On this day in 1971, the British rock supergroup Humble Pie, featuring former Small Faces singer Steve Marriott and guitarist Peter Frampton, were reportedly upstaged by their own opening act at the Sunshine In venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey. That opener was the little-known Bruce Springsteen Band, and the young Springsteen and his musicians are said to have performed so powerfully that the headliners hesitated to go on at all. The episode, recounted in Peter Ames Carlin's 2012 biography Bruce, has become a notable footnote in the origin story of an artist who went on to become one of the best-selling musicians of all time.

According to saxophonist Howard Feigenbaum, the crowd was so reluctant to let Springsteen's set end that a club manager had to persuade Humble Pie to take the stage. Springsteen had formed his nine-piece band that summer, with a line-up including future E Street Band members Vini Lopez, Garry Tallent, Steven Van Zandt and David Sancious. Trumpet player Harvey Cherlin recalled that Frampton afterwards offered to take the group on a world tour and secure an A&M Records deal, but manager Tinker West and Springsteen were unenthusiastic — though Springsteen later disputed the offer's authenticity. Springsteen auditioned for Columbia's John Hammond in May 1972 and released his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., the following year.