Bruce Springsteen & ‘The Good Wife’

With High Hopes scheduled for a Jan. 14 release on Columbia, Springsteen and the label are going to where the fans are – the TV audience. 

The promotion begins on the CBS television network Jan. 5 after the conclusion of the evening’s episode of “The Good Wife.”  That’s when a special trailer promoting the Jan. 12 episode will air featuring music from the album while prompting viewers to visit CBS.com/Springsteen where they can stream the disc all they want for one week.  The Springsteen camp sez this is the first time a television network website has hosted an album debut.

But it doesn’t stop with the stream.  The Jan. 12 episode of “The Good Wife” will feature the title track from High Hopes along with two other songs from the album – “Hunter Of Invisible Game” and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad.”  Although the latter appeared on Springsteen’s 1995 solo album of the same name, the version included on High Hopes includes members of E Street along with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.  A longtime Springsteen pal,  Morello subbed for Steven Van Zandt when Bruce and E Street toured Australia in 2013.

“We love using music in ‘The Good Wife’ and we always have the music inform the action and the cutting,” said the show’s creators/executive producers Robert King and Michelle King.  “So when the Bruce Springsteen songs became available, we couldn’t believe our luck.  We wished we could use the whole album.”

Touring-wise, Springsteen has yet to announce any North American dates in support of High Hopes.  He’ll take E Street to South Africa at the end of this month for gigs in Cape Town and Johannesburg.  In early February Springsteen and E Street will embark on their second Australian tour in less than 12 months, launching the journey with three nights at the Perth Arena Feb. 5 & 7-8.