It was something of a bonus. David Bowie, spending a night out at the New York club Max's Kansas City, went to see a singer named Biff Rose. Also on the bill that night was a man named Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen started his set out doing a few solo acoustic songs. Bowie's first impression? "I thought he was a Bob Dylan copyist." After that, he was joined by his band, which at that time, probably included Garry Tallent on bass, Clarence Clemons on saxophone, Danny Federici on keyboards, Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez on drums and David Sancious on keyboards.

"I think it was probably the best rock band I'd ever seen in my life," Bowie said. "I thought, 'He might go somewhere.'" He went and bought Springsteen's debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey.

While he liked the album, Bowie noted that "Then it all sort of vanished for a few years. I thought, 'It's amazing how these guys sort of come and go!'"

But the Greetings album certainly made an impression on Bowie: he covered two of the songs from that album, "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City."