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Bruce Springsteen (born 23.9.1949)
Bruce Springsteen is an American singer / songwriter, known affectionately among his fans as 'The Boss'. He has won many Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. His most famous albums are Born to Run and Born In The USA.
Bruce Springsteen: Childhood
Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, to Douglas F. Springsteen (a bus driver with a dual Dutch / Irish heritage) and Adele A. Zirilli (a legal secretary of Irish heritage). He has two sisters: Virginia (older) and Pamela (younger).
Springsteen was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended the St. Rose of Lima school and then transferred to Freehold High School. Springsteen graduated from high school but skipped his graduation ceremony, as he had felt so out of place at the school.
When Bruce Springsteen was seven years old, he saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show and it was this that made him want to take up music. He bought his first guitar for $18 when he was 13.
Later, Springsteen became the lead guitarist in the local band, The Castiles and the band made a handful of original recordings.
Bruce Springsteen: Early Musical Career
Between 1969 and '71, Bruce played in the band Steel Mill (originally called Child) with Steve Van Zandt, Danny Federici and Vini Lopez. Over these two formative years, however, Springsteen played with a number of outfits, and drew a following in the Jersey Shore and Asbury Park areas. The bands included Dr Zoom and the Sonic Boom, Sundance Blues band and The Bruce Springsteen Band.
Springsteen's prolific songwriting, which encompassed a number of genres including blues, jazz and rock 'n' roll, came to the attention of music managers Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos and John Hammond, the now-legendary Columbia Records scout. Hammond auditioned Springsteen in 1972.
Bruce Springsteen: Commercial Breakthrough
In 1972, Bruce Springsteen signed a record deal with Columbia Records. A number of his New Jersey band mates entered the studio with him (they later became known as the E-Street band) and his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. was released in 1973. The album was heavily compared to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.
Springsteen's second album, The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle was released later the same year. The critics looked favourably on the album but it achieved little commercial success. However, songs like 'Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)' became live favourites with his fans.
In 1975, the band's five night, 10-show run at the Bottom Line club in New York, garnered a lot of press attention. Later that year, the album Born To Run was released. The album was given a huge budget, as a last-ditch attempt for Springsteen to achieve mass commercial success. The singles, 'Born To Run' and 'Thunder Road' achieved huge commercial success.
Over the next few years, Springsteen toured with the E-Street band, but a legal feud with ex-manager Mike Appel kept him out of the studio and unable to record new music.
Eventually, an agreement was reached and Springsteen returned to the studio, to record Darkness On The Edge of Town in 1978. 'Badlands' and 'The Promised Land' showed Bruce's political edge and became live favourites for years to come.
Springsteen earned a reputation as a songwriter that could provide popular hits for other musicians. Notable, he co-wrote Patti Smith's 'Because The Night' as well as The Pointer Sisters version of his unreleased track, 'Fire', which earned them a number two single.
In 1980, Springsteen released a 20-sing double album entitled The River. The album was a commercial success and a huge arena tour of the US followed its release.
Following this huge success, Springsteen surprised many people by releasing Nebraska, a solemn acoustic album, in 1982. The songs started life as demos for a new band album but during the recording process, it was decided that they would work better as solo songs. The album was names 'Album of the Year' by Rolling Stone magazine.
Springsteen's next album is probably his best known. Born In The USA (1984) sold over 15 million copies in the US alone. It is now one of the best-selling albums of all time. Seven singles released from the album were top 10 hits. The commercial success that he enjoyed around this time was boosted by the release of Live 1975-85, which sold over 13 million units in the US and was the first box set to debut at the top of the US album charts.
The Tunnel Of Love was released in 1987 and brought with another major tour schedule. His first marriage to Julianne Phillips had broken up and his relationship with backing singer Patti Scialfa became public knowledge. The couple married in 1991 and now have three children, Evan James (b.1990), Jessica Rae (b.19991) and Sam Ryan (b.1994).
