Songfacts®:

• This song encapsulates Bruce Springsteen's journey in the few years leading up to it. He went through a rough time in the late '80s, which he touched on in his 1987 album Tunnel Of Love. Not long after it was released, his marriage to first wife Julianne Phillips fell apart, and he dissolved the E Street Band. He took up with Patti Scialfa, who had been a singer in the band for several years. They had their first child in 1990, and their second in 1991 - they also got married that year.
  
  Suddenly, Springsteen was both a solo artist and a family man. "Living Proof" reveals his rather emotional journey to reach that point, including his struggle through the darkness and crisis of faith. But in the end, he found the light, and his family is the living proof. He and Patti had one more child, and their marriage endured. Summing up the meaning of this song, Bruce said it's "about the common strength it takes to constitute a family."
• "Living Proof" is part of Springsteen's album Lucky Town, which he released together with another album, Human Touch, on March 31, 1992. He finished Human Touch first but was already working on new songs, so he decided to just wait and release both albums together. He didn't get the results he wanted: neither album went to #1 and they both sold poorly compared to his previous albums. This made him reconsider some of his long-held tenets, like refusing to perform on television. Saturday Night Live (produced in New York where Bruce fans abound) had been pursuing him for years, so he finally took them up on the offer, appearing on the May 9, 1992 episode in an effort to boost lagging sales. He played "Living Proof" on the show along with "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" and "Lucky Town." The episode got huge ratings and did help sell more albums. Springsteen started doing a lot more TV, including the late-night talk shows.
• Springsteen performed this song at his MTV Unplugged concert in 1992, which he upended by plugging and playing electric - Bruce could get away with these kind of shenanigans. The special was branded "In Concert/MTV (Un)Plugged" and released as an album and on video in 1993. "Living Proof" was a highlight of the set, and MTV extracted the performance as the song's music video.
• This song got Springsteen feeling emotional when he did interviews to discuss the album, as it tied into his becoming a father. Describing the experience to the LA Times, he said: "It was probably the single most powerful thing I ever felt, and I understood why I ran from it for so long. Because along with it came this enormous fear... probably the fear of loss, the fear of showing your cards, admitting something is that important to you and that you can't have it unless you show yourself. Part of it is you are with somebody who makes you feel safe enough to do that, and Patti just gave me that particular confidence."
• Roy Bittan of the E Street Band stayed on with Springsteen to work on the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums, and also tour with him. He played keyboards on this track and co-produced it with Bruce. Springsteen played the guitars and Gary Mallaber handled drums.