Bruce Springsteen

Considered by many to be one of the most important musicians to emerge from the 1970s, rock icon Bruce Springsteen (born 1949) tells stories about everyday people in his songs. Whether talking about Vietnam veterans in "Born in the U.S.A.," or reflecting on the aftermath of September 11 in "The Rising," Springsteen makes his characters come alive and touches people.

In his long, successful career, Bruce Springsteen has balanced many roles, including rock star, folk singer, song-writer, cultural icon, and social activist, as well as family man. An award-winning singer and songwriter and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Springsteen is well respected by peers and critics and has always connected with his fans. Writing the introduction for Bruce Springsteen-The Rolling Stone Files, Parke Puterbaugh reflected, "Springsteen directly addressed and shaped the dreams of an anxious generation feeling its way through turbulent, uncertain but hopeful times." The RollingStone.com website noted that "he is, simply put, the last, true voice of rock and roll."

Jersey Boy

Bruce Frederick Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 in Freehold, New Jersey. He was the first child and only son of Adele and Douglas Springsteen. Two girls, Ginny and Pam, would follow. Although the Springsteen family name was Dutch, his father was Irish and his mother was Italian.

In his book It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive-The Promise of Bruce Springsteen, Eric Alterman noted that Bruce's mother was a legal secretary whom he has fondly described as "just like Superwoman." Alterman described Bruce's father as "an embittered man who struggled to find a place for himself in the local economy." Dave Marsh, writer of Bruce Springsteen-Two Hearts-The Definitive Biography, 1972-2003, added that the Springsteen family "continually struggled to make ends meet" and were "at the poorer end of the American working class."

Alterman wrote that Springsteen's childhood was somewhat "oppressive," and that "his relationship with his father involved little but discipline and rebellion." In addition, Springsteen hated school, and often endured the wrath of the nuns who were his grade school teachers. Music was an escape, and Springsteen was said to be inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing Elvis and the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. He taught himself to play the guitar. When he was 16, his mother took out a loan to buy him a guitar for Christmas.

However, both of his parents wanted him to pursue a career other than music, especially his father. This led to more conflict in the house. Springsteen has recalled during his concerts, "When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house: one was me, the other was my guitar." But Springsteen kept practicing, never let go of his dream, and began playing in area bands on a regular basis.

New Jersey Music Scene

Springsteen joined his first rock band, the Castiles, in 1965. As noted in American Decades, "When his family moved to California in 1969, Springsteen stayed behind, living along the beaches and boardwalks of Asbury Park [New Jersey] and playing in local bands." Those bands included Steel Mill, the Rogues, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, and the Bruce Springsteen Band. That is how he met many of the musicians who would later become his E Street Band.

Alterman reflected that it was early in his musical career when "Springsteen first became saddled with the horribly inappropriate nickname 'the Boss.' Springsteen detested the nickname. 'I hate bosses. I hate being called' "the Boss," 'he has complained."

In 1972, Springsteen's fortunes improved. At the age of 23, Springsteen signed a deal with fledgling songwriter-producer Mike Appel. This partnership helped Springsteen in the short term and jump-started his career, but the relationship would haunt him. Although Appel dedicated himself to Springsteen's career, he was considered by many to be too abrasive. However, Appel soon arranged for an audition with Columbia Records, and Springsteen impressed the executives and earned a recording contract.

"Born to Run" Phenomenon

Springsteen released Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J in 1973. Sales of the album and radio airplay were minimal. Springsteen was being touted as "the new Bob Dylan," and it has been said that radio disc jockeys were put off by that hype. However, some critics quickly recognized Springsteen's talent. When The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle was released later in 1973, more critics took notice, but disc jockeys played the second release even less.

But Springsteen was gaining a reputation as a thrilling live performer. Music critic Jon Landau wrote a review of a Springsteen's show and stated, "I saw rock 'n' roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." The pair met shortly after that review was published and became friends.

Springsteen wanted Landau to produce his next album, a decision that did not sit well with Appel. However, the marketing campaign for Born to Run, which was released in 1975, soon took off and worked everyone into a frenzy over Springsteen. He ended up on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week in October 1975.

The single "Born to Run" made Springsteen a star. He told Entertainment Weekly, "with that one I was shootin' for the moon." Rolling Stone wrote that Springsteen has called "Born to Run" his favorite song.

Biographer Marsh noted, "Born to Run was an instant classic. Anyone who loves rock and roll must respond to … the rough and tough music, the lyrics that sum up the brightest hopes - and some of the darkest aspects - of the rock and roll dream."

Legal Battle Delayed Music

However, Springsteen's success was short-lived. He soon found himself involved in lawsuits with Appel, his manager. As noted on RollingStone.com, "Springsteen fought to break his contract, which not only bound him to Appel, but surrendered complete control of his song catalog." Springsteen wanted to have control over his music and finances, and also wanted to work with Landau. Appel countersued, and Springsteen was kept out of the studios for two years.

During the lawsuits, Springsteen had success with other artists recording his music. As noted on the VH1 Website, Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of his song "Blinded By The Light" and Patti Smith recording a cover of his tune "Because The Night." The Pointer Sisters also recorded his material. Ultimately, Springsteen won his case. Landau became his manager and producer, and Springsteen was in control of his catalog and career.

In 1978, Springsteen released his next album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. In 1995, in the liner notes of Bruce Springsteen-Greatest Hits, Springsteen reflected, "this was the record, Darkness on the Edge of Town, where I figured out what I wanted to write about, the people that mattered to me, and who I wanted to be. I saw friends and family struggling to lead decent, productive lives and I felt an everyday heroism in this."

