Springsteen regularly gave tracks away to other artists he admired. Producer Jimmy Iovine helped convince Bruce to give ‘Because The Night’ to the Patti Smith Group. A few years later, Iovine helped launch Nicks as a solo artist and later became romantically involved with the singer.
For Stevie Nicks the opportunity arose in 1984 to take on an unreleased Springsteen track, Nicks accepted the challenge. At the time, Nicks was recording her third album, Rock a Little, with the help of Iovine, and made a version of ‘Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart’, which Springsteen had penned during the sessions for Born In The USA.
However, the title of the track was reportedly a sticking point, which led to her version of ‘Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart’ never seeing the light of day. According to Simon Morrison’s book Mirror in the Sky: The Life and Music of Stevie Nicks, she altered the chorus to the gender-neutral “Baby, don’t you lose heart”, which irked Springsteen.
Springsteen sent the song to Nicks, and she happily agreed to record it. Springsteen didn’t like one element of her cover, though, so he turned down her version of the song. Because of this, it ended up back in his hands.
The song was upbeat and encouraging with a catchy chorus; it would have felt at home on a Nicks album. She agreed and recorded a version of the tune.
The song’s chorus, which repeats the line “Janey don’t you lose heart,” was the only part of the song Nicks changed. She replaced it with the gender-neutral “Baby don’t you lose heart.”
Per the book Mirror in the Sky: The Life and Music of Stevie Nicks by Simon Morrison, Springsteen reportedly did not like the change, so he rejected her version and requested that she did not release it. Nicks agreed and gave it back to Springsteen. He released his version of the song in 1985.The Boss released it as the B-side to ‘I’m Goin’ Down’ in 1985.
“I finished that song, hysterically crying,” she said. “And I was hooked. When I played my own song later that night, I knew—from that second on—that I was not going to sing a lot of other people’s songs. I was going to write my own.”
