Forever A Fangirl

The Big Man is Dead: Springsteen's E Street Sax Man Clarence Clemons Succumbs After Stroke - 'Jungleland' Solo [VIDEO]

Iconic rock saxophonist Clarence Clemons died Saturday at age 69 of complications from a stroke, bandmate Bruce Springsteen said:

Clarence Clemons performs with Aretha Franklin on her 1985 recording 'Freeway Of Love':
(VIDEO after the jump)

The story of how Bruce Springsteen and The Big Man began making history together--as told by Clarence Clemons:

One night we were playing in Asbury Park. I'd heard The Bruce Springsteen Band was nearby at a club called The Student Prince and on a break between sets I walked over there. On-stage, Bruce used to tell different versions of this story but I'm a Baptist, remember, so this is the truth.

A rainy, windy night it was, and when I opened the door the whole thing flew off its hinges and blew away down the street. The band were on-stage, but staring at me framed in the doorway. And maybe that did make Bruce a little nervous because I just said, "I want to play with your band," and he said, "Sure, you do anything you want."

The first song we did was an early version of "Spirit In The Night." Bruce and I looked at each other and didn't say anything, we just knew. We knew we were the missing links in each other's lives. He was what I'd been searching for. In one way he was just a scrawny little kid. But he was a visionary. He wanted to follow his dream. So from then on I was part of history.

Cover art featuring Clarence Clemons and Bruce Springsteen on The E Street Band's breakthrough album, 'Born To Run':

In concerts Bruce would always introduce "The E Street Shuffle" with a monologue about how they met with the magicl moment immortalized in the song 'Tenth Avenue Freeze out,' the second song on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough album 'Born to Run.'         

Clarence Clemons' E Street Band 'Jungleland' Solo - Stockholm - June 7th 09 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band:

 

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985 had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a duet with Jackson Browne. As a guest musician he also featured on Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love" ...Clemons published his autobiography, Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales, in 2009. Clemons suffered a stroke on June 12, 2011 and died due to complications from the stroke on June 18 at 69 years old.

SOURCE: Wikipedia

In announcing Clarence Clemons' death, E Street Band leader Bruce Springsteen said:

"Clarence lived a wonderful life. 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 said in a statement.

"His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years. He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

Clemons played on such classic Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band hits as "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" and is widely credited with helping to shape Springsteen's sound.

 

After the jump: Clarence Clemons talks about his the musical 'marriage' with Bruce Springsteen; Clemons performing with Aretha Franklin on 1985's 'Freeway Of Love':

Jimmy Fallon - Born to Run - Emmys Opening Sketch - 2010 - Glee - Emmy Awards - 720P HD

 

supernoikz | August 29, 2010

Jimmy Fallon - Born to Run - Emmys Opening Sketch - 2010 - Glee - Emmy Awards - 720P HD

And in case NBC decides to delete the "unofficial" version, here is the official version (on the craptastic NBC player below):

I gotta admit I had not seen the performance until now, only hearing from my teenage son who, I suspect, has taken to watching "Glee," that Jimmy Fallon opened the 2010 Emmys with "Born To Run" with the Glee cast and "Hurley" (Jorge Garcia) from LOST and that Fallon did a credible job of performing as Bruce Springteen (writer/original performer of the song).

I've never liked anyone but Bruce attempting the song because every version I've heard until now sucked incredibly, but but in Fallon's version a number of singers were integrated into it  taking on the parts they were most suited to and it actually worked--though of course the song belongs to Springsteen. They only borrowed it.  Bruce Springsteen owns 'Born To Run' --in every sense of the word.

Why is one of the high points of an admittedly good Emmy show not showing up until almost a week after the broadcast? This blurb explains it all (or tries to):

2010 Emmy Awards (credit)

You can now safely delete Sunday’s Emmy telecast from your DVR: Host Jimmy Fallon’s rather spectacular opener to the show, which featured stars across the television universe singing a Glee-ful version of “Born to Run,” — officially. Why’d it take so long to get the NBC-approved goods? There was a bit of a holdup with rights over using the Bruce Springsteen staple — apparently, NBC and the TV Academy didn’t square away the deal to use the song on the web until yesterday afternoon. (You couldn’t find it officially online before then, but, of course,the bit was pirated everywhere.) Fallon was none too happy about all his efforts being absent from the network’s website: “That could have been worth 500,000 hits on NBC.com,” the Late Night host told Variety on Tuesday.