The release The River followed in 1980 and produced his first top ten hit "Hungry Heart." However, in the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, it was the title song from The River that Springsteen described "as a breakthrough in his writing." The all-acoustic Nebraska followed in 1982.

Springsteen worked on songs for Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A. at the same time. Ultimately, he decided to put his focus on Nebraska and completed and released that album first. Frank Stefanko, author and photographer of the book Days of Hopes and Dreams-An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen, noted, "Springsteen has an unbelievable work ethic. He can work from early morning to late night. For him, it was all about the package, the art. It was all about making it right, and if it wasn't right, he would go back and do it over again until it was. Only then could it be released."

"Born in the U.S.A."

Despite Springsteen's popularity with his fans and with the critics, no one was prepared when Born in the U.S.A. exploded onto the music scene in 1984 and became a blockbuster hit. As noted on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, Springsteen put together most of the album from the 100 songs he had recorded while working on both Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A.

The album had more mass appeal than Springsteen's earlier work. The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture added that "music video introduced Springsteen to a younger generation" and boosted sales. The album had had seven Top Ten singles, including the number two hit, "Dancing in the Dark" which Springsteen described as "my big smash … teen idol status at 35?!" The other Top Ten hits were "Cover Me," "Born in the U.S.A.," "I'm On Fire," "Glory Days," "I'm Goin' Down," and "My Hometown." A sold-out world tour followed.

However, many misunderstood some of the songs as patriotic anthems. DiMartino explained, "Ironically, one of the darkest was the album's title track–which many at the time mistakenly took to be an expression of blind, my-country-right-or-wrong patriotism, when it was anything but." Even U.S. President Ronald Reagan claimed to be a big fan of the music, and mentioned Springsteen and his songs in campaign speeches.

Springsteen told Alterman, "I was not satisfied with the Born in the U.S.A. record. I did not think I made all the connections I wanted to make." However, Alterman countered, "Commercially, Springsteen made one of the biggest connections any artist has ever made." He concluded, "By the time he finished the 155 shows of the Born in the U.S.A. tour, Bruce Springsteen had become an inescapable icon in American culture." When interviewed by Rolling Stone reporter James Henke in 1992, Springsteen reflected, "I really enjoyed the success of Born in the U.S.A., but by the end of that whole thing, I just kind of felt "Bruced" out."

Springsteen met model/actress Julianne Phillips in the summer of 1984, and they married in May of 1985. He participated in the USA for Africa recording of "We Are the World" and joined former E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt on the Artists United Against Apartheid song "Sun City." He reached the Top Ten in the United Kingdom with "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." He also released a 3-CD set Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live 1975-1985, which entered the charts at number one.

Springsteen on His Own

Springsteen released Tunnel of Love in 1987 and became romantically involved with backup singer/guitarist Patti Scialfa. The two had known each other for many years from the New Jersey music scene and had begun to work together during the Born in the U.S.A. tour. Springsteen and his wife divorced, and he and Scialfa married in June 1991. They had three children: Evan, Jessica, and Sam.

The family settled in Los Angeles, and it would be almost five years before Springsteen released another album. Many eagerly awaited Human Touch and Lucky Town, two new albums he released in the spring of 1992 without the E Street Band. The albums started strong but quickly fizzled on the charts. Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Greg Sandow pondered the "demise" of Springsteen's career, calling the two albums "something that smells like failure, commercial failure."

However, Springsteen quickly recovered. In 1993, film director Jonathan Demme asked Springsteen to write a song for his latest film, Philadelphia, which starred Tom Hanks. The result was the moving ballad "Streets of Philadelphia," which earned Springsteen an Academy Award for best song, as well as four Grammy Awards.

More success followed. He released Greatest Hits in 1995, which included three new songs recorded with the E Street Band, whom he hadn't worked with in several years. Also in 1995, he released The Ghost of Tom Joad, which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He then went on his first solo acoustic tour. Springsteen also made the news when he shocked his former classmates and attended his 30th high school reunion in 1997.

Reunited with Band

In November 1998, Springsteen released the CD box set Tracks, which contained 66 songs, 56 of which were previously unreleased. Writing for Billboard, Melinda Newman commented, "Tracks is a way to let the listeners into his creative process, a chance to broaden their understanding of how each record was created." In addition, rumors of a tour started to swirl.

Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15, 1999, and less than a month later, his reunion tour with the E Street Band kicked off in Barcelona, Spain. In July, the U.S. leg of the tour kicked off with the first of 15 sold-out shows at New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena. Stefanko noted that Springsteen "explodes on stage. For an entire three-and-a-half hour show, he maintains a constant energy that touches everybody in that theater."

Controversy surrounded Springsteen in June 2000. As noted on the VH1 Website, "Springsteen unveiled a new song, "American Skin," at a performance at Madison Square Garden [in New York City]. A scathing comment on the police shooting of the unarmed Bronx resident Amadou Diallo, the song prompted calls by the NYPD for a boycott of the singer's concerts." The Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service added, "Springsteen's song has been striking the wrong note with cops since it was released."

The Rising

New York City and the entire United States experienced major shock and losses when terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. When it was announced that Springsteen was working on an album inspired by the events of September 11, many were skeptical. Although the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service acknowledged that Springsteen's "greatest asset has always been his ability to craft anthemic songs about everyday people," many had their doubts.

Released in the summer of 2002, The Rising met with critical acclaim. Writing for the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, Brian McCollum called the release "gracious, stirring and tasteful. It strikes an appropriate balance between mourning and hope, painting narratives of cops, firefighters and widows that ultimately ring universal." It was also the first full-length CD by Springsteen and the E Street Band since Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen won three Grammy Awards for this work and began another world tour.

