Springsteen, Bruce

Springsteen, Bruce, foremost rock artist of the 1980s; b. Freehold, N.J., Sept. 23, 1949. THE E STREET BAND, backup band. Membership: Clarence demons, sax. (b. Norfolk, Va., Jan. 11, 1942); David Sancious, kybd.; Danny Federici, kybd.; Gary Tallent, bs.; Vini Lopez, drm. In 1974 David Sancious and Vini Lopez were replaced by Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg (b. Newark, N.J., 1951 ). Guitarist “Miami” Steve Van Zandt (b. Boston, Nov. 22, 1950) joined in 1975 and left in 1984; he was replaced by guitarist Nils Lofgren (b. Chicago, June 21, 1951). Vocalist Patti Scialfa (b. Long Branch, N.J., June 29, 1953) joined in 1984.

Bruce Springsteen burst upon the rock scene with his outstanding 1975 album Born to Run. Although the album became an instant best-seller, Springsteen’s credibility was hurt by the bombastic hyperbole that proclaimed him the next Bob Dylan and the savior of rock and roll. He subsequently was embroiled in legal disputes that prevented him from recording, a situation that would have destroyed or at least crippled the career of an artist of lesser talent and fortitude. Springsteen returned to recording in 1978, but he did not achieve massive recognition for his talents until 1984’s Born in the U.S.A. Suffused with engaging songs of celebration, hope, and disillusionment, the album established Springsteen as the most important rock artist of the 1980s. After its huge success, Springsteen again withdrew from the rock scene and, much to the dismay of his fans, disbanded the E Street Band in 1989. Although his career has not reached its previous heights, he remains one of the most provocative songwriters and performers in rock.

Raised in N.J., Bruce Springsteen took up guitar at 13 and joined a local group, the Castiles, around 1963. In 1966 the band recorded several unreleased singles, later performing at the Cafe Wha in N.Y.’s Greenwich Village. Springsteen next formed a succession of bands (Steel Mill, Doctor Zoom and the Sonic Boom) with whom he performed around N.J. clubs for years, most notably at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. He turned down a contract offer from Bill Graham’s Fillmore Records in 1969 and eventually signed a management contract with Mike Appel in May 1972. Appel arranged an audition with legendary record executive John Hammond, and Springsteen signed with Columbia Records in June. Recorded in both an acoustic and rock-band setting, his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey, featured “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night,” hits for Manfred Mann in 1976, and “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City.” However, the album was generally ignored, except by rock critics and his cult following based in the Northeast. Released only months later, The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle suffered similarly, even though it contained such excellent songs as “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” a minor hit for the Hollies in spring 1975; “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”; and “New York City Serenade.”

By 1974 Bruce Springsteen had formed his permanent backup group, the E Street Band, with David Sancious, Gary Tallent, Clarence Clemons, and former Steel Mill members Danny Federici and Vini Lopez. They rigorously toured the East Coast during the year and were spotted by critic Jon Landau, who called Springsteen, in a famous quote, “the future of rock and roll.” The band subsequently realigned with Tallent, Clemons, and Federici, plus Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg. In 1975 guitarist “Miami” Steve Van Zandt, a cofounder of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, joined. This aggregation recorded Springsteen’s breakthrough album, Born to Run.

The album was launched with massive hype by Columbia; for a 5-day, 10-show run at N.Y.’s Bottom Line in August, a large number of tickets were reserved for so-called media tastemakers. Coproduced by Springsteen, Appel, and Landau, the album quickly produced a major hit with the title song. Springsteen was the first rock star to appear simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek in October, attesting to his sudden popularity (and the power of Columbia’s PR office), although ultimately damaging his credibility with hardcore rock fans. Nonetheless, Born to Run included standout songs such as “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Thunder Road,” “Jungleland,” and “She’s the One.” The album became a best-seller, remaining on the charts for more than two years, and it helped spur the sales of Springsteen’s first two albums.

Bruce Springsteen soon became embroiled in legal disputes with manager Mike Appel that prevented him for more than a year from recording. He toured with the E Street Band in 1976 and 1977, establishing his reputation as a live performer with marathon three- and four-hour performances. Soon after the resolution of the legal problems in May 1977, Springsteen entered the studio to record a new album under mentor-producer-manager Jon Landau. Issued in mid-1978, Darkness at the Edge of Town revealed a growing maturity to Springsteen’s songwriting, and aptly showcased the E Street Band. The album included “The Promised Land,” “Racing in the Streets,” and “Streets of Fire,” and yielded moderate hits with “Prove It All Night” and “Badlands.” During the year, Patti Smith scored her only major hit with “Because the Night,” cowritten with Springsteen, and the Pointer Sisters achieved a smash hit with Springsteen’s “Fire.”

