10 Best Songs Steven Van Zandt Wrote For Southside Johnny

Feature Photo: Glynnis Jones / Shutterstock.com

Steven Van Zandt has played many roles in his life. His two most famous roles will always be as Bruce Springsteen’s best friend, right-hand man, and guitarist in the E Street Band and, of course, as Silvio on The Sopranos. However, he played a major role as a songwriter and as a former member of Southside Johnny’s band, the Asbury Jukes. Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, and Steven Van Zandt all knew each other and performed in the nightclubs of Asbury Park, New Jersey, in their younger days. When it came time for Southside Johnny to make his mark outside the streets and boardwalks of Jersey, it was Steven Van Zandt who lent a really big helping hand and wrote some of Southside’s biggest hits. We look at 10 of our favorites on this wonderful list of songs written for Southside Johnny by Steven Van Zandt.

# 10 – Better Days

This was the great Southside Johnny comeback album. What made this a comeback album was the inclusion of Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt writing songs again for Southside. There are many great ones on this record. This one was written just by Steven Van Zandt and also served as the title track. Springsteen also composed and released a song titled “Better Days” on his 1993 album, but this is a different song.

# 9 – It’s Been A Long Time

This is such a great one. It was written by Steven Van Zandt, but what we all loved about this one was the shared lead vocals by Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and Southside Johnny. It was the perfect reunion song because the three of them played together in the clubs before they all became famous. It’s a wonderful, heartwarming, celebratory song of friendship.

# 8 – Sweeter Than Honey

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ first album was filled with songs written by a variety of songwriters. It was a mixed bag of songs written by Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen, along with many old-school covers. This grooving tribute to the soul music of the 1960s was one of three songs written solely by Steven Van Zandt.

# 7 – I Played the Fool

While the first two Southside Johnny albums paid much tribute to the sounds of 1950s doo-wop and 1960s Soul music, Southside’s third album was fueled by a much more modern-day, 1970-sounding style. Steven Van Zandt would write most of the material for this record, with the exception of a pair of Springsteen songs and a few collaborations between Southside, Springsteen, and Steven Van Zandt. This was a really good album, and it has forever stood as my favorite Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes record. This track is killer, and it’s driven by an outstanding, highly addictive bassline.

# 6 – How Come You Treat Me So Bad

This one is just pure fun. The great singer Lee Dorsey performs a duet with Johnny about a woman who’s just doing her man wrong. Which man is that now though? “Hey Southside, there’s something familiar about that shirt,” Lee Dorsey sings. Oh boy!

# 5 – Love on the Wrong Side of Town

I was really trying to stick with songs just written by Steven Van Zandt for Southside Johnny, but I just couldn’t leave this one off. This one was co-written with Bruce Springsteen for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ second album, This Time It’s For Real. There are a lot of great songs that Steven Van Zandt wrote with Springsteen for Southside that I wanted to include on this list, but I really just wanted to focus on the solo-written songs; this one is just so special.

# 4 – All I Needed Was You

This is such a fascinating song written by Steven Van Zandt. You can hear so many different styles of music echoing throughout the lyrics, the melodies, and the chord changes. The ’60s, the 50s, and there’s even some sort of 70s punk sensibility that is sprinkled in there. In the end, it’s just a great song.

# 3 – This Time Baby’s Gone for Good

Although this is a very modern-sounding album, this track was definitely sparked by an old-school Phil Spector sound. You could hear it in the rhythm; you could hear it in the mix. This song, as well as “Talk to Me,” which was written by Springsteen, stands as my favorite tracks on this record.

# 2 – This Time It’s for Real

The power of the Asbury Jukes horns is front and center on the title track of Southside Johnny’s sophomore album. I thought that the follow-up to the debut is actually an even stronger record. There’s definitely a lot more Steven Van Zandt and Springsteen on this album, as the band started to put their focus more on original material than covers.

# 1 – I Don’t Want to Go Home

Southside Johnny probably has three signature songs: “The Fever.” “We’re Having a Party, ” and of course, this one: ” I Don’t Want to Go Home. Bruce Springsteen wrote “The Fever,” Sam Cooke wrote We’re Having a Party, ” and Little Steven composed the one presented here, ” I Don’t Want to Go Home.” If we had to just pick one of them as Southside’s signature song, it would be this one. The song was originally released on Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ debut album, also titled I Don’t Want to Go Home. The album was released in 1976. Can you think of any song more perfectly written to close a concert or a night at the bar than this one? And that’s why we’re closing the list with it too.

Make sure to check out the multiple articles we have written already on Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny such as Top 10 Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes Songs and 10 Essential Steven Van Zandt Songs.

For a complete look at the various types of articles we have on the site, make sure to check out our Classic Rock Bands List and Directory

Don’t miss our fun, in-depth article on the Top 500 Classic Rock Songs Of All Time

If you want to see how we rank our favorite bands, check out our Top 200 Classic Rock Bands Of All Time article

If you love interviews with legendary rock stars, we have thousands of them that you can find in our Rock Star Interviews List

ClassicRockHistory.com claims ownership of all original editorial content under global copyright laws. Re-publication without explicit permission is strictly prohibited. Images utilize official Shutterstock licensing or Creative Commons public domain attribution. Product links to album covers are connected to the Amazon Associates program, which may earn this site a small commission on purchases at no additional cost to you.