Amidst heavy criticism for moving to LA and using session musicians, Bruce Springsteen released the albums Human Touch and Lucky Town in 1992.
In 1995, he released his second solo album, entitled The Ghost Of Tom Joad. The album was less well acclaimed than Nebraska and Springsteen had to ask his audiences to be quiet during the tour performances that accompanied the release of the album.
Four years later, the E-Street Band enjoyed a reformation and embarked upon the 'Reunion Tour', which lasted over a year. The tour ended with a massive 10-night sell-out at Madison Square Gardens. The final performances were released on the Live In New York City DVD. The band's first full studio output in 18 years was released in 2002. The Rising was largely a reflection on the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York. The band played 10 nights in the Giants Stadium in New Jersey and the Rising tour culminated with three nights in Shea Stadium.
As a tribute to Joe Strummer of The Clash, Springsteen performed 'London calling' at the Grammy Awards of 2003. Fellow performers included Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl and Steven Van Zandt.
Another solo acoustic album was released in 2005: Devils & Dust. The album was hugely popular in Europe though ticket sales for his live shows were disappointing elsewhere.
The next year, Springsteen released We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, which was an exploration of the American roots music popularized by Pete Seeger.
The E-Street band was drafted back in for Springsteen's 2007 release, Magic. The album debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland, selling 563,000 copies worldwide in its first week.
In April 2008, long-time organist with the E-Street band, Danny Federici passed away, following a three-year battle with a melanoma.
More Bruce Springsteen Pictures
9th February 2012
Clarence Clemons' nephew has been recruited by Bruce Springsteen as the late saxophonist's....
8th February 2012
Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 will collaborate at the Grammy Awards. The rock group with be....
3rd February 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are having to work twice as hard to prepare for their....
2nd February 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be performing live at this year's Grammy Awards,....
31st January 2012
Madonna is holding "brutal" rehearsals for her Super Bowl show. The star is to perform....
More Bruce Springsteen Video and Audio
5th January 2011
Its funny how people get their nicknames like Elvis 'The King' Cliff Richard 'Peter Pan of Pop' Michael Jackson...
29th June 2009
Review of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's album 'Greatest Hits' Unsurprisingly, The Boss's new...
29th January 2009
Review of Bruce Springsteen's album 'Working On A Dream'. I should start by saying, I'm a huge Bruce...
5th December 2007
Read our review of Help Fight Hunger & Poverty, The Hard Rock Benefit Album by various artists including...
24th September 2007
The speed with which Magic follows the Seeger Sessions album has been a surprise for all Springsteen fans - recorded at...
More Bruce Springsteen Reviews
10th November 2010
Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen's 'The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of....
5th October 2010
Introducing the American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Robert Francis, who is set to....
27th September 2010
Foxy Shazam Announce November 2010 Uk Tour Inimitable rock 'n' soul sextet Foxy Shazam....
These are the best links to Bruce Springsteen Sites on the web:
25th March 2010 23:32
LALabor | ||
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| We put together a short "fanvid" to spread the word about Rio Tinto miners in Boron, CA. It's set to the music of Bruce Springsteen’s This Hard Land (a great song). Please share this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaAuBV_2GR8 | ||
9th February 2009 02:18
d&ddwight | ||
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| Bruce---Walmart--really? So very disappointing. Does that mean you are a sham? Seduced by the almighty dollar? We own an independent music store, hanging on by the skin of our teeth in this economy and have always admired what you supposedly stood for---and we could NOT believe that you would freeze out the people you spoke out for. As an indie, we are now not able to purchase your new release to sell to our customers, because apparently you want to sell to Walmart customers only. Shame on you for being a phony, and shame on us for believing in you. The worst part is we planned on taking our 11 year old to your concert in Denver this spring --however, we have decided that after this disappointing news, none of us would enjoy it, so if you know anyone who wants to buy some tickets.... | ||
2nd February 2009 17:29
Bruce Springsteen Twin | ||
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| Have you thought you've seen Bruce's double? We know him. Anyone interested in seeing a picture? | ||