U.S. briefing

How musicians helped shape the memory of 9/11

Twenty-five years after the attacks, music's responses span collective grief, defiance and tributes to New York.

Bruce Springsteen holding a black acoustic guitar outdoors.
Bruce Springsteen holds a black acoustic guitar, with trees and a crowd behind him.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, musicians' responses remain part of how the attacks are remembered. Bruce Springsteen's songs of shared grief, Jay-Z's defiance and the Beastie Boys' tribute to New York illustrate the different ways artists responded to the tragedy.

In an interview, French journalist Jean-Marie Pottier, author of Ground Zero: A Musical History of 9/11, discussed the attacks' influence on American music and musicians. His account also examined how the New York skyline became part of that musical memory.

Pottier described how charity performances gave older songs new significance. Springsteen's My City of Ruins, originally about Asbury Park, New Jersey, became associated with New York when he performed it at America: A Tribute to Heroes. Songs titled Hero, performed by Enrique Iglesias and Mariah Carey, likewise acquired new emotional meaning despite predating the attacks.