Dion - The Wanderer

First performance: 25/07/1982


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 5 times : 
 
 
Played as a request
 
1995-10-18 Tramps, New York City, NY
With Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers. Dion DiMucci and Scott Kempner (formerly of the Del-Lords and Dictators) join Bruce and Joe for a bluesy "The Wanderer
 
Bruce guests with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers, along with special guests John Eddie and Dion DiMucci.
 
 

1989-01-18 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, NY
Springsteen attends the fourth Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremonies. The night's inductees are Dion, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and Phil Spector, plus The Ink Spots, Bessie Smith, and The Soul Stirrers in the Early Influences category. As had been the case in January 1987 (when Bruce inducted Roy Orbison and performed) and January 1988 (when Bruce inducted Bob Dylan and performed) Springsteen took the stage, joining in the all-star jam on most of the songs and sings lead on "Crying", dedicated to Roy Orbison, who had passed away only a few weeks earlier. Bruce plays guitar on all songs, plus tambourine on "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". The all-star band includes, along with Bruce, most of The Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Mick Taylor), most of The Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin, and Otis Williams), Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Little Richard, Pete Townshend, Dion, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Anita Baker, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Ben E. King, Bobby McFerrin, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Foreigner's Mick Jones, and more. Bruce attended with Patti Scialfa and, according to some reports, former Castiles member George Theiss attended. Former E Streeter Band member Vini Lopez was definitely there and took part in the show. He later recalled "They had the whole induction ceremony and four hours later, Bill Graham is on stage and he's pulling people out of the audience. Bruce comes up to me and says, "You see that other drum set up there? " Next thing you know, I was up there. I played for an hour and a half with those guys. Paul Simon, Steve Wonder. It was cool. Mick Jagger was leaning on my shoulder, singing 'Honky Tonk Woman' with Tina Turner."

 
 
 
1982-07-25 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park, NJ
Cats on a Smooth Surface
 

Songinfo

"The Wanderer" is a song written by Ernie Maresca and originally recorded by Dion. The song Tells the story of a travelling man and his many loves. The song was recorded with an uncredited background vocal group, the Del-Satins, in a rockier style than Dion's earlier hits with the Belmonts.
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

 
"Alright, we try to play one song that we’ve never ever played before ….. we are challenged here, let me see if we get there…did he get it?...I don’t see it…(sings to himself)…we’re gonna figure it, this is, this is how it goes ….. Steve Van Zandt! stumped, huh? so somebody thinks they’re gonna stump the E Street Band (fakes laughter) not on my watch, alright, here we go…maybe I’ll do the verse myself (sings to himself)…alright, alright, here we go…we have never played it before…but we’re gonna play it in Iowa"
 
Dion and Bruce on "The Wanderer":

"At its roots, it's more than meets the eye. "The Wanderer" is black music filtered through an Italian neighborhood that comes out with an attitude. It's my perception of a lot of songs like "I'm A Man" by Bo Diddleyor "Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters. But you know, "The Wanderer" is really a sad song. A lot of guys don't understand that. Bruce Springsteen was the only guy who accurately expressed what that song was about. It's "I roam from town to town and go through life without a care, I'm as happy as a clown with my two fists of iron, but I'm going nowhere." In the fifties, you didn't get that dark. It sounds like a lot of fun but it's about going nowhere."
 
 
Bruce Springsteen first met Dion DiMucci in October 1975 while visiting a Spector-Dion recording session in Los Angeles. However Steve Van Zandt, while touring as a member of the backing band for fifties vocal group The Dovells, had actually played guitar in Dion's backing band at a show in Miami, FL, on 31 Dec 1972. That trip, according to Van Zandt, is the original source of his nickname "Miami" Steve. On 30 Sep 1976, Springsteen and Van Zandt made an unannounced guest appearance during an encore at Dion's second (late) show at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA. They provided backing vocals on Dion's "The wanderer". Dion introduced the pair as "honorary Belmonts". Since then, Dion and Springsteen have shared the stage on several occasions. They have performed together Dion's "A Teenager in love"  and "The wanderer", Springsteen's "If I should fall behind", and Steven Van Zandt's "I Don't want to go home" Springsteen described Dion as "the link between Sinatra and rock 'n' roll." Dion recorded and released two Springsteen songs : "If I should fall behind" in 1992 and "Book of dreams" in 2000. 
  

Lyrics

Oh well, I'm the type of guy who will never settle down
Where pretty girls are, well you know that I'm around
I kiss 'em and I love 'em cause to me they're all the same
I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em they don't even know my name
They call me the wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around
Oh well, there's Flo on my left and then there's Mary on my right
And Janie is the girl well that I’ll be with tonight
And when she asks me, which one I love the best?
I tear open my shirt and I show "Rosie" on my chest
Cause I'm the wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around
Oh well, I roam from town to town
I go through life without a care
And I'm as happy as a clown
I with my two fists of iron but I'm going nowhere
Oh yeah, I’m the type of guy that likes to roam around
I’m never in one place, I roam from town to town
And when I find myself a-fallin' for some girl
Yeah, I hop right into that car of mine and drive around the world
Yeah I'm the wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around
Oh yeah, I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around
I'm never in one place, I roam from town to town
And when I find myself a-fallin' for some girl
I hop right into that car of mine and drive around the world
Yeah, cause I'm a wanderer
Yeah, a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around, around, around
Cause I'm a wanderer
Yeah, a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around, around, around, around
Cause I'm a wanderer
I'm, a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around