Bruce Springsteen channels soul music’s icons on ‘Only the Strong Survive’

Bruce Springsteen has a lot of fans. He’s referred to as a legend, an icon, the biggest rock star alive right now. So maybe that’s why it’s so much fun to hear him turn into the fan on his 21st studio album, Only the Strong Survive.

The album is a collection of covers Springsteen recorded of some of his favorite soul and R&B songs by artists like Jerry Butler, Commodores and the Four Tops. In this session, Springsteen talks about why he wanted to honor these artists and what it was like singing with Sam Moore of Sam & Dave.

Hear the complete session in the audio player above. Complete transcript is available via NPR Music.