Still Going Strong

The year 2003 was a busy year for Springsteen. He received the Les Paul Award at the 19th annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards, released The Essential Bruce Springsteen in November, and in 2004 received a Grammy for "Disorder in the House," his collaboration with the late Warren Zevon. On December 24, the Pollstar website announced that Springsteen was the number one concert draw in North America in 2003. The website noted that Springsteen's fans attended his 47 shows in record numbers and "shelled out $115.9 million to 'come on up for the rising.'"

Stefanko noted that Springsteen "remains strong in his commitment to his subject matter. He hasn't sold out in terms of what he's writing or singing about. He maintained everything through honesty-honesty in the music, honesty about his sense of self-worth, and honesty in his dealings with people." He concluded, "He's one of a kind, an original legend."

Books

Alterman, Eric, It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive-The Promise of Bruce Springsteen, Little, Brown and Company, 1999.

"Bruce Springsteen," American Decades CD-ROM, Gale Research, 1998.

"Bruce Springsteen," St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 5 vols., St. James Press, 2000.

Contemporary Musicians, Volume 25, Gale Research, 1999.

Cullen, Jim, Born in the U.S.A.-Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition, Harper Collins, 1997.

The Editors of Rolling Stone, Introduction by Parke Puterbaugh, Bruce Springsteen-The Rolling Stone Files, Hyperion, 1996.

Marsh, Dave, Bruce Springsteen-Two Hearts-The Definitive Biography, 1972-2003, Routledge, 2004.

Sandford, Christopher, Springsteen-Point Blank, Da Capo Press, 1999.

Stefanko, Frank, Days of Hopes and Dreams-An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen, Billboard Books, 2003.

Periodicals

Billboard, November 7, 1998.

Billboard Bulletin, June 27, 2003.

Entertainment Weekly, June 5, 1992; June 20, 1997; December 19, 1997; November 1, 1999; February 28, 2003; November 21, 2003;

Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, July 29, 2002; August 6, 2002; October 8, 2003.

The Nation, October 6, 1984.

Newsweek, October 27, 1975.

People Weekly, December 4, 1989; April 6, 1992.

The Real Paper, May 22, 1974.

Rolling Stone, September 8, 1988; August 6, 1992;

Time, October 27, 1975.

Online

"Awards for Philadelphia (1993)," IMDB (internet movie database) website,http://www.imdb.com (December 26, 2003).

"Bruce Springsteen," VH1.com website,http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/springsteen_bruce/artist.jhtml (December 20, 2003).

"Bruce Springsteen," Grammy Awards website,http://www.grammy.com/awards/search/index.aspx (December 20, 2003).

"Bruce Springsteen," RollingStone.com website,http://www.rollingstone.com (December 20, 2003).

"Bruce Springsteen nominated for Grammy Award," Bruce Springsteen News: BruceSpringsteen.net website,http://brucespringsteen.net (December 20, 2003).

"Springsteen #1 for 2003," Pollstar-The Concert Hotwire,http://www.pollstar.com (December 27, 2003).

"Yahoo! LAUNCH-Bruce Springsteen: Bio," LAUNCH Music on Yahoo! website, http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/ (December 20, 2003).

"Welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum," Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum website,http://www.rockhall.com/ (December 20, 2003).

Bruce Springsteen

Singer, songwriter

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and rock legend Bruce Springsteen has framed the working man's concerns with a combination of muscular, hard-driving rock and a poet's sensitive flair for phrasing. Time and Newsweek magazines ran simultaneous, competing cover stories on him in 1975 and, like Elvis Presley in the 1950s, Springsteen embodied rock and roll in the American culture of the 1980s. His 1984 release, the multi-platinum Born in the U.S.A., was a rock landmark which featured on the cover the back of a man standing before a U.S. flag wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a red bandanna tucked into his back pocket. This Springsteen album cover was a cultural image as familiar to 1980s America as then-president Ronald Reagan. It was one of the biggest-selling records in history, and launched seven top ten singles.

Springsteen won an Academy Award and four Grammy Awards for his haunting ballad "Streets of Philadelphia," which was penned for the film Philadelphia in 1993, and in 1995 he won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for The Ghost of Tom Joad. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15, 1999. A reviewer for Billboard described Springsteen as "a veteran who has successfully juggled the roles of rock star, pop icon, folk hero, social activist, and everyman. As devoted as his fans are to him, the ‘Boss’ is just as committed to them, keeping their wishes uppermost in mind at every step in his illustrious career."

Springsteen was born in Freehold, New Jersey, in 1949; his mother, Adele, worked as a secretary and his father, Douglas, took odd jobs and was noted for being a superb pool player. Although Springsteen is a Dutch name, he was also Italian, and his ancestors were from the Neapolitan region of Italy. Both of his parents wanted him to pursue a career route other than music, and his father was particularly strident about the topic. As a result, Springsteen and his father often experienced a clash of wills. Some of Springsteen's material would reflect their battles and reconciliations, in such songs as "Adam Raised A Cain" from Darkness on the Edge of Town, "Independence Day" from The River, and "Walk Like A Man" from Tunnel of Love.

Springsteen told Billboard's Melinda Newman about the time his mother bought an electric guitar for him, "The guitar was $60. That was an enormous, enormous amount of money at the time. … So [buying] the guitar was a great, a very meaningful gesture of faith at that time from her." Springsteen never wavered from his goal of becoming a musician, and in 1965 he joined his first rock band, The Castiles, at the age of 16. Springsteen's parents relocated to California when he was 15, but he chose to remain behind in New Jersey. He briefly took classes at Ocean County Community College, and had some poems published in the school's literary magazine, but his heart was in performing and playing music. He began playing in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and in New York City, and led a variety of groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Steel Mill, The Rogues, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, and the Bruce Springsteen Band, where he met many of the musicians who would later comprise his E Street Band.

