ABSTRACT
Columbia Records seized “I saw rock and roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen” and used it as the headline of a full-page ad featuring the last half of Landau’s column. The line quickly became one of the most misquoted in rock. Landau’s original is almost Dickensian, with its spoofing allusion to the spiritual resurrection of Scrooge, but the other versions made it seem as though Landau were attempting to write advertising copy. Still, if Springsteen’s future at Columbia had seemed a bit hazy before, the column went a long way toward clearing it up.
