Legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen is best known for anthems like “Born In the U.S.A.,” “Thunder Road,” and “Born to Run,” but you might not have realized the New Jersey icon also penned hits for other artists. Since his debut studio album in 1973, the musician has taken over American culture with instant rock classics, touching on social issues and connecting people across the country. It’s no wonder he is one of the best-selling musical artists in American history.

Beyond the Springsteen hits you know and love, check out six other great songs you probably didn’t realize he was behind.

1. “Blinded By the Light” // Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
2. “Because the Night” // Patti Smith Group
3. “Protection” // Donna Summer
4. “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” // Dave Edmunds
5. “Light of Day” // Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
6. “Pink Cadillac” // Natalie Cole

“Blinded By the Light” // Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

You don’t need to be a classic rock mega-fan to know this addictive chorus. The track, which was made famous by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, actually appeared on Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973). The album did not become popular until years later, though, and in 1976, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band featured a cover on their album The Roaring Silence—with some changes to the lyrics.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s version hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and most people would assume it was their song all along. According to the British band’s frontman, Chris Thompson, Springsteen apparently hated their version, sharing with Guitar Player:

“[Springsteen] was upset that it had ‘douche’ in it — and that we’d actually changed some of the words. Because ‘wrapped up like a deuce’ were not the original words. They were ‘cut loose like a deuce’ — and I didn’t really want to sing that. I don’t know why.”

“Because the Night” // Patti Smith Group

Another fantastic track of the 1970s is “Because the Night,” performed by the Patti Smith Group for their 1978 album Easter. The love song was co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith, though they didn’t actually work on it together.

The story goes that Springsteen started writing the song but ultimately couldn’t finish it, with just some “mumbling” and the chorus recorded. Smith was eventually able to listen to some of his unfinished tracks, and the rest is history, adding her own lyrics to the song and making it what it is today.

“I was just happy because I realized I had written a great chorus — that, I knew,” Springsteen later recalled. “But I didn’t have the rest of the song! I had me mumbling kind of a few things and had a great hook, I knew that… A great hook, as great as one can be, is still not a great song. And so [Smith] turned it into a great song.”

“Because the Night” went on to reach No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Protection” // Donna Summer

The Queen of Disco is best known for songs like “Hot Stuff,” “I Feel Love,” and “Bad Girls,” rising to fame during 1970s and releasing 17 studio albums throughout her career. For her 10th album in 1982, which was self-titled, she got got some help from The Boss for the Grammy Award-nominated track “Protection.”

Summer’s manager sought out Springsteen, who agreed to write a song for her album. Not only that, but he ended up playing guitar and singing backup vocals for the recording.

Initially, Springsteen intended to give the song “Cover Me” to Summer, but his manager Jon Landau convinced him to keep it for himself. The song ended up on Springsteen’s 1984 album Born in the U.S.A. and hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” // Dave Edmunds

Originally recorded by Springsteen for his 1980 album The River, “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” ultimately did not make the final cut. But it did see the light of day in 1982, when Dave Edmunds included his cover on his album D.E. 7th. Though the song was previously unreleased, Edmunds was given it by Springsteen himself, after meeting backstage at a show.

“I never met Bruce and I didn’t know he knew me from anyone else, really,” Edmunds recalled. “I went along to a gig in Wembley and I was in this backstage area, to get drinks and things like that. It was after the gig and I was talking to a friend of mine, a DJ, who had gotten me the tickets who said ‘Come on, he’s a big fan’. And I was just standing there and someone tapped me on the shoulder and it was one of the crew, and he said, ‘Bruce wants to see you’ and I was whisked back to the dressing room. And Bruce said he had a song for me. He sang it on the spot, picked up the guitar and sang it…and it was perfect for me. ‘It’s yours, man!’ he said. A couple weeks later Bruce made a rough cassette—just guitar and vocal—and gave it to me.”

Edmunds’s version peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Rock Chart, and Springsteen later released his own recording for the bonus disc of the 2003 album The Essential Bruce Springsteen.

“Light of Day” // Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Rock icon Joan Jett, nicknamed the “Godmother of Punk” for good reason, rose to fame through her work with the band The Runways, going on to find solo success with songs like “Bad Reputation” and “I Love Rock ‘N Roll,” the latter of which recorded under Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. In addition to music, Jett has also dabbled in acting, appearing opposite Michael J. Fox in the 1987 Paul Schrader movie Light of Day.

Schrader had actually written the movie for Springsteen—with the original name being Born in the U.S.A, serving as inspiration for Springsteen’s 1984 album—but The Boss declined to appear. He did agree to write a song for the movie, however, thus penning “Light of Day” which would be performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for the soundtrack.

“I met with Bruce, he was flirting around with being in movies, then he decided he didn’t want to do it because of the whole control issue. Bruce is nothing if not a control freak,” Schrader shared with Creative Screenwriting. “So he gave up the idea of being in a movie, it fell out at Paramount, and I went off to Japan. So now I’m in Tokyo, I go into a record store, I pick up an album, and sure enough there it is,Born in the U.S.A.! I looked inside and he credited me.”

“Pink Cadillac” // Natalie Cole

Originally released as a B-side of Springsteen’s 1984 song “Dancing in the Dark,” Natalie Cole tried out her version of “Pink Cadillac” in 1987, believed to be at the suggestion of her producer, which proved to be a great idea. The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who was the daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, put an R&B spin on Springsteen’s track, bringing a whole new sound and vibe to it.

“Pink Cadillac” appeared on Cole’s 1987 album Everlasting, and it reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“I thought to myself, ‘I’m too old to be doing this kind of stuff.’ I couldn’t imagine myself onstage rockin’ to the music like Tina Turner,” Cole later recalled for her 2000 autobiography. “But ‘Pink Cadillac’ turned out to be a big song, and it took us all over the place. With ‘Pink Cadillac,’ I started playing club dates where the gay crowd hung from the rafters—it was my Grace Jones kind of a vibe. The song became very big in Europe. It was wild, and it was a lot of fun. I was really very surprised. I never got a chance to talk to Bruce Springsteen, but word got back that he was blown away by it. He thought it was very cool that a woman could do this, and it would come out so great.”

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