This makes me happy. Springsteen and E Street to play Superbowl '09

Springsteen and E Street to play Superbowl '09

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play the half-time slot at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, snagging the spot at the most-watched musical event of the year, according to the organizers.This year, more than 148 million viewers in the U.S. watched Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play at the championship game of American football, the National Football League said on Sunday.Read the whole story here.

Update/Danny Federici, Springsteen and E Street's Longtime Keyboardist, Dies At 58

Update from the Funeral Home (below) Also, from Danny's family: The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund

"Fourth Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" featuring Danny Federici, Bruce and E Street, Indianapolis 3/2008.

Danny rejoined the band one last time.

Hard to watch but lovely performance. At the very end of the song Bruces gives Danny a buss on the cheek and says "I love you."

When I saw Springsteen and The E Street Band last month in Milwaukee it was clear to me that I'd missed my last chance to see and hear Danny Federici with the full band.

When Bruce spoke about Danny, he did so briefly but meaningfully. I happened to be watching the monitor with the huge image of Bruce from the shoulders up as he took a short break to explain Danny's absence and to urge folks in the audience to give to the Food Bank in the lobby. When he mentioned that they "hoped" to have Danny "back on the next leg of the tour," a flash of sadness etched Bruce's face. I knew in that moment just about a month ago, that Springsteen knew how grave Danny's condition was. Even when you "know" someone will be dying soon, you often still hope against hope for a miracle. It truly appeared that Bruce was heartbroken but showman that he is, he stashed away that part of himself for the show's duration.

Sadly, Danny Federici's life and so his gift of music, was truncated after he succumbed on Thursday after years of battling melanoma.

RIP (Rock on In Peace), Danny

Federici, left, with the E Street Band.

Photo: Supplied

April 18, 2008 - 2:49PM

Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from Hungry Heart through The Rising has died. He was 58.

Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York on Thursday.

News of his death was posted on Springsteen's official website.

He last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together," Springsteen said in a statement posted on his website.

Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Saturday in Orlando were postponed.

Federici was born in Flemington, New Jersey, a long car ride from the Jersey shore haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s.

The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, New Jersey, a now-defunct after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state.

It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who first invited Springsteen to join their band.

By 1969, the self-effacing Federici - often introduced in concert by Springsteen as Phantom Dan - was playing with the Boss in a band called Child.

Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore bands Steel Mill, Dr Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band.

Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999.

"Bruce has been supportive throughout my life," Federici said in a recent interview with Backstreets magazine.

"I've had my ups and downs, and I've certainly given him a run for his money, and he's always been there for me."

Federici played accordion on the wistful 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) from Springsteen's second album, and his organ solo was a highlight of Springsteen's first top 10 hit, Hungry Heart.

His organ coda on the 9/11-inspired Springsteen song You're Missing provided one of the more heart-wrenching moments on The Rising in 2002.

In a band with larger-than-life characters such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons and bandanna-wrapped guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, Federici was content to play in his familiar position to the side of the stage. But his playing was as vital to Springsteen's live show as any instrument in the band.

No Surrender

In many ways, last night's show at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee reminded me of the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in 1980, at the LA Sports Arena. Remember 1980? It was the year that both Ronald Reagan was elected president and a month later, John Lennon shot to death. I was living in Southern California and my best friend Jerry, a native New Yorker and HUGE Springsteen fan, was kind enough to invite me to accompany him to Springsteen and E Street's show at the LA Sports Arena--two nights in a row!

Back in those days Bruce and E Street played 3.5 hour sets full of raw emotion, intensity, rollicking good spirit, sincerity and social commentary. "Exhilarating" is probably the best way to describe those times. They were rock n' roll shows unlike any I'd seen before--and as nothing I've seen since.

There were moments back then and last night too, where I was on the verge of tears--all the while with a smile on my face. And I wasn't the only one. Springsteen and E Street's performances are transcendent and indeed, they elevate you spiritually to a place of deep joy and comfort.

When Springsteen and Van Zandt harmonize they evoke memories of spinning 45s records on the turntable back in our younger days, gleaning more from a few minutes on a disc than hours in a classroom. Most of us of a certain age can feel this on a visceral level--they speak to us in our language--the language of rock n' roll. Springsteen and E Street forge a connection which comforts us in a way in which mere words cannot fully do justice.

(Photo/Jim Bovin)

But there was a stark contrast as well between the Springsteen shows I saw in 1980 and the 2008 performance.

Time, as it will, is taking it's toll; the show is a full hour less in length than the gigs in 1980.

