Because the Night
Patti Smith Group
1978
Annual listening-list association, separate from the source-supported original release year reviewed in v3.7.
Release: 1978
Release: 1978Source checked
V3.7 reviewed original release year: The Patti Smith Group recording is on Easter in 1978. This is not the date of a later cover or a separately released Springsteen performance.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
Owner-supplied release annotations
Reported dates in 1978.html. Not independently established; neighboring dates can reflect album/single or regional differences.
Patti Smith: Dream of Life - artist press-book biography via PBS
Artist press-book biography identifies poetry with Lenny Kaye, the CBGB band, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty, and the four initial Arista albums and producers. Used for group career context and the Smith/Springsteen writing credit, not private motivation.
Easter - licensed Patti Smith Group album
Original 1978 album, explicitly including Because the Night; 1996 reissue copyright and later covers are distinct. Only the original year is applied.
Inspiration and background
Supplied note - not independently verified
This note came with the supplied collection and has not been independently verified.
Bruce Springsteen wrote the music, and Smith added lyrics inspired by her relationship with Fred "Sonic" Smith.
Evidence scope: Source-provided note, not an established account of the songwriter's intent
Sources for this information
Owner-supplied 1978.html, song-list position 74
Supplied annotation reproduced with attribution; underlying historical claims have NOT been independently verified.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial classification of this recording, informed by the cited artist and original-release context. Genre tags are interpretive, not an assertion that the source assigns an exact taxonomy.
Billboard year-end 1978 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Patti Smith: Dream of Life - artist press-book biography via PBS
Artist press-book biography identifies poetry with Lenny Kaye, the CBGB band, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty, and the four initial Arista albums and producers. Used for group career context and the Smith/Springsteen writing credit, not private motivation.
Easter - licensed Patti Smith Group album
Original 1978 album, explicitly including Because the Night; 1996 reissue copyright and later covers are distinct. Only the original year is applied.
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