Since I’ve been a kid I’ve loved and enjoyed the music of “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen. He was born September 23, 1949 in Long Beach, NJ. His father, Douglas Fredrick Springsteen was a bus driver and his mother, Adele Ann Zerilli was a legal secretary. He also had two sisters by the name of Virginia and Pamela, both involved in photography today. Bruce grew up as a Roman Catholic which later greatly influenced his music. His decision to become a musician came when he was just seven years old as he saw Elvis Presley perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, in wasn’t until he was thirteen that he purchased his first guitar.
Focused in New Jersey, Springsteen was highly inspired by beach towns such as Asbury Park. In the late 1960’s, Bruce performed briefly in a band called Earth where he got his nickname “The Boss”, even though he never really liked the nickname. From Earth he went on to play in a plan called Steel Mill with current E-Street Band member, Steve Van Zandt. Throughout this time, Bruce started to form a cult that would follow him around New Jersey. In wasn’t until May 1972 when Springsteen auditioned with Columbia Records which was a success as his professional career began.
With this record deal, he formed the E-Street Band and together released his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., released in January 1973. It was a huge success as he was receiving much comparison to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison which hindered his sales. He did however receive critical acclaim, just a lack of commercial following. It wasn’t until August 25, 1975 when the future of rock and roll came forward as Springsteen’s most famous album; Born to Run was released after 14 long months of recording. He had some legal battles following his success from this album which was finally resolved in 1977 when he was able to develop his next album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. It was one of his most inspirational works, although it failed to deliver more. His next album, The River, was released in 1980, which gave him his first ever Top Ten single with “Hungry Heart”. In 1982 he released Nebraska which was a solo acoustic album that itself didn’t hit big but yielded great rewards. This rewards dealt with when creating the album they tried to see if it would work with the E-Street Band included, during this time they recorded two songs that were released two years later; Born in the U.S.A. and Glory Days. The album, Born in the U.S.A. was released in 1984 and officially made Springsteen a star. It had seven Top Ten singles and the album stayed in the Top 10 for over two years. He also made his first music videos during this album. During the touring for this album he met his first wife, actress Julianne Phillips. They married in May 1985. There love didn’t last as Phillips filed for divorce in August 1988 after it was reported Springsteen was having an affair with band mate and current wife, Patti Scialfa.
Following all of this, his next album, Tunnel of Love, was one of very personal meanings. During the tour for this album he tried to shake up a lot of the normal E Street Band live habits. After the tour he dissolved the E Street Band and moved to California with Patti Scialfa where they then got married in 1991 where they eventually had three children together. It took half a decade until Springsteen returned to music, as he released two albums simultaneously; Human Touch and Lucky Town. Without the E Street Band he received mixed reviews and performed to empty seats for the first time in fifteen years. During this time he recorded “Streets of Philadelphia” for the movie Philadelphia. The song itself won an Academy Award and four Grammys. In 1995 he next released The Ghost of Tom Joad, which was much like his album Nebraska. Unfortunately this album did not go platinum for Springsteen. After this release, Bruce stayed out of the limelight until November 1998 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That same week he released a book that contained his song lyrics called Songs, as well as a career collection box set called Tracks, that was the first box set album to debut at Number One on the charts. Then in 1999, Bruce and the E Street Band reunited for the first time in a decade and toured the world for over a year. It wasn’t until 2001 when Springsteen along with the E Street Band released their first album together in eighteen years titled, The Rising. This album reflected a lot on the attacks of 9/11. Following this he released two more albums without the band; Devils & Dust and We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. In 2007 he released Magic with the E Street Band, and on January 27, 2009 he will be releasing his recent album titled Working on a Dream along with the band. This album was recorded while they were on the Magic tour. Most recently his track “The Wrestler” which was written for the movie The Wrestler, received a Golden Globe, and he will be performing live as the halftime performer at Super Bowl XLIII.
Bruce Springsteen is a rock and roll legend of his time. He has won eighteen Grammys throughout his career, one Academy Award, one Emmy, two Golden Globes, and placed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is an inspirational individual whose songs are all written with meaning of life and religion.
"Bruce Springsteen Biography." Bruce Springsteen: Biography: Rolling Stone. <http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/brucespringsteen/biography>.
"Bruce Springsteen." Bruce Springsteen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen>.