Under the Boardwalk | Through the Shattered Lens

Happy birthday to the legendary Bruce Willis. Here he has in the 80s, performing Under The Boardwalk with The Drifters. It’s also our song of the day.

Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be

Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be fallin’ in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)

From the park you hear the happy sound of the carousel
You can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell, yes you can
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be

Yeah, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be

Songwriters: Arthur Resnick / Kenny Young

Today is Bruce Willis’s birthday!

Everyone knows that Bruce Willis is the film star who, late in his career, turned out to be an unexpectedly good character actor. Quentin Tarantino once said that Willis as one of the only modern stars who seemed as if he could easily step into an old gangster movie or film noir and not seem like he was out of place. Tarantino was right.

What is often forgotten is that, early on his career, Willis also pursued musical stardom. He released two albums of R&B covers, the best known of which was the first, The Return of Bruno. Released by Motown, The Return of Bruno was critically dismissed as being a vanity project but Bruce got the last laugh when the album exceeded expectations commercially and Willis went on to appear in movies like Pulp Fiction and 12 Monkeys. Meanwhile, his critics had to settle for appearing in Rolling Stone.

When the album was released in 1987, HBO aired a concert film of Willis performing. The video above is taking from that concert film and it features Bruce singing Under The Boardwalk with The Temptations. Willis’s cover of Under The Boardwalk did not chart in the U.S. but it was hugely popular in the UK, where it reached the second spot on the charts.

Enjoy!