MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Pop Music Bruce Springsteen (The Boss)

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey. His parents, Douglas Frederick Springsteen and Adele Ann Zerilli have two other children. He has an older sister, Virginia, and a younger sister, Pamela.

Bruce Springsteen is an American songwriter, singer and musician. He has recorded and toured with the E Street Band. Springsteen is best known for his brand of Jersey Shore music... heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered around his native New Jersey and working class roots.

In the mid sixties Springsteen was the lead guitarist and later the lead singer of The Castiles. Then, in the late sixties, he joined a trio known as Earth, playing gigs at local clubs in New Jersey. This is around the time he was nicknamed "The Boss" since he was the one who collected the band's pay from the clubs and divided it with his fellow band members. Springsteen is said not to be very fond of the nickname. He never considered himself the boss and has never had a love of "bosses." He played with a series of other bands on the Jersey Shore gradually building a fan base.

In 1972 he formed the E Street Band. The original lineup included Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Danny Federici (keyboards, accordion), Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez (drums), David Sancious (keyboards), and Garry Tallent (bass). Emmy-winning songwriter Bill Chinnock was with the band as a founding member, but left before it became famous. In September 1974 Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Max Weinberg (drums) joined the band and Steven Van Zandt (guitar, vocals) joined in 1975. In 1984 Springsteen's future wife, Patti Scialfa (vocals, later guitar) began appearing with them.

His early albums — Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River, and Born in the U.S.A. are his best known — along with The Rising, his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. He is also known for his support of political, relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and in the heartland.

He has earned numerous awards for his work, including eighteen Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award, and continues to have a strong global fan base. He has sold over 65 million albums in the U.S, and 120 million worldwide.

On January 18, 2009 he played at the "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial during Barack Obama's Presidential inauguration. He appeared as the half time entertainment in 2009 at the 43rd Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. His latest album, Working on a Dream, was released on January 27, 2009. "Working on a Dream" is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-fourth album.

More about Bruice Springsteen around the Web:

Bruce Springsteen Net - The "official" Bruce Springsteen site with news, concert dates, lyrics to all of the songs, picture galleries with candid photos, promotional shots and professional appearances, related links.

Bruce Springsteen - Wikipedia - Wikipedia entry covers the details of Bruce's life and band members through the years. Links to E Street Band entry for even more info. Wikipedia bio, career history, photos, related links.

Lost In The Flood - Bruce Springsteen collector's site. Amazing... "35 years of rare and unusual Bruce vinyl, compact discs and tapes" info only. Not for sale and no bootlegs...

Greasy Lake - Bruce Springsteen fan run site that's been around for years. You'll find plenty of news, opinions, trivia, message board and more..

Brucebase - UK site. The index page is not so pretty but if you dig into the site you'll find a pretty complete library of bootleg Bruce - nothing for sale, just a great collection of info & graphics for fans to wander through.

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