Touring tirelessly from July to September 1978 and again beginning in November, Springsteen performed at the September 1979 benefit concerts in N.Y. for MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), and his segment of the resulting movie and album came to be regarded as the highlight of the event. He spent more than a year recording his next album, ostensibly recording more than 50 songs, and upon release the two-record set The River was widely praised. Pervaded by songs using the automobile as its primary metaphor (“Stolen Car,” “Drive All Night,” “Wreck on the Highway,” and “Cadillac Ranch”), the set also included Springsteen’s first smash hit, “Hungry Heart,” and the major hit “Fade Away,” as well as “I’m a Rocker,” “Independence Day,” and “The Price You Pay.” The release was accompanied by a three-month nationwide tour, his first in two years. In 1981 and 1982 Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt produced two comeback albums for Gary “U.S.” Bonds. Each yielded a major hit: Dedication with “This Little Girl,” and On the Line with “Out of Work.”

Although Springsteen recorded the songs for his next album with the E Street Band, he ultimately decided to issue solo acoustic recordings he made as demonstration tapes for the work as Nebraska in 1982. A stark folk-style album somewhat reminiscent of a solo Bob Dylan, complete with honking harmonica, the album sold less well than previous albums but included such memorable songs as “Highway Patrolman,” “Atlantic City,” and the ominous “Johnny 99.”

Meanwhile, various members of the E Street Band undertook solo projects. In 1982 Steve Van Zandt recorded Men without Women with the 11-piece Disciples of Soul, as Springsteen worked on his next album. Van Zandt’s solo album contained his “Under the Gun” and “Till the Good Is Gone” and sold modestly, yielding a minor hit with “Forever.” Clarence demons formed the 10-piece soul band the Red Bank Rockers with vocalist John “J.T.” Bowen for touring and the recording of Rescue, which featured Springsteen’s “Savin’ Up” and the single “A Woman’s Got the Power.”

In 1984 Columbia issued Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece, Born in the U.S.A. It is his most powerful musical statement, as it regards the promise and disappointment of the American dream. A tough but empas-sioned album, rooted in the belief that rock has the power to change and improve the quality of people’s lives, Born in the U.S.A. yielded seven smash hits: the celebratory “Dancing in the Dark”; the desperate “Cover Me”; the rocking but disillusioned title cut; the gentle “I’m On Fire”; the nostalgic “Glory Days” and “My Hometown”; and the disillusioned “I’m Goin’ Down.” The album established Springsteen in the top rank of rock artists and ultimately sold 15 million copies in the United States. Between June 1984 and September 1985 he played more than 160 stadium concerts worldwide in support of Born in the U.S.A., introducing new guitarist Nils Lofgren and backup vocalist Patti Scialfa. The tour solidified Springsteen’s reputation as rock’s most exciting and compelling live performer of the 1980s.

“Miami” Steve Van Zandt had left the E Street Band following the recording of Born in the U.S.A. He trimmed the Disciples of Soul down to a five-piece band for the politically charged Voice of America. The album featured “I Am a Patriot” and “Undefeated (Everybody Goes Home)” and sold modestly. In 1985 Van Zandt assembled Artists United Against Apartheid to record his song “Sun City” as a protest against South Africa’s racial policies. Recorded with 49 major contemporary-music stars, including Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne, Lou Reed, Pete Townshend, Bonnie Raitt, Bono of U2, and Springsteen, the single proved only a moderate hit, although it did much to bring attention to the injustices suffered in South Africa. The single was soon followed by a six-song album, Sun City. In late 1985 Columbia issued Clarence Clemons’s second album recorded with the Red Bank Rockers, Hero, which yielded a major hit with “You’re a Friend of Mine,” a duet with Jackson Browne.

Bruce Springsteen retained a low profile following the massive tour in support of Born in the U.S.A. He added vocals to the “We Are the World” superstar single, a smash pop, R&B, and easy-listening hit, and contributed his “Light of Day” composition, a moderate hit for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, to the film of the same name. In May 1985 he married actress and model Julianne Phillips. In late 1986 Columbia issued Live 1975–1985, which compiled 40 songs recorded live over the past decade. The album yielded a near-smash hit with a cover version of Edwin Starr’s “War” and a moderate hit with “Fire.” The album sold spectacularly for a live, multirecord set.