In 1972, at the age of 23, Springsteen signed a management deal with a fledgling songwriter/producer named Mike Appel and his partner, Jim Cretecos. The contract started Springsteen's career and helped him in the short run. Appel was wholeheartedly devoted to Springsteen's career. He fought to have the musician's material played over the radio and to provide him with the largest concert audiences possible. Appel set up an audition for Springsteen with legendary Columbia Records Artist and Repertoire (A&R) executive John Hammond, who quickly signed him to the label. Springsteen told Newman, "I just stood up and sang the best songs I had. I was incredibly excited. I felt very confident about what I was doing and being there, and nervous at the same time."

Springsteen released Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, in 1973, but sales and airplay were minimal. A few critics, however, noted and publicized Springsteen's early talent. When The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle was released later in 1973, the critics approved, but DJs gave it minimal play. In the meantime, Springsteen's concerts were growing more and more popular, and he was learning how to connect with and energize his audiences. After seeing a show at Cambridge's Harvard Square Theatre, music critic Jon Landau penned the memorable line, "I saw rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen," in The Real Paper. Landau's review was posted in a Boston concert venue/bar's window. One day Landau encountered Springsteen standing outside reading the review, and the two became friends. Springsteen wanted Landau to co-produce Born to Run in 1975, which displeased and displaced Appel. Born to Run was an immensely popular record, and as a result of its popularity, Springsteen was featured simultaneously on the covers of both Newsweek and Time in 1975. Born to Run featured a Phil-Spector-like "wall of sound" production, combined with rich, urbane lyrics. Springsteen followed the album's release with tours in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. He also sued to break his contract with Appel in order to regain control of his finances and his songs. Appel counter-sued to keep Springsteen from recording with Landau, and the lawsuits kept Springsteen away from the recording studio for two years. Springsteen finally won his case, Landau became his manager and producer, and Springsteen took control of his catalogue and career.

For the Record …

Born in 1949 in Freehold, NJ; son of Adele (a secretary) and Douglas; married Julianne Phillips, 1987; married Patti Scialfi, 1991; children (with Scialfi): Evan, Jessica, Sam. Education: Attended classes at Ocean County Community College.

Released Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, 1973; The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, 1973; Born to Run, 1975; released Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978; The River, 1980; Nebraska, 1982; Born in the U.S.A., 1984; 3-CD set Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live 1975-1985, 1986; Tunnel of Love, 1987; simultaneously released Human Touch and Lucky Town, 1992, both without the E Street Band; recorded theme song "Streets of Philadelphia" for film Philadelphia, 1993; released Greatest Hits, 1995; The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995; made first solo acoustic tour, released 4-CD box set Tracks, 1998; released The Rising, 2002; toured with "Vote For Change," 2004; released Devils and Dust, 2005, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, 2006, and Magic, 2007.

Awards: Academy Award and four Grammy Awards for title theme song "Streets of Philadelphia," from film Philadelphia, 1993; Grammy Award, Best Contemporary Folk Album, for The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, March 15, 1999; Grammy Awards: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album, all for The Rising, 2002; Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal (with Warren Zevon), for "Disorder in the House," 2003; Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, for "Code of Silence," 2004; Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, for "Devils and Dust," 2005; Best Traditional Folk Album, for We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, 2006; Best Long Form Music Video, for Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run, 2006.

Addresses: Record company—Columbia Records, 2100 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404, telephone: (310) 449-2100. Web site—http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html.

Springsteen released Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978, followed by The River in 1980 and Nebraska in 1982. The hit single "Hungry Heart" was included on The River, and it became his first album to reach Billboard 's number one spot. Springsteen's all-acoustic Nebraska featured the stories that Springsteen held dear to his heart: bleak, haunting, wistful tales of those alienated from the American dream. He told Newman, "I enjoyed making Nebraska so much, I pursued it before I went back to making Born in the U.S.A." Nebraska reached number three on the Billboard album chart. The multi-platinum Born in the U.S.A. was released in 1984, and became one of the biggest-selling releases in rock history. It spawned seven top ten singles, including "Dancing in the Dark," which peaked at number two on the Billboard singles chart. The album's success led to sold-out tours and to the release of the 3-CD set Live: 1975-1985, which entered the Billboard charts at number one in 1986. Springsteen wed model/actress Julianne Phillips in 1986, released Tunnel of Love in 1987, and then became romantically involved with backup singer/guitarist Patti Scialfa. After leaving Phillips, Springsteen had a son with Scialfa in 1990, and they were married in 1991.

In 1992 he simultaneously released Human Touch and Lucky Town, both recorded without the E Street Band. The albums entered the charts at number two and number three. In 1993 Springsteen recorded the theme song "Streets of Philadelphia" for the Jonathan Demme film Philadelphia, which starred actor Tom Hanks. The haunting, poignant ballad earned Springsteen an Oscar and four Grammy Awards. He released Greatest Hits in 1995, which included three new songs recorded with the E Street Band.

The first incarnation of the E Street Band was formed in 1972 and included saxophone player Clarence Clemons, organist Danny Federici, drummer Vini Lopez, keyboard player David Sancious, and bassist Garry Tallent. Federici and Lopez had also played with Springsteen in the band Steel Mill. The E Street Band was named after a street in Belmar, New Jersey, where the band rehearsed in a basement. Lopez left the band first, followed by Sancious, and they were replaced by keyboard player Rolf Bilton and drummer Max Weinberg. The E Street Band broke up in 1989, but continued to play with Springsteen on and off throughout the 1990s.

