Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running up to an uninterrupted 250 minutes in length.

 

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time, the 96th Greatest Guitarist of all time on their latest list and the 36th Greatest Singer of all time in 2008.

 

Early life

Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry (his surname in Dutch means jumping stone)and worked as a bus driver, among other vocations, although he was frequently unemployed. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry.His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full-time; she took photos for his Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.

 

Raised a Roman Catholic,Springsteen attended the St. Rose of Lima Catholic school in Freehold Borough, where he was at odds with the nuns and rejected the strictures imposed upon him, even though some of his later music reflects a Catholic ethos and included a few rock-influenced, traditional Irish-Catholic hymns.In a 2012 interview, he explained that it was his Catholic upbringing rather than political ideology that most influenced his music. He noted in the interview that his faith had given him a "very active spiritual life," although he joked that this "made it very difficult sexually." He added: "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic."

 

In ninth grade, he transferred to the public Freehold Regional High School, but did not fit in there either. Old teachers have said he was a "loner, who wanted nothing more than to play his guitar." He completed high school, but felt so uncomfortable that he skipped his own graduation ceremony. He briefly attended Ocean County College, but dropped out.

 

Bruce Springsteen draws on many musical influences from the reservoir of traditional American popular music, folk, blues and country. From the beginning, rock and roll has been the dominant influence. On his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey, the folk-influence is clear. An example of the influence of this music genre to Springsteen's music is his song "This Hard Land" which demonstrates a clear influence of the style of Woody Guthrie.

 

He expanded the range of his musical compositions on his second album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.Elements of Latin American music, jazz, soul, and funk influences can be heard; the song "New York City Serenade" is even reminiscent of the music of George Gershwin. These two records prominently featured pianist David Sancious, who left the band shortly into the recording of Springsteen's third album, Born To Run. This album, however, also emphasized the piano, the responsibility now of Roy Bittan.

 

Earlier in his career, Springsteen focused more on the rock elements of his music. He initially compressed the sound and developed Darkness on the Edge Of Town just as straightforward as concise musical idiom, for the simple riffs, hard rock guitar solos and clearly recognizable song structures are dominant. He also drew upon a few influences from punk rock on the album, as can be heard on the heavy rhythm following the bridge solo on 'Candy's Room'.[citation needed] His music has been categorized as heartland rock, a style typified by Springsteen, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp. This music has a lyrical reference to the U.S. everyday and the music is kept rather simple and straightforward. This development culminated with Springsteen's hit album Born in the U.S.A., the title song of which has a constantly repeating, fanfare-like keyboard riff and a pounding drum beat. These sounds fit with Springsteen's voice: it cries to the listener the unsentimental story of a disenchanted angry figure. Even songs that can be argued to be album tracks proved to be singles that enjoyed some chart success, such as "My Hometown" and "I'm on Fire", in which the drum line is formed from subtle hi-hat and rim-clicks-shock (shock at the edge of the snare drum) accompanied by synthesizer and Springsteen's soft guitar line. The album, along with some previous records such as "Cadillac Ranch" showed clear rockabilly influences as is evident from his guitar solos, in-fills and vocal styles on these. Another clear influence of early rock n roll on Springsteen's music is evident on the song "Light of Day".

 

In recent years, Springsteen has changed his music further.There are more folk elements up to the gospel to be heard. His last solo album, Devils and Dust, drew rave reviews not only for Springsteen's complex songwriting, but also for his expressive and sensitive singing.

 

On the album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions Springsteen performed folk classics with a folk band, rather than his usual E Street Band. On his ensuing tour he also interpreted some of his own rock songs in a folk style.

 

The 2007 album Magic was a reflection on the old stadium rock attitude and with its lush arrangements was almost designed to be performed at large stadiums, which also succeeded on the corresponding tour.

 

His 2012 album, Wrecking Ball, incorporated a variety of styles including rock, gospel, folk and even sampling and loops.

 

Lyrical themes

"I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American dream and American reality."

—Bruce Springsteen

 

Often described as cinematographic in their scope, Springsteen's lyrics frequently explore highly personal themes such as individual commitment, dissatisfaction and dismay with life in a context of every day situations.

 

It has been recognized that there was a shift in his lyrical approach starting with the album Darkness on the Edge of Town, in which he focused on the emotional struggles of working class life.

 

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Springsteen met Patti Scialfa at the Stone Pony, a bar in New Jersey where local musicians perform on a regular basis. On that particular evening she was performing alongside one of Springsteen’s pals, Bobby Bandiera, with whom she had written "At Least We Got Shoes" for Southside Johnny. Springsteen liked her voice and after the performance, introduced himself to her. Soon after that, they started hanging out together and became friends.

