This page will contain wikis about Bruce Springsteen, as they become available.Bruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter, nicknamed "The Boss". He frequently recorded with The E-Street Band. Springsteen is most widely known for his brand of heartland rock, rock and roll infused with Americana sentiments. His eloquence in expressing Everyman's problems has earned him a huge fan base within America's middle class. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the USA, epitomize his penchant for writing about the struggles of a young man growing up in the streets of New Jersey. Comparisons are inevitably made between him and Bob Dylan [1] (http://home.theboots.net/theboots/articles/bangs_btr_review.html) because of his folk rock roots. Springsteen has become popular in his own right despite that because of the appeal of his songs. "Born in the USA" was so popular that Ronald Reagan famously chose it to be the theme of his 1984 presidential campaign, misinterpreting it to be a patriotic song rather than a protest song about the Vietnam War. Springsteen is also noted for his work for the relief effort after the September 11th attacks. His album, The Rising, is a retrospective of those events. Early yearsBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949 in Freehold Borough, New Jersey. His father, Douglas, was a bus driver of Dutch ancestry and his mother, Adele Zirilli Springsteen, an Italian-American legal secretary. One of Springsteen's earliest recordings is from 1965, when he was originally the guitar player for a band called the Castiles, later becoming lead singer. He began performing in Richmond, Virginia in late 1969 and through 1970 with singer Robbin Thompson in a band called Steel Mill. They went on to perform some memorable shows at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Before being discovered nationally, he returned to Asbury Park, New Jersey, and performed regularly at The Stone Pony and other small Asbury Park nightclubs. His New Jersey shows quickly gathered cult-like appeal for their energy, passion and longevity, most lasting in excess of three hours. Even after gaining international acclaim, Springsteen's New Jersey roots would reverberate in his music, with him routinely praising "the great state of New Jersey" in his live shows. Drawing on his extensive local appeal, his appearances in major New Jersey and Philadelphia venues routinely would sell out for consecutive nights and, much like the Grateful Dead, his show's song lists would vary significantly from night to night. He began his recording career with the E Street Band in 1973. Upon signing a solo record deal with Columbia Records in 1972, Springsteen brought many of his New Jersey-based musician friends into the studio with him, many of them forming the E Street Band. His debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., from January 1973 established him as a critical favorite [2] (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/107193), though sales were slow. Manfred Mann's Earth Band later turned one song from this album, "Blinded By The Light," into a number one hit. Although Greetings and his second album, The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle received critical acclaim, they failed to achieve commercial success. Born to Run helped Springsteen gain popular recognition and commercial success.In Boston's The Real Paper May 22, 1974, music critic Jon Landau wrote, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time."[3] (http://home.theboots.net/theboots/articles/future.html) (Landau later became Springsteen's manager and producer). With the release of his album Born to Run in 1975, Springsteen made the covers of both Time Magazine and Newsweek the same week, on October 27 of that year. However, a legal battle with former manager Mike Appel kept Springsteen out of the studio for a while, and probably also contributed to the much more sombre tone of his 1978 album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. He continued to consolidate his thematic focus on working-class life with the double album The River in 1980 and the solo acoustic Nebraska in 1982. Springsteen is probably best known for the multi-million selling Born in the U.S.A.(1984), and the successful world tour that followed it. The title track was a tribute to Springsteen's buddies that had experienced the Vietnam War, some of whom did not come back. The song was widely mis-interpreted on release as nationalistic. In later years Springsteen performed the song accompanied only with acoustic guitar to restore the song's original meaning. After this commercial peak, Springsteen released the much more sedate and contemplative Tunnel of Love (1987), a mature reflection on the many faces of love found, lost and squandered. It coincided with the breakup of his first marriage to actress Julianne Phillips. Reflecting the challenges of love, on Tunnel of Love's title song, Springsteen famously sang: "Ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough. Man meets woman, and they fall in love. But the house is haunted, and