Springsteen released The Ghost of Tom Joad in 1995, an album reminiscent of his earlier acoustic release Nebraska. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and its single "Dead Man Walking" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Springsteen followed the album's release with his first solo acoustic tour. Springsteen attended his thirtieth high school reunion in 1997 at the Holiday Inn in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, underscoring his reputation as an "average guy."

Springsteen released the four-CD box set Tracks in November of 1998. Tracks was the first box set ever to debut at number one on the Billboard charts. The set featured 66 songs, 56 of which had never been released. Springsteen had once helped induct Bob Dylan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his own turn came on March 15, 1999, when he was formally inducted. Springsteen told Newman, "Hopefully when I go into my work, there are things that help my fans sort through their own struggles and their own issues. You know, that's just what I've always tried to do, and that's what I still try to do."

In the wake of Tracks, Springsteen and the E Street Band joined forces once again for an extensive tour that began in 1999 and extended into the summer of 2000. In the final concerts of the tour, Springsteen and the band sold out ten shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Following up the concerts with CD and DVD versions of Live in New York City, Springsteen and the E Street Band then went on to record their first studio album together in 18 years. A popular and critical success, The Rising was reflective of the American experience following 9/11. "The Rising is one of the very best examples in recent history of how popular art can evoke a time period and all of its confusing and often contradictory notions, feelings, and impulses," wrote Thom Jurek in All Music Guide.

In 2004 Springsteen became more active on the U.S. political scene, encouraging citizens to vote against George W. Bush and joining the "Vote for Change" tour with artists like the Dixie Chicks and R.E.M. In 2005 he issued Devils and Dust, an album that resembled earlier recordings such as Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad. According to David Fricke in Rolling Stone, "Devils and Dust is, in striking and affecting ways, Springsteen's most audacious record since the home-demo American Gothic of 1982's Nebraska."

Springsteen surprised fans by releasing yet another new album in 2006, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Unlike other Springsteen albums, however, he chose to forego his own songs in favor of traditional songs popularized by folk music icon Pete Seeger. "And even if you have no patience for (or interest in) the history of the songs, or their possible meanings," noted Stephen Thomas Erlewine in All Music Guide, "it's easy to enjoy We Shall Overcome on pure musical terms: it's a rambunctious, freewheeling, positively joyous record unlike any other in Springsteen's admittedly rich catalog." In 2007 Springsteen recorded Magic with the E Street Band, their first recording together since The Rising in 2002. "Not only is Magic Springsteen's most accessible album, start to finish, since 1987's Tunnel of Love," wrote Glenn Gamboa in Newsday, "it is closest thematically to Born in the U.S.A., a slice of American life and its mix of ups and downs."

Speaking of his work in Spin, Springsteen said, "I want people to look onstage and see themselves. That idea of the band as a representative community—all the bands I like have some element of that. It's thrilling when you see that communication."

Selected discography

Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, Columbia, 1973.

The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle, Columbia, 1973.

Born to Run, Columbia, 1975.

Darkness at the Edge of Town, Columbia, 1978.

The River, Columbia, 1980.

Nebraska, Columbia, 1982.

Born in the U.S.A., Columbia, 1984.

Live: 1975-1985, Columbia, 1986.

Tunnel of Love, Columbia, 1987.

Chimes of Freedom, Columbia, 1988.

Lucky Town, Columbia, 1992.

Human Touch, Columbia, 1992.

Philadelphia, Epic, 1993.

Greatest Hits, Columbia, 1995.

The Ghost of Tom Joad, Columbia, 1995.

Tracks, Columbia, 1998.

The Rising, Columbia, 2002.

Devils and Dust, Columbia, 2005.

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Columbia, 2006.

Magic, Columbia, 2007.

Sources

Periodicals

The Advocate, May 1996.

Billboard, November 7, 1998.

CD Review, April 1996.

Esquire, December 1988.

Guitar World, October 1995.

Mojo, May 1998; June 1994.

Musician, July 1995; November 1992.

New Music Express, March 1996.

Newsweek, October 27, 1975.

Q Magazine, August 1992.

The Real Paper, May 22, 1974.

Time, October 27, 1975.

Online

"Bruce Springsteen," All Music Guide,http://www.allmusic.com (January 7, 2008).

"Bruce Springsteen," Rolling Stone,http://www.rollingstone.com (January 7, 2008).

"Feeling's Mutual," Spin,http://www.spin.com (January 7, 2008).

"Review: Springsteen and E Street Band's ‘Magic’," Newsday,http://www.newsday.com (January 7, 2008).

—Kimberly Taylor and Ronald D. Lankford, Jr.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Born: Freehold, New Jersey, 23 September 1949

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: The Rising (2002)

Hit songs since 1990: "Streets of Philadelphia," "Secret Garden," "The Rising"

With a career that spans more than four decades, Bruce Springsteen remains one of America's most popular—and populist—rock songwriters and performers. The popularity of his working-class sensibility is reflected in the tens of millions of albums he has sold. Springsteen has maintained a connection to fans by evoking the struggles and dreams of average Americans through music known for both lyrical depth and a hard-rock backbeat. While early critics hailed him as a successor to Bob Dylan, the folk-rock auteur of the 1960s, Springsteen made evident his direct debt to Woody Guthrie, the folk music radical of the 1930s, and to rock originators such as Roy Orbison and Chuck Berry. Backed by the expansive E Street Band—whose core personnel has, for the most part, remained the same since

his club days in the early 1970s—Springsteen is known for marathon live shows in which he translates the private experiences of his songs into stadium-sized euphoria.