Most troubling to me was Danny Federici's absence. A founding member of The E Street Band, Danny is fighting for his life with a vicious form of cancer--melanoma that has metastasized. I've posted two video clips of Danny's last performances in 2007 below.
Though Bruce issued an upbeat-sounding statement last year when Danny first prepared to "take a leave" from the band, as I watched Bruce's face on the huge screen last night when he explained that his wife and bandmate Patti was home in New Jersey with their three teenagers, I saw a flash of deep sadness cross his face a moment later as he moved on to say that Danny Federici "may" be able to join them for a short stint "later" in the tour.

Also, if you haven't seen Clarence Clemons lately you'd have been shocked at his appearance. EDIT/After giving it some more thought, I realize that Clemons has lost a lot of weight and that doing so later in life leaves saggy skin--this could explain a lot./ The Big Man is no longer big and interplay between the Clemons and Springsteen was almost non-existent. It was Steve Van Zandt doing most of the clowning with Bruce last night. Clemons now moves slowly--perhaps he's dealing with arthritis?, often perching on an overstuffed chair nearly off stage, sometimes sitting for a song's duration. Thankfully, he is still able to belt out his amazing signature sound when called upon.

Despite these poignant reminders that time leaves none of us unmarked, "magic" continues to pulse through the night whenever Bruce Springsteen picks up a guitar and steps on stage.

Hard to read Bruce's writing? Here's the list, courtesy of Bruce's official website Bruce Springsteen.net, ( Springsteen songs only) in print:

March 17, 2008
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Bradley Center

No Surrender { lyrics }
Radio Nowhere { lyrics }
Lonesome Day { lyrics }
Streets Of Fire { lyrics } Tour Premiere
Gypsy Biker { lyrics }
Magic { lyrics }
Reason To Believe { lyrics }
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City { lyrics }
Prove It All Night { lyrics }
She's The One { lyrics }
Livin' In The Future { lyrics }
The Promised Land { lyrics }
Cadillac Ranch { lyrics }
My Hometown { lyrics }
Devil's Arcade { lyrics }
The Rising { lyrics }
Last To Die { lyrics }
Long Walk Home { lyrics }
Badlands { lyrics }

"Rockin' Without A Net"

Just finished reading some reviews of
Springsteen both from the first leg of the tour and from this, the second leg. The show tonight will be the eighth of this part of the tour and I'm totally jazzed.
I remain ever hopeful that he will do as he did here:

...play Rosalita.

But my hopes are not high on that count.

"Night" would be great too, but he played it not on 14th, but in the two shows prior.

Maybe I'll get luckier. I'm lucky and happy no matter what because I get to see Bruce and E Street again.

I'm very, very disappointed about no Patti (Scialfa, Bruce's band and lifemate). She wasn't in the last show I saw (in Milwaukee) either. What, she doesn't like Pabst? Kidding. It's my understanding that she is home with the kids--all teenagers I believe, and since I get worried leaving my 15 y.o. for one evening alone--imagine how it must be to leave three teens (obv. not _alone_) for weeks at a time. You are a good mom, Patti: You do the heavy lifting whilst hubby goes out and plays.

Oooh, one more thing I'm jazzed about. Bruce writes out a new set list each evening and they are being published on his site brucespringsteen.net. What a nice FREE memento from the show!!!

March 14 set list is after the jump...

Um. Nevermind.

I am such an idiot. I say that a lot—write it a lot, too. Hrm.

OK. So no harm done but I forgot I’m driving to another state to see Bruce Springsteen tonight (Monday). “Forgot” as in was off on the dates by a month! In my defence (there really is none, I know) but...I bought e- tickets—needing to be printed out. They were in fact, but getting “event tickets” online is much different than in person. Or am I the only one left who remembers paper tickets to shows? lol You do not have to understand how excited I am to see Bruce and E Street. This is near the beginning of the second leg of their 2007-8 tour. I’m truly very jazzed but it’ll be on St. Patrick’s Day night which I also just realized. Hopefully getting away from the green beer drinkers after the show won’t be too horrible, Anyway, good seats in a medium size Milwaukee arena. So hello to all. I shall return. Work is very weird and intrusive at the moment. A shot of Bruce will do me good! No Patti, tho! And worse, one of the original E Street band members is still out sick. Founding E-Street organist Danny Federici is still recovering from melanoma but is said to be “doing well.

(That never reassures me.)

