New York's Bottom Line, Where Bruce Springsteen 'Was on Fire'

‘New York Groove’ Book Excerpt

Photo byWax Radio

The Bottom Line was an intimate Greenwich Village club that hosted major rock, jazz, and blues artists. The 400-seat club was a launch pad for young musicians like Bruce Springsteen, who appeared in 1975. Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, and Van Morrison performed here.

Owners Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky opened the club at 15 West 4th Street in 1974. “What we wanted was an intimate place where people could sit and listen to music,” Pepper told USA Today. “We designed the place so it was almost like an intimate theater. Also, we took the attitude that what we were selling is music. We never had a minimum. There was just an admission when people came in. You could sit and listen to music all night. If you didn’t want to eat and drink, nobody hassled you. We were about music.

“When we signed the lease, we both agreed we would take a name that both of us liked. I called up Stanley and said, ‘I think I’ve found the name . . . What’s the most used expression in this business?’ He immediately said, ‘The bottom line.’ He said it four or five times like he was tasting it. Then he said, ‘That’s it.’ It stood for quality. What is the bottom line? It’s the essence.”

“The owners were nice but notoriously tight,” says Stephen “Doc” Kupka of Tower of Power, who appeared there 30 times. “One time when they gave us a little bit of a raise I remember going to Allan Pepper and telling him, ‘Thanks for helping all of us break even.’ They were nice guys but they were very hard-nosed business people.”

As lesser-known artists were booked into the 400-seat club, crowds dropped off to the point that Pepper and Snadowsky could no longer pay the rent. In a statement posted on the now-defunct Save the Bottom Line website, Springsteen said, “Over the last 20 years, the Bottom Line has made itself a central part of New York City culture. When I think of the most memorable nights in my own career, few match the week of shows we did there in 1975. As a musician, as a citizen, and as one who loves New York City, I truly hope that a solution can be found that allows the Bottom Line and Allan and Stanley to continue their important, valuable work for many years to come.”

That solution could not be found and the Bottom Line closed in 2004. New York University, which owns the building, created classrooms at the site.

Bruce Springsteen Live at the Bottom Line, Aug. 15, 1975

Columbia Records had high hopes for Bruce Springsteen’s third album, Born to Run, when he was booked at the Bottom Line for a five-night run ending Aug. 17, 1975. The Friday, Aug. 15 early show was broadcast live by WNEW-FM. The shows would catapult Springsteen to superstardom; by October, the singer-songwriter was on the cover of Time and Newsweek.

Springsteen and the E Street band gave blistering performances of songs that included “For You,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” Born to Run,” “She’s the One,” and “Thunder Road.”

“On Top at the Bottom Line,” read the New York Daily News headline on Aug. 15. “For two years Bruce Springsteen’s fans have been predicting that his talent will explode him into rock stardom,” the story continued. “From the looks of his reception at the Bottom Line this week, that day finally may have arrived.

“Springsteen gave the impression of sensing a turning point in his career. He was definitely up, his face beaming and full of energy, a couple of times going into the audience. He did two hours and 10 minutes the first show and had the strength to come back and repeat that length.”

“The records never lived up to the live performance,” said Pepper. “You had to see him in person . . . I never saw somebody that charismatic take the stage. I was just floored. He owned the stage. When he came on, he was on fire.”

Frank Mastropolo is the author of New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Shows & Songs That Make NYC Rock and the 200 Greatest Rock Songs series.