Early Career

One of two children, Springsteen was born into a middle-class family. He skipped college after high school and moved to New York City. After discovering he was too late for the legendary folk scene in the city's Greenwich Village district, he returned to New Jersey and settled in Asbury Park. The dying coastal town became the mythic backdrop of his songs. Springsteen returned to Greenwich Village to play acoustic solo gigs, but mostly he played with several club bands in Asbury Park before forming the E Street Band. He was eventually signed to Columbia Records by John Hammond Sr., the industry veteran who also discovered legends such as the jazz singer Billie Holiday, the swing jazz bandleader Count Basie, and Bob Dylan.

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle indeed bore traces of Dylan, including wildly hallucinatory lyrics and story songs featuring misfit characters on the fringe.

Breakthrough

Although they received favorable reviews, both sold poorly. Springsteen's breakthrough came with Born to Run in 1975. The album features the immortal "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," along with seven other songs set within a sweeping sonic backdrop. Its production is similar to the "Wall of Sound" technique of the 1960s producer Phil Spector. Springsteen's epic-sounding album became a Top 10 hit, and Springsteen was praised for bringing back classic rock at a time when heavy metal and progressive art rock reigned.

Over the next few years Springsteen expanded his musical range, but only slightly. He recorded the lean and gritty rock album Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978 and followed it up with the two-album set The River, which again presents Springsteen as a serious chronicler of working-class drama. But, if only to show off the E Street Band's ensemble sound, it features several bar band party jams.

In 1982 Springsteen countered his image as a rock band front man with Nebraska. Originally meant to be demos (they were recorded on a four-track cassette machine at his home), the rough recordings feature Spring-steen by himself, singing first-person narratives set in rural America. The ten songs were compared to the work of the short-story writer Raymond Carver for their gothic themes and attention to detail.

Commercial Peak

Springsteen's commercial peak came with the 1984 album Born in the U.S.A., which sold more than 20 million copies and led to a two-year-long stadium tour. Seven of its twelve songs were hit singles. The cover art features a picture of Springsteen's backside shot in front of an American flag; the title song recounts the agony of a Vietnam veteran who feels left behind by his country. The album's slick production and heavy synthesizers broadened Springsteen's pop appeal, but many long-time fans were dismayed: The music lacked the edge or tension found in Springsteen's previous recordings.

The title song and the album were interpreted by some as a pledge to a type of patriotic fervor represented by the "Morning in America" campaign, President Ronald Reagan's agenda to restore conservative values in the United States. Springsteen was asked by Reagan staff to endorse the president's 1984 reelection bid and to lend the song to the cause. When he refused, Reagan invoked Spring-steen in his speeches anyway; Springsteen publicly expressed doubts that Reagan had listened to Nebraska, the set of songs thought to represent the dark side of the country's economy by giving voice to those on the bottom rungs of the ladder.

Springsteen spent the early 1990s trying to come to terms with the larger-than-life image spawned during the 1980s. In 1991 he married his backup singer, Patty Scialfa, after divorcing his first wife, the actress Julianne Phillips. The breakup of his first marriage is thought to be the driving force bind his Tunnel of Love (1987), which dwells on the dark underpinnings of relationships.

Exploring New Directions

Entering the decade and a new marriage, Springsteen looked for ways to realign his life in other ways as well. Much to his fans' surprise, he moved from New Jersey to posh Beverly Hills. He also fired the E Street Band, explaining he wanted to experiment with other musicians. In 1992 he released two albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town, both recorded by himself and studio musicians, including Scialfa and the E Street pianist Roy Bittan. The heavily textured Human Touch continued in the style of somber introspection laced with synthesizers that he showcased on Tunnel of Love. Lucky Town was a hardy collection of generic rockers. Most critics and fans balked, and the two albums are widely considered the least successful of his career. Springsteen did tour to support both records, but he went on the road with an entirely new band. The result of that period was the European release of an MTVUnplugged appearance he taped while on the road.

By this point, the alternative rock era was in full swing with new bands such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Pearl Jam dominating the charts. For the first time in his career, Springsteen was a veteran artist unable to attract a new generation of fans. He transformed himself from a rock bandleader back into the singer/songwriter of Nebraska. In 1993 he released "The Streets of Philadelphia," a song written for the Tom Hanks film Philadelphia and sung from the perspective of a person suffering from AIDS. It resulted in an Oscar for best song and five Grammy awards.

The solitary spirit of the song was a natural bridge to his next album, The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), a collection of personal and political narratives of the dispossessed named for a central character in The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck's novel of the Great Depression.

After a solo tour Springsteen sought to reconnect himself to his glory days. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and the same year reunited with the E Street Band for a triumphant tour that continued through 2000. Refusing to play only his greatest hits, Springsteen juggled the set list each night, adding in obscurities from his early albums, occasional covers, and a new song, "American Skin (41 Shots)." Written in response to the shooting death of a twenty-year-old West African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, by New York City police officers, the song sparked controversy as it challenged the image of Springsteen as a flag-waver for the status quo.

Around this time, Springsteen began to flood the market with products to capitalize on his newfound stature as a heritage artist. Along with a greatest hits CD in 1995, he released Songs, a coffee-table book of handwritten lyrics, Tracks, a four-CD boxed set of outtakes, and Live in New York City, a concert from his reunion tour.

