# New Jersey & Bruce Springsteen are closely tied together. What other pairings are as tight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463 "2017-09-27T20:35:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/81 "2017-09-29T16:13:56Z")
Guy Lombardo and Freeport, Long Island. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/82 "2017-09-29T17:16:10Z")
Imo the artist has to be big for the pairing to be strong. So: Björk & Iceland Beach Boys & California The Velvet Underground & New York Nirvana & Seattle Elvis & Memphis The Clash & London ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/83 "2017-09-29T17:20:56Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > It’s possible, likely that real people living in Colorado feel no attachment to John Denver at all, but people all over America (all over the world!) associate John Denver with Colorado. When I lived in Colorado in the 1970s people there did associate John Denver with the state. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/84 "2017-09-29T17:27:27Z")
Nobody’s mentioned ABBA & Sweden? You cannot be more associated with a place then they were. And Andrew Lloyd Webber IS London’s West End. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/85 "2017-09-29T17:49:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Ugh, I hope not. > > I’m not a fan of Eminem or Kid Rock, but they come to my mind as local musicians before Nugent. For rock bands, I first think of the MC5 (=Motor City 5). And of Motown, which of course is a whole label, and then of Aretha Franklin (who of course was not on Motown and is also associated with Memphis). Oh, and Mitch Ryder (and the Detroit Wheels). ETA: also often associated with Detroit, but rooted in Ann Arbor: Iggy and the Stooges. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/86 "2017-09-29T18:00:27Z")
Some more from Britain: Joe Cocker: Sheffield (he had an album called _Sheffield Steel_) Black Sabbath: Birmingham Van Morrison: Belfast (one of his nick names is “Belfast Cowboy”) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/87 "2017-09-29T18:42:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned ABBA & Sweden? You cannot be more associated with a place then they were. > > … More than the Beatles and Liverpool or Bruce and New Jersey? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/88 "2017-09-29T19:05:01Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’m not certain what the OP’s intent is, but many responses seem to be merely a list of who came from where. > > A more interesting take would be which musicians are associated with a city or area but are not originally from there. > > Along those lines I would submit the **J. Geils Band** ’s connection with **Detroit**. > > _We consider Detroit our second home. Our home away from home. It is really the first place that went out of the way to help us stay afloat in the years where we were just trying to find an audience. Detroit embraced us in a very special way. - Peter Wolf_ > mmm Likewise I think KISS has a special connection to Detroit as well, despite none of them being from there. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/89 "2017-09-29T19:33:28Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Likewise I think KISS has a special connection to Detroit as well, despite none of them being from there. And I also think of Suzi Quatro, although she made her career in Europe produced in England. I think the thread so far shows that Detroit is music city #1 :). ETA: (sorry Memphis, New Orleans, Nashville, …) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/90 "2017-09-29T20:23:44Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The band Chicago (CTA) and Chicago. Also [Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliotta_Haynes_Jeremiah), the ones who sang about [the pretty blue lights along Lake Shore Drive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Shore_Drive_(song)). ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/91 "2017-10-01T20:26:35Z")
Clash: Notting Hill Pistols: Kings Road Bowie: Brixton / Beckenham Queen: Ken High St Squeeze: Deptford The Damned: Croydon Adelle: Tottenham / BRIT school Amy: Camden / BRIT school Who: Shepherds Bush R. Stones: Twickenham/Richmond etc ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/92 "2017-10-01T21:17:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > > > Barack Obama and Chicago. > > > > Oprah and Chicago. > > What were their best known hits? [U Can’t Touch This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIJc7YE_jw)? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/93 "2017-10-01T23:33:29Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama. For that matter, the band Alabama and the state of Alabama. Dolly Parton and Tennessee (she has her own amusement park there). > [@drad\_dog](#): > > They were from Jacksonville FL The OP didn’t mention that as a qualification, just whether the artist/band and the place are “closely tied together.” Regardless of where they’re actually from, I’m sure the place most people would associate with Skynyrd is (Sweet Home) Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/94 "2017-10-01T23:37:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The OP didn’t mention that as a qualification, just whether the artist/band and the place are “closely tied together.” > > Regardless of where they’re actually from, I’m sure the place most people would associate with Skynyrd is (Sweet Home) Alabama. The flip side of this is that a lot of pairings have been mentioned in this thread where I’m going, “I had no idea where this artist/band was from, so either I’m odd man out here, or the band and the place aren’t particularly closely tied together.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/95 "2017-10-01T23:52:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > But he’s not identified with Minnesota in any way. If anything, Dylan’s strongest associations are with New York City, where he rose to fame, and Woodstock, New York, where he lived for a time starting in the 1960s. First thing that popped into my head: _so I watched the sun come rising from that little Minnesota town, from that little Minnesota town._ - “Went To See the Gypsy” “Girl from the North Country,” of course. And several other Dylan songs reference Minnesota or particular places there, e.g. Duluth in “Something There Is About You” from _Planet Waves_. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/96 "2017-10-02T00:16:14Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > First thing that popped into my head: > > _so I watched the sun come rising from that little Minnesota town, from that little Minnesota town._ - “Went To See the Gypsy” > > “Girl from the North Country,” of course. And several other Dylan songs reference Minnesota or particular places there, e.g. Duluth in “Something There Is About You” from _Planet Waves_. Missed the edit window, but wanted to add that the Dylan/NYC link is mostly about his rise to folkie fame in the early 1960s. But after that, not so much. It’s hard to think of a Dylan song after that period that’s set in NYC. (Oddly enough, I can think of two set in NJ: “Hurricane” and “Tweeter and the Monkeyman.”) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/97 "2017-10-02T10:28:51Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Manchestet. plus The Smiths, Oasis, and Joy Division/New Order. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/98 "2017-10-02T12:51:51Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > You had to go there. > > Boston also is : > Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers > J Geils > Aerosmith > Cars > > I came from there so I’m too close to it. So let me ask: Who do you all think is representative of “Boston”? Another vote for Dropkick Murphys. And I’ll submit Good Charlotte and Maryland for this thread in general. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/99 "2017-10-02T14:37:37Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It’s hard to think of a Dylan song after that period that’s set in NYC. (Oddly enough, I can think of two set in NJ: “Hurricane” and “Tweeter and the Monkeyman.”) Bringing the thread full circle: “Tweeter and the Monkeyman” (a Traveling Wilburys song) is pretty clearly a Springsteen tribute, as the lyrics contain numerous references to Springsteen’s songs (as well as the New Jersey setting). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463/100 "2017-10-02T14:49:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The flip side of this is that a lot of pairings have been mentioned in this thread where I’m going, “I had no idea where this artist/band was from, so either I’m odd man out here, or the band and the place aren’t particularly closely tied together.” Same. Most of the artists mentioned, I recognize but wouldn’t think “Ah yes, the music of [Place]” or that they’re defining. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-bruce-springsteen-are-closely-tied-together-what-other-pairings-are-as-tight/797463.md?page=6)