the ride gets rough. You got to learn to live with what you can't rise above." Bruce Springsteen1990sIn 1992, after breaking up with most of the E Street Band (Roy Bittan remained), Springsteen released two albums simultaneously. Human Touch and Lucky Town were even more introspective than any of his previous work. Also different about these albums was the confidence he displayed. As opposed to his first two albums, which dreamed of happiness, and his next four, which showed him growing to fear it, these albums saw a finally satisfied and mature Springsteen. A multiple Grammy Award winner, he also won an Academy Award in 1993 for his song "Streets of Philadelphia," which appeared in the soundtrack to the film Philadelphia. The song, along with the film, was applauded by many for its sympathetic portrayal of a gay man dying of AIDS, especially coming from a main-stream, heterosexual musician. In 1995, after temporarily re-organizing the E Street Band for a few new songs recorded for his first Greatest Hits album (a recording session that was chronicled in the film "Blood Brothers"), he released his second solo guitar album, The Ghost of Tom Joad. In 1998, another precursor to the E Street Band's upcoming re-birth appeared in the form of a sprawling, four-disc box set of out-takes, Tracks. In 1999, the Band officially re-united and went on an extensive world tour, lasting over a year in length and finishing with ten sold out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. The E-United World Tour resulted in an HBO Concert, with corresponding DVD and album releases as Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City. Drawing on his strong fan base in Philadelphia, Springsteen chose to celebrate his 50th birthday in September 1999 with a live show at the Philadelphia Spectrum, which he opened with his hit "Growing Up." Closing the song on that night, he quoted W. C. Fields: "All things being equal, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." 2000sIn 2002, Springsteen released his first studio effort with the full band in 18 years, The Rising, produced by Brendan O'Brien. The album, mostly a reflection on the September 11 attacks, was a critical and popular success, and hailed the return of "The Boss". A massive tour was made to promote The Rising. It would come to a final conclusion with 3 nights in Shea Stadium. Bruce Springsteen lost his police escort for the second night after performing "American Skin (41 shots)" a song about the police shooting of Amadou Diallo. Bob Dylan was a surprise guest on the last night, the two performed "Highway 61 Revisited" together. In 2004, Springsteen announced that he and the E Street Band would participate in a politically motivated "Vote for Change" tour, in conjunction with John Fogerty, the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Jurassic 5 and other musicians. All were be held in swing states, to benefit MoveOn.org and encourage people to vote against George W. Bush. A finale was held in Washington, D.C., bringing many of the artists together. Several days later, Springsteen had one more concert in New Jersey for Moveon.org. This led to both criticism and praise from the expected partisan sources. Springsteen's "No Surrender" became the main campaign theme song for John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign. In the last days of John Kerry's campaign, he performed acoustic versions of his songs at Kerry rallies, mainly "No Surrender," "Thunder Road" and "The Promised Land". Despite his overt partisanship, however, Springsteen was forgiven by many of his Republican fans, many of whom said they found Springsteen's passion for America and personal struggle consistent with their own ideology. Springsteen thus represented one of only a few modern performers whose music was viewed as widely relevant to the politics and culture of the day. E Street BandCurrent members of the E Street Band:
Samples
DiscographyAlbumsHit singles
TriviaBruce Springsteen is credited with helping to launch the career of a young Courteney Cox by granting her an appearance in his famous "Dancing in the Dark" music video. This page about Bruce Springsteen includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Bruce Springsteen News stories about Bruce Springsteen External links for Bruce Springsteen Videos for Bruce Springsteen Wikis about Bruce Springsteen Discussion Groups about Bruce Springsteen Blogs about Bruce Springsteen Images of Bruce Springsteen |