By the time Springsteen stepped into the studio to record with the E Street Band for the first time since 1984, the terrorist attacks of September 11 had taken place. In 2002 Springsteen released the result of those sessions, The Rising. Although its accompanying media blitz informed the public it was written directly in response to September 11, the music was nuanced. The songs recapture the bar-band fraternity of the E Street Band. Unlike many jingoistic songs prevalent at the time, The Rising paused to examine subtle areas. The song "Worlds Apart" involves the hardship between lovers of different religious traditions, and "Paradise" opens with the perspective of a suicide bomber. The Rising won a 2003 Grammy as the year's best rock album.

Bruce Springsteen is a lyricist of depth, an introspective singer/songwriter, a renowned arena rock performer, and a complex political troubadour. It is his unflinching humanity that makes his music compelling.

Spot Light: The Ghost of Tom Joad

Bruce Springsteen's dilemma in the 1990s was to find a way to reinvigorate his songwriter sensibilities after playing the rock megastar. The two albums with which he entered the decade—Human Touch and Lucky Town —were criticized for not taking risks and sounding like a rehashing of his mid-career commercial successes such as The River. That's why, when The Ghost of Tom Joad hit stores in 1995, it threw a curve to fans conditioned to expect more of the same. The album was far from commercial. A bookend to Nebraska, it features twelve quiet character songs that place the listener inside the marginal worlds of illegal immigrants, Vietnam vets, migrant workers, and prisoners trying to go straight. With a title character plucked from The Grapes of Wrath —John Steinbeck's 1939 novel of the plight of migrant workers during the Great Depression—and a somber spirit that evoked the songs of early American folk songwriter Woody Guthrie, Springsteen evokes an earlier era of folk-music storytelling, drawing attention to life on the fringes and infusing it with dignity. The album allowed Springsteen to try a different performing tactic. He set off on a solo tour, playing small theaters across the country. Onstage in front of quiet rooms, he transformed some of his early rock hits into quiet folk ballads. That included the song "Born in the U.S.A.," which he softened and transformed into a nightmarish blues song. The Ghost of Tom Joad also helped Springsteen connect to a younger generation. In 2000, on their album Renegades, the political rap/rock band Rage Against the Machine recorded a cover of the title song, turning the song into an intense rock anthem.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (Columbia, 1973); The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (Columbia, 1973); Born to Run (Columbia, 1975); Darkness on the Edge of Town (Columbia, 1978); The River (Columbia, 1980); Nebraska (Columbia, 1982); Born in the U.S.A. (Columbia, 1984); Live 1975–1985 (box set, Columbia, 1985); Tunnel of Love (Columbia, 1987); Chimes of Freedom (EP, Columbia, 1988); Lucky Town (Columbia, 1992); Human Touch (Columbia, 1992); Greatest Hits (Columbia, 1995); The Ghost of Tom Joad (Columbia, 1995); MTV Plugged (Columbia, 1997); Tracks (box set, Columbia, 1998); Live in New York City (Columbia, 2001); The Rising (Columbia, 2002).

WEBSITES:

www.brucespringsteen.net; www.backstreets.com.

mark guarino

SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE 1949-

Singer, songwriter, guitarist

Jersey

From the moment he stood in his New Jersey bedroom with his first guitar in hand, thirteen-year-old Bruce Springsteen was obsessed with rock 'n' roll. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, Springsteen grew up in a lower-class section of Freehold, near the fading beach resort of Asbury Park. While his father struggled to support his family with a series of blue-collar jobs and his mother worked as a legal secretary to help the family finances, Springsteen grew up feeling insecure and alienated, chafing at the restrictions of school and constantly at odds with his father, who did not approve of his son's musical ambitions. By listening endlessly to his favorite rock and roll songs from the 1950s, Springsteen taught himself to play the guitar and began playing with bands—first the Rogues in 1963 and by 1965 the Castile s—when he was in high school. In 1967 he met fellow rocker Steve Van Zandt, who would join his band in 1970. When his family moved to California in 1969, Springsteen stayed behind, living along the beaches and boardwalks of Asbury Park and playing in local bands. During gigs at venues such as the Stone Pony, he met John Lyons, who played briefly with Springsteen's band and later recorded as Southside Johnny. At shows in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1972, Springsteen attracted attention for his straight-ahead rock-and-roll sound and the unusual storytelling style of Springsteen's original songs. Mike Appel thought the young musician showed promise and became Springsteen's business manager. That same year Appel finagled an audition with John Hammond, the Columbia Records executive credited with discovering Bob Dylan. Hammond later said that he reacted to Springsteen's talent "with a force I've felt maybe three times in my life." Springsteen was signed to a multialbum recording contract with Columbia.

Early Records

Springsteen's first two albums benefited from his exuberant energy and songwriting ability; they suffered from misguided production and promotion. Columbia executives, believing they had the new Bob Dylan on their hands, sold him like a folk singer. Both albums sold poorly despite some excellent material. Greetings From Asbury Park (1973) established Springsteen's penchant for playful but wordy epics such as "Blinded by the Light," later covered by Manfred Mann, and "Spirit in the Night," which introduced a wacky assortment of characters—Killer Joe, Wild Billy, and Crazy Janey -—typical of early Springsteen songs. The follow-up album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (1973) featured several classic tracks—including "Rosalita" and "Sandy"—that would become staples of his live shows with the E Street Band as well as another collection of romantic, restless urban misfits who often made his songs seem like the aural equivalent of Edward Hopper's paintings. Rolling Stone named The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle one of the best albums of the year. Also in 1973 rock critic Jon Landau saw Springsteen's live show for the first time and wrote, "I have seen rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen."

