Bruce Springsteen Biography, Photos and Posters

Bruce Springsteen

Biography

Born: 1949
City and Country of Origin: Long Branch, New Jersey
Music Training: he got his first guitar at 13 and taught himself how to play, played with the Castiles, 1965; he played with local bands in Asbury Park.
Awards: Emmy Award 2001 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City HBO; Academy Award 1993 for Best Song "Streets of Philadelphia" from Philadelphia; Grammy 2005 Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, "Devils & Dust;" 2004 Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, "Code of Silence;" 2003 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "Disorder in the House;" 2002 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, "The Rising;" Best Rock Song, "The Rising;" Best Rock Album, The Rising; 1996 Best Contemporary Folk Album, The Ghost of Tom Joad; 1994 Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, "Streets of Philadelphia;" Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, "Streets of Philadelphia;" Best Rock Song, "Streets of Philadelphia;" Song of the Year, "Streets of Philadelphia;" 1987 Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, "Tunnel of Love;" 1984 Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, "Dancing in the Dark" inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, March 15, 1999
Top Recordings: "Dancing In The Dark," "Glory Days," "I'm On Fire," "Streets of Philadelphia," "Born in the U.S.A."
Bruce Springsteen Biography: Bruce Frederick Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and grew up in Freehold, NJ. He is of Dutch, Irish and Italian heritage. In school he was a nonconformist, not fitting in with the other students. He bought his first guitar at the age of 13 and studied with an unknown guitarist. At 16 his mother borrowed money to buy him a Kent guitar. He decided to emulate Elvis after watching him on the Ed Sullivan Show. He became the lead singer of the Castiles who recorded 2 original songs and performed at a number of venues including Greenwich Village's Cafe Wha.

In 1969 he began performing in New Jersey with Steve Van Zandt, Danny Federici and Vini Lopez in a band called Child, later renamed Steel Mill. After some memorable shows at Virginia Commonwealth University he returned to perform at small nightclubs in Asbury Park, NJ in particualr The Stone Pony. His shows soon garnered a cult following.

His sister's boyfriend was in a band which gave Bruce the connections he needed to get started in the business. He led a number of groups including Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom before he formedthe Bruce Springsteen Band and set out on an unsuccessful tour of California. Many of the musicians he met during this period would become the backbone of the E Street Band. His style can be summed up as Elvis, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Clarence "Frogman" Henry rolled into one. He signed a management deal withsongwriter/producer Mike Appel who got him an audition with legendary Columbia Records head John Hammond. Hammond signed Springsteen, but did not care much for Appel.

His debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. featured many of his musician friends including including guitarist Steven Van Zandt all of whom comprised the E Street Band. Sales of his first effort were slow, but ht ealbum did receive critical acclaim. Early comparisons were with that earlier John Hammond signee Bob Dylan. Later in 1973 he recorded The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle which also received critical acclaim, but no commercial success. Even though tracks like "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and "Incident on 57th Street" would later became fan favorites, and the long, full-of-life "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" would become one of Springsteen's most beloved concert number.

In the May 22, 1974 issue of Boston's The Real Paper, music critic Jon Landau wrote after seeing a club performance, "I saw rock and roll's future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. He made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau subsequently became Springsteen's manager and then producer, helping to finish Springsteen's epic new album that was underway. Then in August of 1975 Springsteen and the E Street Band beagan a 10 show engagement at New York's Bottom Line which was broadcast live on WNEW FM radio. It convinced music listeners that Sprengsteen was for real. When Born to Run was released later that month it received extensive FM radio coverage with songs like "Born to Run", "Thunder Road" and "Jungleland" even though none of them performed well on the charts. In October He appeared simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek.

A legal battle with former manager Mike Appel kept Springsteen out of the recording studio for 2 years during which time the E Street Band continued to tour extensively. After the legal dipute was settled Springsteen returned to the studio with Darkness on the Edge of Town which would prove to be the turning point in his career. Gone were the rapid fire lyrics of his previous efforts replaced by a more sombre politically savvy intellectual presentation. Tracks like "Badlands" and "The Promised Land" would become Spreingsteen staples for years to come. Other groups began to cover his material with Manfred Mann's Earth Band reaching th etop of the charts with "Blinded by the Light" in early 1977, Patti Smith reached number 13 with her take on Springsteen's unreleased "Because the Night" in 1978, while The Pointer Sisters hit No. 2 in 1979 with Springsteen's also-unreleased "Fire."

While his next recording the album Nebraska did not sell well with its dark gloomy portrayal of American life it did receive critical acclaim with Rolling Stone naming it album of the year. In 1984 he released Born in the U.S.A probably his best known album. The title track was a bitter commentary on the Vietnamese war which some misinterpreted as being nationalistic during the 1984 presidential campaign. "Dancing in the Dark" would prove to be the biggest of the 7 hit singles released from the album reaching number 2 on the Billboard chart and the video featured Bruce dancing with actress Courtney Cox. His next release Live/1975-85 a 5 record box set was a huge success.

After this hugely successful commercial period Springsteen released the more sedate Tunnel of Love in 1987. It highlighted the breakup of his first marriage to actress Julianne Phillips. Around this time Springsteen became romantically involved with backup singer Patti Scialfa. Both Patti and Bruce relocted to California and the E Street Band broke up. In 1991 Springsteen married Scialfa, they have 3 children together born between 90 and 94. In 1992 he released 2 albums Human Touch and Lucky Town with a group of musicians that became known as the Other Band. This led to the Other Band Tour which was spurned by his original supporters.

In 1995 he temporarily reorganized the E Street Band to record a few songs for his Greatest Hits album. He then realeased The Ghost of Tom Joad an album similar in style to Nebraska which featured mostly solo guitar playing. The album met a similar fate to his previous effort Nebraska. In 1999 Springsteen rejoined the E Street Band for an extensive reunion tour. The 10 night tour culminated with a sold out performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In 2002 Springsteen released his first complete album with the Band in 18 years, The Rising. The Rising became his best selling effort in 15 years. In 2004 Springsteen and the E Street Band joined the "Vote for Change" tour along with other performers like John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Jurassic 5, Dave Matthews Band, Jackson Browne. All the proceeds went to MoveOn.org. Devils & Dust was released in April 2005 and was recorded without the E Street Band. Some of the material dated as far back as 10 years. In 2006 he released We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions featuring 15 songs originally made popular by Pete Seeger.

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