I remember hearing this for the first time back in the ’70s… Thought it was the sexiest ballad ever — raw, desperate, and dangerous in all the right ways. But nothing prepared me for the fire that roared back to life at Tribeca 2018. Patti’s voice cracked like lightning. Bruce played like he was still chasing ghosts. It wasn’t just a performance — it was a reckoning. What brought them back together that night… and why does this version haunt more than the original?

Last night (March 26), several of the biggest names in rock and roll gathered at Carnegie Hall for People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith. The star-studded event did more than bring artists like Bruce Springsteen and Flea together to honor Smith’s legacy. It also raised money for underserved youth music programs. As a result, it was a night packed with great performances for a good cause.

During the event. The Boss took the stage with Flea and other heavy hitters to perform Smith’s 1978 hit “Because the Night.” Steve Jordan, the Rolling Stones’ current drummer, Charlie Sexton, who often plays with Bob Dylan on the road, and Tony Shanahan, a member of Smith’s band, and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers filled out the lineup for the performance. Watch them come together for a killer performance of the enduring love song below.

Why Bruce Springsteen Chose “Because the Night” to Honor Patti Smith

Patti Smith has a deep catalog of music, but “Because the Night” was the perfect song for Bruce Springsteen to perform at last night’s event. He wrote the song and originally planned to record it for his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. However, he and the E Street Band couldn’t make the song work. Moreover, it didn’t fit the overall narrative of the album. As a result, Springsteen was going to shelve the song. Luckily, his producer, Jimmy Iovine, was also working on Smith’s album Easter at the time. He talked Springsteen into passing the song to Smith, who later finished writing it and recorded it at Iovine’s urging.

Springsteen recalled how it all happened in the book Why Patti Smith Matters. “I was a tremendous admirer of Patti, and I was just flattered that she was interested in collaborating, and I was just happy that she found something that she could do with the song,” The Boss recalled. “That song would still be in my archives if it wasn’t for her. It would be something that nobody had ever heard of,” he added.

Smith, a punk rock pioneer, released “Because the Night” as the lead single from Easter. It would go on to become her only mainstream hit. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 in the United Kingdom.