Bruce Springsteen eventually reemerged in 1987 with Tunnel of Love. Leaving behind his angst-ridden songs of youth and disillusionment, the album investigated the exigencies and vagaries of interpersonal love. Recorded virtually solo by Springsteen, the album was a dark, intimate work, revealing not only his personal growth and maturity but also his leanings toward folk and even country music. It yielded the smash hit “Brilliant Disguise,” the near-smash title cut, and the major hit “One Step Up.” He briefly toured with the E Street Band in support of the album, performing standarized sets (as opposed to the free-form concerts of the past) in arenas rather than stadiums. His only other performances until 1992 were with the Amnesty International tour of 1988, and a benefit in Los Angeles for the Christie Inst. in November 1990.

In 1987 Manhattan Records issued “Miami” Steve Van Zandt’s Freedom, No Compromise, which included a duet with Springsteen, “I Am a Native American,” and a duet with Ruben Blades, “Bitter Fruit.” In 1989 Clarence Clemons toured with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band and recorded A Night with Mr. C. Springsteen and Julianne Phillips divorced in March 1989, and that November he announced his dismissal of the E Street Band (retaining Roy Bittan and Patti Scialfa), much to the dismay of longtime fans. Bassist Gary Tallent became a Nashville producer, and guitarist Nils Lofgren returned to his solo career, touring with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band in 1995. Drummer Max Weinberg founded his own record label, Hard Ticket, for recordings by his band Killer Joe, and later served as band leader for the house band on television’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Keyboardist Danny Federici subsequently played with the house band at Los Angeles’s House of Blues.

In July 1990 Patti Scialfa bore her and Springsteen’s first son, Evan James. The couple married in June 1991. Springsteen released two albums of new material in 1992, Human Touch and Lucky Town. The energetic Human Touch, recorded in 1989–1990, yielded the major-hit title song and the minor hit “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On).” The introspective Lucky Town, recorded in 1991, featured “Living Proof,” the ballad “If I Should Fall Behind,” and the autobiographical “Better Days” and “Local Hero.” To promote the albums, Springsteen appeared on Saturday Night Live, his first-ever performance on network television, and gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine. However, the albums sold only modestly, and he later toured with his new band, who were somewhat disappointing in light of the quality of his previous shows with the E Street Band. Springsteen and his new group performed on an MTV show called Bruce Springsteen Plugged.

Springsteen returned to the charts with the smash hit “Streets of Philadelphia,” from the soundtrack to the 1993 film Philadelphia, the first major-studio effort to deal with the issue of AIDS. Springsteen won an Academy Award and four Grammys for this work. Patti Scialfa recorded her solo debut, Rumble Doll, for 1993 release, and Springsteen’s Greatest Hits contained four previously unreleased songs, including the stark “Murder Incorporated,” recorded during the Born in the U.S.A. sessions. The E Street Band reunited briefly to record a video for the song.

Springsteen returned to the solo semiacoustic format for his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. The title track referred directly to the legacy of social-protest music of singers like Woody Guthrie, who had written his own song based on the main character of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. These contemporary ballads focus on neglected Americans, such as immigrants and the innercity homeless; the work was met by mixed critical reviews and sold modestly.

Discography

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey (1973); The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (1973); Born to Run (1975); Darkness at the Edge of Town (1978); The River (1980); Nebraska (1982); Born in the U.S.A. (1984); Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live, 1975–85 (1986); Tunnel of Love (1987); Human Touch (1992); Lucky Town (1992); Greatest Hits (1995); The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995). TRIBUTE ALBUM: Cover Me: A Collection of Bruce Springsteen Songs (1986). LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL: Men without Women (1982); Voice of America (1984). ARTISTS UNITED AGAINST APARTHEID: Sun City (1985). LITTLE STEVEN: Freedom, No Compromise (1987). CLARENCE CLEMONS AND THE RED BANK ROCKERS: Rescue (1983); Hero (1985). CLARENCE CLEMONS: A Night with Mr. C (1989). KILLER JOE (WITH MAX WEINBERG): Scene of the Crime (1991). PATTI SCIALFA: Rumble Doll (1993).

Bibliography

P. Gambaccini, B. S.: A Photo-Bio (N.Y., 1979); D. Marsh, Born to Run: The B. S. Story (Garden City, N.J., 1979); D. Marsh, Glory Days (N.Y., 1987).

—Brock Helander