Bruce Springsteen

Artist Paul Coker got a couple of cracks at The Boss in the mid-'80s - first of all, with this caricature that accompanied the Frank Jacobs song parody "Porn In The U.S.A." (MAD #256, July '85) and later appeared on the contents page of the MAD Rock Super Special (#74, Spring '91).

For the cover of MAD #270 (April '87), Richard Williams re-worked the cover for the legendary double-album Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band Live 1975-85.

Paul Coker also zinged Bruce Springsteen's iconic Born In The U.S.A. album cover with this opening-page art to "The Bruce Springsteen Songbook," which appeared in MAD #271 (June '87) - one issue AFTER the "Alfred E Street Neuman" cover. Hmmm... Frank Jacobs' re-workings of Springsteen hits included three nervous pro athletes singing "Tinkling For The Doc" ("Dancing In The Dark"), Bill Cosby declaring "I'm For Hire" ("I'm On Fire"), movie-colorizing Ted Turner insisting he'd "Color Them" ("Cover

Some might suggest there's something inappropriate about Rick Tulka's depiction of Bruce Springsteen next to Desmond Devlin's biting dismissal of jingoistic chart-toppers in "The ABCs of Rock." Bear in mind, however, that "Born In The U.S.A." - a stinging rebuke to America's poor treatment of Vietnam vets - is easily one of the most misinterpreted hits of the past 35 years, having even been used a campaign theme by clueless American politicians. "The ABCs of Rock" originally ran in MAD #313 (

Along with his cameo in Scott Bricher's Sgt. Pepper-esque cover art for MAD #420 (August '02), Bruce Springsteen and his lengthy concert performances earned a spot on "MAD's 50 Worst Things About Music," written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Drew Friedman. (For the record: I've never seen Springsteen in concert, and I'd sit through as many of those "inane" stories as he deemed necessary if I ever got the opportunity.)