 

Early in 1984 Springsteen asked Scialfa to join the E Street Band for the upcoming Born in the USA tour. According to the book Bruce Springsteen on Tour 1969-2005 by Dave Marsh, it looked like Springsteen and Scialfa were on the brink of becoming a couple through the first leg of the tour. But before that could happen, Barry Bell introduced Julianne Phillips to Springsteen and on May 13, 1985 they got married. The two were opposites in background, had a 11-year age difference and his travelling took its toll on their relationship. In 1987, Springsteen wrote his next album, Tunnel of Love, on which many of the songs described his unhappiness in the relationship with Phillips.

 

In 1988 the Tunnel of Love tour began and Springsteen convinced Scialfa to join the tour again. She was reluctant at first, since she wanted to start recording her first solo album, but after Springsteen told her that the tour would be short, she agreed to postpone her own solo record.Phillips and Springsteen separated in the spring of 1988, but it wasn’t made known to the press. Springsteen and Scialfa fell in love with one another during the Tunnel of Love tour and started living together soon after his separation from Phillips. On August 30, 1988, Julianne filed for divorce. The Springsteen/Phillips divorce was finalized on March 1, 1989. Springsteen received press criticism for the hastiness in which he and Scialfa took up their relationship. In a 1995 interview with The Advocate, Springsteen spoke about the negative publicity the couple subsequently received. "It's a strange society that assumes it has the right to tell people whom they should love and whom they shouldn't. But the truth is, I basically ignored the entire thing as much as I could. I said, 'Well, all I know is, this feels real, and maybe I have got a mess going here in some fashion, but that's life.'" He also noted that, "I went through a divorce, and it was really difficult and painful and I was very frightened about getting married again. So part of me said, 'Hey, what does it matter?' But it does matter. It's very different than just living together. First of all, stepping up publicly- which is what you do: You get your license, you do all the social rituals- is a part of your place in society and in some way part of society's acceptance of you...Patti and I both found that it did mean something."

 

Springsteen and Scialfa initially lived in New Jersey and for a short while in New York,before deciding to move to Los Angeles where they decided to start a family. On July 25, 1990 Scialfa gave birth to the couple's first child, Evan James Springsteen. On June 8, 1991 Springsteen and Scialfa married at their Los Angeles home in a very private ceremony, only attended by family and close friends. Their second child, Jessica Rae Springsteen, was born on December 30, 1991; and their third child, Samuel Ryan Springsteen, was born on January 5, 1994.

 

When the children reached school-going age in the early 1990s, Springsteen and Scialfa moved back to New Jersey specifically to raise a family in a non-paparazzi environment. The grounds of his New Jersey home include a large swimming pool.The family owns and lives on a horse farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey. They also own homes in Wellington, Florida, a wealthy horse community near West Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Rumson, New Jersey.

 

Their eldest son, Evan, graduated from Boston College. He writes and performs his own songs and won the 2012 Singer/Songwriter Competition held during the Boston College's Arts Festival.Their daughter Jessica is a nationally-ranked champion equestrian,and attends Duke University. Their youngest son, Sam, attends Bard College, a private liberal arts college.

 

It has been reported that the press conference regarding the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII half-time show was Springsteen's first press conference for more than 25 years.However, he has appeared in a few radio interviews, most notably on NPR and BBC. 60 Minutes aired his last extensive interview on TV before his tour to support his album, Magic.

 

Springsteen is also an activist for gay rights and has spoken out many times as a strong supporter gay marriage. In 2009, he posted the following statement on his webpage: "I've long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that 'The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is -- a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.'"In 2012, he lent his support to an ad campaign for gay marriage called "The Four 2012". Springsteen noted in the ad, "I couldn't agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now."

 

Bands

Bruce Springsteen has been a member of, or has been backed by, several bands during his career, most notably The E Street Band.
 

Prior to signing his first record deal in 1972, Springsteen was a member of several bands including Steel Mill. In October 1972 he formed a new band for the recording of his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., which became known as The E Street Band, although the name was not officially introduced until September 1974.The E Street Band performed on all of Springsteen's recorded works from his debut until 1982's Nebraska, a solo album on which Springsteen himself played all the instruments.The full band returned for the next album Born in the USA, but there then followed a period from 1988 to 1999 in which albums were recorded with session musicians. The E Street Band were briefly reunited in 1995 for new contributions to the Greatest Hits compilation, and on a more permanent basis from 1999, since which time they have recorded 3 albums together (The Rising, Magic and Working on a Dream) and performed a number of high profile tours.

 

The 2005 album Devils & Dust was largely a solo recording, with some contribution from session musicians and the 2006 folk rock We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions album was recorded and toured with another band, known as The Sessions Band.

