Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen, born September 23, 1949, nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.

In 2009, Springsteen performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
Springsteen was among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual award to figures from the world of arts for their contribution to American culture, in December 2009. President Obama gave a speech in which he talked about how Springsteen has incorporated the life of regular Americans in his expansive pallette of songs and how his concerts are beyond the typical rock-and-roll concerts, how, apart from being high-energy concerts, they are "communions". He ended the remark "while I am the president, he is The Boss". Tributes were paid by several well-known celebrities including Jon Stewart (who described Springsteen's "unprecedented combination of lyrical eloquence, musical mastery and sheer unbridled, unadulterated joy"). A musical tribute featured John Mellencamp, Ben Harper, and Jennifer Nettles, Melissa Etheridge, Eddie Vedder, and Sting.
The 2000s ended with Springsteen being named one of eight Artists of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine and with Springsteen's tours ranking him fourth among artists in total concert grosses for the decade.
In September 2010, a documentary about the making of his 1978 album Darkness on The Edge of Town was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, was included in a box set reissue of the album, entitled The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, released in November 2010. Also airing on HBO, the documentary explored Springsteen's making of the acclaimed album, and his role in the production and development of the tracks.
Springsteen has finished his next studio album with Ron Aniello, who also co-produced the 2007 album Play It As It Lays, by Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa. Ron Aniello also produced "Children's Song" early in 2011, a duet with Springsteen and Scialfa, which was done for a charity project.
Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band's saxophonist since 1972, died on June 18, 2011, of complications from a stroke. “Clarence lived a wonderful life,” Springsteen said in a statement. “He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage.


Springsteen performing with drummer Max Weinberg behind him, on the Magic Tour stop at Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida, August 15, 2008.
Springsteen's 17th studio album, Wrecking Ball, was released on March 6, 2012. On January 13, 2012, Hollywood Reporter released an article describing the sound of the new album. According to the article, the album is Springsteen at his angriest yet and addresses economic justice quite a bit. The article describes the album musically as being very rock-and-roll with unexpected textures, loops, electronic percussion and a variety of influences. The album consists of eleven tracks plus two bonus tracks. Three songs previously only available as live versions, "Wrecking Ball", "Land of Hope and Dreams," and "American Land," appear on the album. The album's first single, "We Take Care of Our Own", was released on January 19, 2012.
On January 24, 2012, Springsteen's official web site announced that the E Street Band will commence a world tour called the Wrecking Ball Tour on March 18, 2012, in Atlanta. The tour will run through at least July 31, 2012, and will consist of at least two legs featuring 51 dates, although the headline "First US Leg of 2012 World Tour" may imply that the tour will continue into autumn 2012 or beyond. As tickets for the first U.S. dates went on sale, many fans were unable to obtain tickets, much like for the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour, allegedly due to a heavy volume of ticket scalpers. Shows sold out within minutes and many tickets appeared, at much higher prices, on resale websites such as StubHub less than an hour after the onsale time. Ticketmaster said web traffic was 2.5 times the highest level of the past year during the online sales and suggested that scalpers played a big role. U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell has called for stronger government oversight of online box offices. Pascrell introduced the BOSS ACT in 2009 to increase transparency in the ticket industry. Pascrell said he would reintroduce the bill to Congress.
"Rocky Ground" has been announced as the second single from Wrecking Ball and will be released exclusively as part of Record Store Day on April 21, 2012.
Wrecking Ball became Springsteen's tenth No. 1 album in the United States tying him with Elvis Presley for third most No. 1 albums of all-time. Only The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (12) have more No. 1 albums. Wrecking Ball knocked out Adele's Grammy winning album, 21 after 23 nonconsecutive weeks at #1.
On March 15, 2012, Springsteen was the keynote speaker at the annual SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas.


Springsteen and Julianne Phillips (born May 6, 1960) were married from May 13, 1985 to May 1988, when they separated. The two were opposites in background and his traveling took its toll on their relationship. The final blow came when Springsteen began an affair with Patti Scialfa (born July 29, 1953), whom he had dated briefly in 1984 shortly after she joined the band. Phillips and Springsteen separated in the spring of 1988 without making an announcement to the press, and on August 30, 1988, Julianne filed for divorce. The Springsteen/Phillips divorce was finalized on March 1, 1989.
After the separation in 1988, Springsteen began living with Scialfa. Springsteen received press criticism for the hastiness in which he and Scialfa took up their relationship. In a 1995 interview with The Advocate, Springsteen spoke about the negative publicity the couple subsequently received. "It's a strange society that assumes it has the right to tell people whom they should love and whom they shouldn't. But the truth is, I basically ignored the entire thing as much as I could. I said, 'Well, all I know is, this feels real, and maybe I have got a mess going here in some fashion, but that's life.'" He also noted that, "I went through a divorce, and it was really difficult and painful and I was very frightened about getting married again. So part of me said, 'Hey, what does it matter?' But it does matter. It's very different than just living together. First of all, stepping up publicly- which is what you do: You get your license, you do all the social rituals- is a part of your place in society and in some way part of society's acceptance of you...Patti and I both found that it did mean something.
On July 25, 1990 Scialfa gave birth to the couple's first child, Evan James Springsteen. On June 8, 1991 Springsteen and Scialfa married at their Beverly Hills home. Their second child, Jessica Rae Springsteen, was born on December 30, 1991; and their third child, Samuel Ryan Springsteen, was born on January 5, 1994. The family owns and lives on a horse farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey. They also own homes in Wellington, Florida, a wealthy horse community near West Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Rumson, New Jersey. Their eldest son, Evan, attends Boston College. Their daughter Jessica is a nationally ranked champion equestrian, and attends Duke University.
Since 1991, Springsteen has led a relatively quiet life for a well-known popular performer and artist. He moved from Los Angeles to New Jersey in the early 1990s specifically to raise a family in a non-paparazzi environment. It has been reported that the press conference regarding the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII half-time show was his first press conference for more than 25 years.However, he has appeared in a few radio interviews, most notably on NPR and BBC. 60 Minutes aired his last extensive interview on TV before his tour to support his album, Magic.

Bands

His earliest known band is The Castiles.
Prior to signing his first record deal in 1972, Springsteen was a member of several bands including Steel Mill. In October 1972 he formed a new band for the recording of his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., which became known as The E Street Band, although the name was not officially introduced until  The E Street Band performed on all of Springsteen's recorded works from his debut until 1982's Nebraska, a solo album on which Springsteen himself played all the instruments. The full band returned for the next album Born in the USA, but there then followed a period from 1988 to 1999 in which albums were recorded with session musicians. The E Street Band were briefly reunited in 1995 for new contributions to the Greatest Hits compilation, and on a more permanent basis from 1999, since which time they have recorded 3 albums together (The Rising, Magic and Working on a Dream) and performed a number of high profile tours.
The 2005 album Devils & Dust was largely a solo recording, with some contribution from session musicians and the 2006 folk rock We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions album was recorded and toured with another band, known as The Sessions Band. In the summer of 2012, Raymond Bernero will join Bruce on the stage at Wrigely Field in Chicago.
Earlier Bands: The Castiles, Earth, Child, Steel Mill, Sundance Blues Band, Dr Zoom and the Sonic Boom, Bruce Springsteen Band.