“I always like those big song and dance openings of award shows,” Fallon tells EW.
I thought, ‘What’s the most rocking song we could do that’s fun?
We want to show energy.
Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
What if we did aGleeversion of ‘Born to Run?'"
Fallon had met Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau several times and called him up to make his request.
“I explained to him what it is, [that] it’s respectful.
“He was like, ‘Let me talk to Bruce.’
And then I heard back within an hour.
He’s like, ‘Done, You have the rights.
He’s into it.
He loves it.'”
I’m in the Sinatra room doing my recording.
I’m looking at the producers and I think I see Steve Perry from Journey,” he recalls.
“I’m like ‘This is high pressure now.
What is going on with my life where I need more pressure?’
But then [Steve] came out and gave me some vocal exercises.
He was like, ‘You gotta hit the note like a stack of plates.’
He gave me some advice I didn’t quite understand, but I got direction from Steve Perry.”
“There are so many great little Easter eggs,” Fallon says.
“We had so much fun doing it.
Fallon led the group, strumming on a guitar that resembles Springsteen’s from theBorn to Runalbum cover.
“I thought it’d be fun to come out and do the end live,” he explains.
“Because that shows that you might do it.
That part wasn’t recorded.
You go, ‘Okay, you could screw up the whole thing right here.’
But we didn’t.”
“We couldn’t either, but I think he knew that it was coming from a good place.
I love Bruce Springsteen, so I was nervous.
I hope I did a good job for him.”
The 2020 Primetime Emmys air this Sunday on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