 

Earlier Bands:The Castiles, Earth, Child, Steel Mill, Sundance Blues Band, Dr Zoom and the Sonic Boom, Bruce Springsteen Band.

 

E Street Band

Current members (as of 2012):

• Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, harmonica, piano

• Patti Scialfa – backing and duet vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion

• Garry Tallent – bass guitar, tuba

• Roy Bittan – piano, keyboards

• Max Weinberg – drums, percussion

• Steven Van Zandt – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, mandolin

• Nils Lofgren – lead and rhythm guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals

With:

• Soozie Tyrell – violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals 

• Charles Giordano – organ, accordion, glockenspiel

and additional musicians:

• Jake Clemons - saxophone

• Ed Manion - saxophone

• Curt Ramm - trumpet

• Clark Gabel - trombone, sousaphone, tuba

• Barry Danielian - trumpet

• Curtis King - vocals, percussion

• Cindy Mizelle - vocals, percussion

• Everett Bradley - percussion, vocals

• Michelle Moore - vocals, percussion

 

Former members:

• 1972–2011 Clarence Clemons (deceased) – tenor, baritone and soprano saxophones, backing vocals, percussion

• 1972–2008 Danny Federici (deceased) – organ, accordion, backing vocals

• 1974-1975 Suki Lahav – violin, backing vocals

• 1974 Ernest Carter – drums

• 1972-1974 David Sancious – piano, organ, keyboards

• 1972-1974 Vini Lopez – drums, backing vocals

 

Discography

Major studio albums:

• 1973: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

• 1973: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

• 1975: Born to Run

• 1978: Darkness on the Edge of Town

• 1980: The River

• 1982: Nebraska

• 1984: Born in the U.S.A.

• 1987: Tunnel of Love

• 1992: Human Touch

• 1992: Lucky Town

• 1995: The Ghost of Tom Joad

• 2002: The Rising

• 2005: Devils & Dust

• 2006: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

• 2007: Magic

• 2009: Working on a Dream

• 2012: Wrecking Ball

 

Awards, recognition and rankings

Grammy Awards

Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards, as follows (years shown are the year the award was given for, not the year in which the ceremony was held):

 

• Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1984, "Dancing in the Dark"

• Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1987, "Tunnel of Love"

• Song of the Year, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

• Best Rock Song, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

• Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

• Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

• Best Contemporary Folk Album, 1996, The Ghost of Tom Joad

• Best Rock Album, 2002, The Rising

• Best Rock Song, 2002, "The Rising"

• Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, 2002, "The Rising"

• Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, 2003, "Disorder in the House" (with Warren Zevon)

• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2004, "Code of Silence"

• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2005, "Devils & Dust"

• Best Traditional Folk Album, 2006, The Seeger Sessions: We Shall Overcome

• Best Long Form Music Video, 2006, Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born to Run

• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2007, "Radio Nowhere"

• Best Rock Song, 2007, "Radio Nowhere"

• Best Rock Instrumental Performance, 2007, "Once Upon a Time in the West"

• Best Rock Song, 2008, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"

• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2009, "Working on a Dream"

 

In addition to these twenty Grammy Award wins, Bruce Springsteen will be honored as MusiCares Person of the Year on February 8, 2013.

 

Golden Globe Awards

• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Streets of Philadelphia" in 1994.

• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "The Wrestler" in 2009.

 

Academy Awards

• Academy Award for Best Original Song, 1993, "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia.

 

Emmy Awards

• The Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City HBO special won two technical Emmy Awards in 2001.

 

Other recognition

• October 27, 1975: Bruce Springsteen appears simultaneously on the covers of Newsweek and Time

• Polar Music Prize in 1997.

• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1999.

• Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1999.

• Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, 2007.

• "Born to Run" named "The unofficial youth anthem of New Jersey" by the New Jersey state legislature; something Springsteen always found to be ironic, considering that the song "is about leaving New Jersey".

• The minor planet 23990, discovered September 4, 1999, by I. P. Griffin at Auckland, New Zealand, was officially named in his honor.

• Ranked No. 23 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

• Ranked No. 36 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time.

• Made Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year 2008 list.

• Won Critic's Choice Award for Best Song with "The Wrestler" in 2009.

• Performed at the Super Bowl XLIII half time show.

• Kennedy Center Honors, 2009.

• Rolling Stone magazine also ranked 8 out of 16 Springsteen's studio albums in their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.

• Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" in its 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list, in 21st and 86th, respectively.

• Forbes ranked him 6th in The Celebrity 100 in 2009

• John Steinbeck Award, 1996

• Devils & Dust Tour named Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 by Billboard Touring Awards

• Magic Tour named Top Tour and Top Draw of 2008 by Billboard Touring Awards

• Wrecking Ball Tour named Top Draw for most attendance for a tour at the 2012 Billboard Touring Awards

• Named 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year