitan Sound of the American Century.”

Lots of people have noted similarities in the lives and careers of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. But Jim Cullen will become the first person to create a book out of it when his “Bridge & Tunnel Boys: Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and the Metropolitan Sound of the American Century” is published by Rutgers University Press, Oct. 13.

The hardcover, $28.95, 262-page book will explore “how each man forged a distinctive sound that derived from his unique position on the periphery of the Big Apple,” according to a press release.

“Locating their music within a longer tradition of the New York metropolitan sound, dating back to the early 1900s, cultural historian Jim Cullen explores how each man drew from the city’s diverse racial and ethnic influences. His study explains how, despite frequently releasing songs that questioned the American dream, Springsteen and Joel were able to appeal to wide audiences during both the national uncertainty of the 1970s and the triumphalism of the Reagan era.”

Cullen’s previous books include “Born in the U.S.A.: Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition,” “Martin Scorsese and the American Dream,” “Sensing the Past: Hollywood Stars and Historical Visions” and “The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation.”

For information, visit rutgersuniversitypress.org.

Click HERE for a post on 25 videos that have to do with connections between Springsteen and Joel.