Did you know today is National Boss Day (or Boss’s Day, or Bosses Day)? Whichever moniker you prefer, my workload is preventing me from being terribly clever today, so please pardon me for taking Route Obvious: Let’s flashback to a little something from Bruce Springsteen (because people call him, er, well you know).

Now the Springsteen tunes I do like are few and far between, and some have a long journey to finding favor with me. I actually disliked “Brilliant Disguise,” the first single from 1987’s Tunnel Of Love, until well into college. Now I surmise that it just took ’til then for the song’s darker, adult themes (relationships, trust, self-doubt) to settle into my brain. It’s truly a great tune, deceptive in its simplicity.

Backed by Roy Bittan, Danny Federici, and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Bruce took “Brilliant Disguise” to the top spot of the Billboard Rock Chart on October 17, 1987. A month later, the song peaked at #5 over on the Hot 100:

Purchase Bruce Springsteen – “Brilliant Disguise” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.