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Bruce Springsteen is credited with helping to launch the career of a young Courteney Cox by granting her an appearance in his famous "Dancing in the Dark" music video. The band played together one last time on March 18, 2002 at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Springsteen thus represented one of only a few modern performers whose music was viewed as widely relevant to the politics and culture of the day. Frantz and Weymouth had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981, their debut album selling almost as well as Talking Heads themselves leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. Despite his overt partisanship, however, Springsteen was forgiven by many of his Republican fans, many of whom said they found Springsteen's passion for America and personal struggle consistent with their own ideology. Byrne has gone on to become something of a "rock icon" in recent years (using Pete Townshend's definition of the term: "It means no one buys your records any more"), while Harrison has become a producer of some note—his resumé includes the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, Live's Throwing Copper, and No Doubt's Return of Saturn. In the last days of John Kerry's campaign, he performed acoustic versions of his songs at Kerry rallies, mainly "No Surrender," "Thunder Road" and "The Promised Land". Frustrated by David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison also reunited without him for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name "The Heads" in 1996. Springsteen's "No Surrender" became the main campaign theme song for John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign. A brief reunion occurred in 1992 for "Sax and Violins", an original single that appeared on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. This led to both criticism and praise from the expected partisan sources. It took until 1991 for an official announcement to be made that Talking Heads had broken up. Several days later, Springsteen had one more concert in New Jersey for Moveon.org. During that time, however, the group was falling more and more under David Byrne's sway, and after Naked the band went on "hiatus". A finale was held in Washington, D.C., bringing many of the artists together. All were poppier and more accessible than previous releases, without discarding the group's characteristic quirky thoughtfulness. Bush. Three more albums followed, 1985's Little Creatures, 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared) and 1988's Naked. All were be held in swing states, to benefit MoveOn.org and encourage people to vote against George W. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. In 2004, Springsteen announced that he and the E Street Band would participate in a politically motivated "Vote for Change" tour, in conjunction with John Fogerty, the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Jurassic 5 and other musicians. Once again, a striking video was inescapable during the song's run. Bob Dylan was a surprise guest on the last night, the two performed "Highway 61 Revisited" together. 1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's first American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". Bruce Springsteen lost his police escort for the second night after performing "American Skin (41 shots)" a song about the police shooting of Amadou Diallo. In the meantime they released a live album The Name of this Band is Talking Heads and parted ways with Brian Eno, who went on to successfully produce U2. It would come to a final conclusion with 3 nights in Shea Stadium. After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group then spent nearly three more before releasing another. A massive tour was made to promote The Rising. The single from the latter, "Once in a Lifetime", failed to make an impression upon its release, but grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the back of its music video, one of the first signs of the power music videos would exert during the 1980s. The album, mostly a reflection on the September 11 attacks, was a critical and popular success, and hailed the return of "The Boss". The experimentation continued with 1979's Fear of Music, featuring "Life During Wartime" and 1980's Remain in Light, both of which flirted with the darker stylings of post punk rock. In 2002, Springsteen released his first studio effort with the full band in 18 years, The Rising, produced by Brendan O'Brien. Though the first album's "Psycho Killer" had been a minor hit, it was this album's cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" that broke Talking Heads into general public consciousness. Fields: "All things being equal, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.". Eno's unusual style meshed well with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they gained the confidence to explore in a wide variety of musical directions. C. As producer, Eno became a virtual fifth member of the band for the first part of their career. Drawing on his strong fan base in Philadelphia, Springsteen chose to celebrate his 50th birthday in September 1999 with a live show at the Philadelphia Spectrum, which he opened with his hit "Growing Up." Closing the song on that night, he quoted W. It was with their second album, 1978's More Songs About Buildings and Food that the band began its long-term collaboration with Brian Eno, one-time keyboard player for Roxy Music, latterly famous for his experimental, ambient art-pop and for producing several respected albums for David Bowie. The E-United World Tour resulted in an HBO Concert, with corresponding DVD and album releases as Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City. Combining a taut rhythm section with David Byrne's signature neurotic vocals, '77 was a potent slab of art-punk virtuosity that, despite poor sales, instantly endeared the band to the more experimental elements in New York's burgeoning punk scene. In 1999, the Band officially re-united and went on an extensive world tour, lasting over a year in length and finishing with ten sold out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. Their first album, Talking Heads: 77 was released soon afterward. In 1998, another precursor to the E Street Band's upcoming re-birth appeared in the form of a sprawling, four-disc box set of out-takes, Tracks. The group quickly drew a following and was signed to Sire Records in 1977. In 1995, after temporarily re-organizing the E Street Band for a few new songs recorded for his first Greatest Hits album (a recording session that was chronicled in the film "Blood Brothers"), he released his second solo guitar album, The Ghost of Tom Joad. In 1976, they added one more member, Jerry Harrison (keyboards and guitar), formerly of Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers. The song, along with the film, was applauded by many for its sympathetic portrayal of a gay man dying of AIDS, especially coming from a main-stream, heterosexual musician. Moving to New York the nascent Heads landed a gig, opening for The Ramones at the legendary CBGBs club. A multiple Grammy Award winner, he also won an Academy Award in 1993 for his song "Streets of Philadelphia," which appeared in the soundtrack to the film Philadelphia. 'All content, no action' seemed to fit the band's musical style and stage presence so the name stuck. As opposed to his first two albums, which dreamed of happiness, and his next four, which showed him growing to fear it, these albums saw a finally satisfied and mature Springsteen. The group settled on the name 'Talking Heads' from an issue of TV Guide; the term refers to programmes which consist entirely of dialogue, delivered by presenters filmed from the shoulders up. Human Touch and Lucky Town were even more introspective than any of his previous work. Also different about these albums was the confidence he displayed. Formed in 1974 at the Rhode Island School of Design, the band first consisted of three members: David Byrne (vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), and Tina Weymouth (bass). In 1992, after breaking up with most of the E Street Band (Roy Bittan remained), Springsteen released two albums simultaneously. In David Byrne they had one of the most distinctive front men of the period; they remained popular during their lifetime, and their concert film Stop Making Sense (which was made at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, and directed by Jonathan Demme) is widely acclaimed as one of the finest examples of the genre [1] (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/talking_heads_stop_making_sense/). You got to learn to live with what you can't rise above.". Talking Heads, a quintessential New Wave rock band, were one of the most prominent of the genre, marrying punk rock sensibilities with poppy sounds, clipped funk, art school intellectualism, and latterly world music. But the house is haunted, and the ride gets rough. Talking Heads is also the name for a collection of monologues by Alan Bennett.. Man meets woman, and they fall in love. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads [live] (1982) (reissued in greatly expanded form in 2004). "Ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough. Stop Making Sense [live] (1984) (reissued in expanded form in 1999). Reflecting the challenges of love, on Tunnel of Love's title song, Springsteen famously sang:. Once In A Lifetime (box set) (2003). It coincided with the breakup of his first marriage to actress Julianne Phillips. Sand In The Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992). After this commercial peak, Springsteen released the much more sedate and contemplative Tunnel of Love (1987), a mature reflection on the many faces of love found, lost and squandered. Naked (1988). The song was widely mis-interpreted on release as nationalistic. In later years Springsteen performed the song accompanied only with acoustic guitar to restore the song's original meaning. True Stories (1986). The title track was a tribute to Springsteen's buddies that had experienced the Vietnam War, some of whom did not come back. Little Creatures (1985). Springsteen is probably best known for the multi-million selling Born in the U.S.A.(1984), and the successful world tour that followed it. Speaking in Tongues (1983). He continued to consolidate his thematic focus on working-class life with the double album The River in 1980 and the solo acoustic Nebraska in 1982. Remain in Light (1980). However, a legal battle with former manager Mike Appel kept Springsteen out of the studio for a while, and probably also contributed to the much more sombre tone of his 1978 album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. Fear of Music (1979). And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time."