Hype

Columbia executives picked up Landau's comment and began trying to promote Springsteen as "the future of rock and roll." Pressured from all sides to succeed with his third album, Springsteen was determined to make the greatest rock album ever recorded; With the assistance of Landau and "Miami" Steve Van Zandt, he was able to achieve a Phil Spector-infuenced "wall of sound" on Born to Run, which was released in fall 1975. The album was a watershed; songs such as "Thunder Road," "Backstreets," and "Jungleland" seethed with pent-up energy and urban drama and seemed to encompass the entire history of rock 'n' roll in a single operatic arc. The media seized the moment, and Springsteen became the first entertainer ever featured on the covers of both Time and News-week in the same week. Album sales were encouraging enough to save Springsteen's contract at Columbia, and the singer asked Landau to produce his next album. Appel, feeling he was being phased out of Springsteen's career, rejected this plan, leading to a legal battle that kept Springsteenfrom recording for two years. In the meanwhile he toured extensively, gaining a following for his marathon live shows, which often lasted up to four hours. Springsteen and Appel eventually settled out of court, and Landau became his manager and producer.

Darkness

The legal battle with Appel seemed to have aged and even embittered Springsteen. His eventual follow-up to Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), revealed a more mature, less exuberant spirit. Themes of loss, betrayal, heartbreak, and loneliness were common in songs such as "Badlands," "Candy's Room," and "Prove It All Night" and on Springsteen's two subsequent releases, The River (1980) and Nebraska (1982). The three albums form a trilogy that explores the darker side of the "runaway American dream." Springsteen's tone was still often romantic and even simplistic. Like Beat novelist Jack Kerouac he glorified the street, the night, the elusive girl, the car on the open road. His new albums also had an increasingly rural feeling, seeming to leave behind the wilder urban experiences of his youth. Although The River, a double album, produced his first Top 10 hit ("Hungry Heart") and many of its more upbeat numbers (such as "Cadillac Ranch") received heavy FM airplay, it remained too moody and gritty for main-stream success. Nebraska, an acoustic album Springsteen recorded at home with just guitar, harmonica, and vocals, spawned an unsuccessful single ("Open All Night") and his first video, "Atlantic City," in which Springsteen did not appear. Judged by many critics to be his finest work, the stark Nebraska sold poorly. Other artists struck gold with his material, however. The Pointer Sisters recorded a hit version of Springsteen's "Fire"; Patti Smith had a Top 20 hit with his "Because the Night"; Greg Kihn made the charts with the sunny "Rendezvous"; Gary "U.S." Bonds enjoyed a comeback with Springsteen's ditty "This Little Girl"; and Springsteen's old friend Southside Johnny increased his own album sales by covering Springsteen's songs.

Born in the USA.

Despite Springsteen's popularity with critics, his cult following as a live performer, and his reputation as an artist of political integrity (he participated in the No Nukes concert in 1979), no one was prepared for the blockbuster success of Born in the USA (1984). The album spawned seven Top 10 hits and sold 15 million copies; the accompanying world tour took Springsteen to stadium-size venues usually reserved for superstar acts such as The Rolling Stones. Shows typically sold out in minutes. Springsteen once again made the cover of Newsweek, and for the first time (he had long resisted the trend) he agreed to appear in videos, two of which were filmed by Brian De Palma. "Dancing in the Dark" became his biggest hit to date; others included the exuberant "Glory Days" and the haunting "I'm on Fire." Somehow Springsteen had tapped the Zeitgeist; his newly pumped physique and heterosexual, regular guy image proved popular in the age of Ronald Reagan and Sylvester Stallone's action hero Rambo. Reagan and many of Springsteen's own fans mistook songs such as "Born in the USA" and the bleak "My Hometown" for their own brand of conservative patriotism. In reality Springsteen was a political independent deeply committed to writing about the plight of downtrodden Americans who faced problems such as farm foreclosures and factory shutdowns. No matter; Springsteen became a superstar and a millionaire. In 1985 Springsteen participated in the all-star recordings of "We Are the World" and "Sun City" and married fashion model and actress Julianne Phillips. His long-anticipated live-performance album set went multiplatinum in 1986.

Follow-up

Subsequent recordings and performances for political causes such as Amnesty International often had the effect of making the 1984-1985 Springsteen juggernaut seem like a dream. The haunting Tunnel of Love (1987) and its singles ("Brilliant Disguise," "One Step Up") examined the frailty of relationships, foreshadowing the breakup of Springsteen's own marriage. His affair with newest band member Patti Scialfa became tabloid fodder in 1988. After his divorce the following year, Springsteen married Scialfa in 1991 and started a family. The most soul-searching loner of rock 'n' roll seemed to be settling down. He even dissolved the E Street Band, which included popular performers such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons and drummer Max Weinberg. (Van Zandt had left to pursue a solo career as Little Steven in 1983.) When his two 1992 releases, Human Touch and Lucky Town, failed to generate the anticipated sales, critics and industry wags speculated that Springsteen's romantic, straight-ahead American sound was out of step in the era of heavy metal, grunge rock, rap, and world music. Indeed, on these two albums Springsteen attempted to confront the dilemma of being simultaneously a blue-collar, working-class hero and a multimillionaire superstar as well as the problems facing the man who has both a family and a rock band. Springsteen released a greatest hits package in 1995.

Sources:

Charles R. Cross and the editors of Backstreets Magazine, Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man and His Music (New York: Harmony Books, 1989);

Mark Eliot, with Mike Appel, Down Thunder Road: The Making of Bruce Springsteen (New York: Simon &c Schuster, 1992);

Dave Marsh, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story (Garden City, N.Y.: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1979);

Marsh, Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s (New York: Pantheon, 1987).