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).