Ace Records will release “Ladies Sing the Boss” on May 27.
The British record label, Ace, plans a May 27 release date for Ladies Sing the Boss, a compilation of 19 Bruce Springsteen songs recorded by female artists. The collection ranges from his “Because the Night” collaboration with Patti Smith to Lucinda Williams’ “Factory,” Emmylou Harris’ “My Father’s House,” Cowboy Junkies’ “Thunder Road” and Darlene Love’s version of a song Springsteen never released or performed publicly himself, “Night Closing In” (from her 2015 album, Introducing Darlene Love).
British DJ Sean Rowley writes on the Ace website: “Much of the public’s perception of Bruce is wrapped up in his male persona, singing songs about girls and cars, a hyper masculine image. So, how do women relate to this? Part of the inspiration for this compilation came from me going to see the all-female Bruce tribute act the She Street Band at the Clapham Grand in 2019 and experiencing how these songs, which I had known all my life, took on another perspective when seen through the filter of a female protagonist.”
The release is part of Ace’s Songwriter Series, which includes more than 70 compilation albums of songs written by artists including Randy Newman, Lou Reed, Curtis Mayfield, Kris Kristofferson and Brian Wilson.
Here are the songs on the album:
“Because the Night,” Patti Smith
“Dancing in the Dark,” Lucy Dacus
“Night Closing In,” Darlene Love
“Devils and Dust,” Jessie Kennedy
“State Trooper,” Deana Carter
“The Ghost of Tom Joad,” Solas
“Waiting on a Sunny Day,” Piney Gir
“I’m on Fire,” Soccer Mommy
“Highway 29,” Moa Holmsten
“Thunder Road,” Cowboy Junkies
“Streets of Philadelphia,” Bettye LaVette
“Valentine’s Day,” Hem
“Factory,” Lucinda Williams
“Johnny 99,” Shovels & Rope
“Cover Me,” Thea Gilmore
“Secret Garden,” Kerry Hart
“Fire,” Anna Calvi
“Nebraska,” Aoife O’Donovan
“My Father’s House,” Emmylou Harris
Here is a link to NJArts.net’s series of 150 Bruce Springsteen songs performed by female artists. And here is Solas’ “The Ghost of Tom Joad”
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