[3] (http://home.theboots.net/theboots/articles/future.html) (Landau later became Springsteen's manager and producer). With the release of his album Born to Run in 1975, Springsteen made the covers of both Time Magazine and Newsweek the same week, on October 27 of that year. More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978). In Boston's The Real Paper May 22, 1974, music critic Jon Landau wrote, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. Talking Heads (1977). Although Greetings and his second album, The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle received critical acclaim, they failed to achieve commercial success. Manfred Mann's Earth Band later turned one song from this album, "Blinded By The Light," into a number one hit. His debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., from January 1973 established him as a critical favorite [2] (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/107193), though sales were slow. Upon signing a solo record deal with Columbia Records in 1972, Springsteen brought many of his New Jersey-based musician friends into the studio with him, many of them forming the E Street Band. He began his recording career with the E Street Band in 1973. Drawing on his extensive local appeal, his appearances in major New Jersey and Philadelphia venues routinely would sell out for consecutive nights and, much like the Grateful Dead, his show's song lists would vary significantly from night to night. Even after gaining international acclaim, Springsteen's New Jersey roots would reverberate in his music, with him routinely praising "the great state of New Jersey" in his live shows. His New Jersey shows quickly gathered cult-like appeal for their energy, passion and longevity, most lasting in excess of three hours. Before being discovered nationally, he returned to Asbury Park, New Jersey, and performed regularly at The Stone Pony and other small Asbury Park nightclubs. They went on to perform some memorable shows at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He began performing in Richmond, Virginia in late 1969 and through 1970 with singer Robbin Thompson in a band called Steel Mill. One of Springsteen's earliest recordings is from 1965, when he was originally the guitar player for a band called the Castiles, later becoming lead singer. His father, Douglas, was a bus driver of Dutch ancestry and his mother, Adele Zirilli Springsteen, an Italian-American legal secretary. Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949 in Freehold Borough, New Jersey. His album, The Rising, is a retrospective of those events. Springsteen is also noted for his work for the relief effort after the September 11th attacks. "Born in the USA" was so popular that Ronald Reagan famously chose it to be the theme of his 1984 presidential campaign, misinterpreting it to be a patriotic song rather than a protest song about the Vietnam War. Springsteen has become popular in his own right despite that because of the appeal of his songs. Comparisons are inevitably made between him and Bob Dylan [1] (http://home.theboots.net/theboots/articles/bangs_btr_review.html) because of his folk rock roots. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the USA, epitomize his penchant for writing about the struggles of a young man growing up in the streets of New Jersey. His eloquence in expressing Everyman's problems has earned him a huge fan base within America's middle class. Springsteen is most widely known for his brand of heartland rock, rock and roll infused with Americana sentiments. He frequently recorded with The E-Street Band. Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter, nicknamed "The Boss". 2002 "Lonesome Day" #39 UK. from "The Rising"
1997 "Secret Garden" #19 US, #17 UK. from "Jerry Maguire" soundtrack (originally on "Greatest Hits")
1995 "Hungry Heart" (re-issue) #28 UK. from "Greatest Hits"
1992 "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" #32 UK. 1992 "Human Touch" #16 US, #11 UK. from "Human Touch"
from "Lucky Town"
1987 "Tunnel of Love" #9 US. 1987 "Brilliant Disguise" #5 US, #20 UK. from "Tunnel of Love"
non-album-related single
1985 "My Hometown" #6 US, #9 UK (double A-side with Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town in the UK). 1985 "Glory Days" #5 US, #17 UK. 1985 "I'm on Fire" #6 US, #5 UK (double A-side with Born in the USA in the UK). 1985 "Cover Me" (re-entry) #16 UK. 1985 "Dancing in the Dark" (re-entry) #4 UK. 1984 "Cover Me" #7 US, #38 UK. 1984 "Dancing in the Dark" #2 US, #28 UK. 1984 "Born in the U.S.A." #9 US. from "Born in the U.S.A."
from "The River"
from "Born to Run"
Soozie Tyrell - violin (recorded with Springsteen in 1995, joined the band in 2002 with "The Rising" album and tour). Tallent - bass guitar. Gary W. Patti Scialfa - guitar (Springsteen's wife - added in 1984). Nils Lofgren - guitar (replaced Steven van Zandt in 1984; remained in group after van Zandt returned). Danny Federici - organ, glockenspiel, keyboard. Clarence Clemons - saxophone. Roy Bittan - piano (replaced David Sancious in 1975). |