The Bottom Line — Bruce Springsteen, New York City

The Bottom Line at 15 West 4th Street in Greenwich Village was the venue where Bruce Springsteen broke through to national recognition in August 1975 — a ten-night, two-shows-per-night residency that drew the concentrated attention of the New York music press and industry at the precise moment that Columbia Records was mounting its major promotional campaign for 'Born to Run.' Springsteen was on the cover of both Time and Newsweek the same week as the Bottom Line shows — an unprecedented simultaneous appearance that made him simultaneously the most hyped and most scrutinised rock musician in America. The shows themselves were extraordinary: the E Street Band at full power in a 400-capacity room, playing with the urgency of musicians who understood that everything was at stake.

The Bottom Line had opened in 1974 as a mid-sized showcase venue aimed at the music industry — a room where major labels brought their priority acts for press and radio play, and where artists could be presented in an intimate setting to influential audiences. Its West Village location, its good sound, and its booking policy made it the most important showcase venue in New York for roughly two decades. Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, and a generation of New York-affiliated artists played there. But the Springsteen residency of August 1975 is the event most associated with the venue — five days that changed the trajectory of his career and established him as something larger than a regional cult figure.

The Bottom Line closed in 2004 after a rent dispute with New York University, which owns the building. The space has been incorporated into NYU's campus. A plaque on West 4th Street acknowledges the venue's contribution to New York music history. The August 1975 shows were partially recorded and have circulated among collectors for decades as documents of a pivotal moment — an unknown young musician becoming, in the span of ten performances, one of the most discussed artists in America.