Best Rock Song of '07 Bruce Springsteen: Radio Nowhere

Though this song is a Springsteen radio friendly one, if you listen to the lyrics you'll hear that he's expressing his feelings about a lot of things including alienation and the state of the Nation.

Bruce won another Grammy award in the category of 2007's Best Rock Song the other day. The Grammy Awards are not The People's Choice Awards. They tend to bypass younger artists in some categories if an older one that is "just as good" (read: sold a lot of CD's) is in contention. Herbie Hancock got an award, too.

I originally was going to post an Aerosmith video, Sick As A Dog, to illustrate my current and past-four-days state which is...sick as a dog but as the fellow who cobbled together a bunch of Aerosmith clips and added the recorded version of Sick As A Dog states,"they didn't make music videos back in the '70's." (He's pretty much right--though obviously recording of live performances was done).

I listened to the live version--two in fact, of the more-or-less current version of Aerosmith and as much as Aerosmith's music was a fixture during an important time in my young adulthood, Steven Tyler whom I adored, now parodies who he used to be and when he "used to be" he was way over the top. That's what made him likable--but now he comes off as just too much--plus--the sound was crap on the two live videos.

So, it's a more positive sign for me to say Yay! Bruce Springsteen for still being relevant and still putting heart into your most recent effort and making an excellent album in 2007--Magic.

I know that it sounds cornball but I also totally dig in this video the onstage presence of Bruce's wife Patti Scialfa and of Steve Van Zant, who in the past has been known as Miami Steve, Little Steven, and Silvo "Sil" Dante on HBO's The Sopranos. The video is a live appearance from Sept. 2007, on The Today Show. They are performing in the street just outside the studio which means they are up way past their bedtimes.

Here's a link to the official video for Radio Nowhere .

Gimme A Little Of That Human Touch

Now that it's 2008 I can say that I'm seeing Bruce in the spring which is something that makes me happy. This is one of my favourites of his--maybe more so now than years ago. Anyway, the lyrics started playing in my head tonight, especially these:

Oh girl that feeling of safety that you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losing the love that remains
Were all riders on this train

<awesome guitar break>

So you've been broken and youve been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobodys bargain
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...

The entire lyrics are after the video which has a definite mid 1980's- feel to it. Bruce does look pretty hawt in it though I miss Miami Steve Van Zant and Clarence Clemons on camera. I'm curious too who is doing the female vocals. edit/checked--some were Patti.

Glad Bruce came to his senses about a life partner. :)

bruce springsteen "human touch"
Uploaded by miklo

You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away

Girl, aint no kindness in the face of strangers
Aint gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darlin'
But I got a deal for you right here

I ain't looking for praise or pity
I ain't coming 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawing wine from this blood
Its just you and me tonight

Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch

Oh girl that feeling of safety that you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train

So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...

You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch

Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that Human Touch
Feel a little of that Human Touch
Give me a little of that Human Touch

Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

I Scored Bruce Springsteen Tickets!

You'll be fine as your pretty face holds out

Then it's gonna get pretty cold out

(You'll Be Comin' Down)

I love 'ya Bruce, I really do, but as I hit the big 48 did 'ya have to nail it on the head so succinctly?

However...I just scored very nice seats by doing the TicketMaster dance. Tickets to Bruce were face value plus a $10 handling "convenience" charge. Wait a minute--they didn't handle anything. And who's convenience?! I thought things were supposed to be cheaper because they didn't have to handle anything! I printed out the ticcies myself! And...there was a "facility" charge of $2.50. Dang. Anyway, I still got the $95 tickets at face value for Bruce in Milwaukee in March. I'm stoked!

I would love this shirt (left) if it weren't long-sleeved. But I may end up with this short-sleeved one. The graphic on the gray tee of the band in silhouette is cool.

I'll Work For Your Love-Bruce Springsteen Fanwank

Pour me a drink Theresa in one of those glasses you dust off"

Maybe it's because I'm of a certain age or that I came of age on the East coast or fell hard for Springsteen when I was just starting sophomore year in high school. Which was a very. long. time. ago. But I believe that...*

At first, I knew no more than that he made the cover of Time and Newsweek in the same week. I got such a kick out of the fact that it was my high school library where I first found them, side by side. There was something slightly subversive and surreal about it. I didn't know that the scraggly bearded, skinny guy on the covers was the same dude who sang Born to Run, nor did I realize that the song Born to Run, great as it is, was a very commercial version of Bruce and that my favourite song on that album would end up being She's the One (or Night--I flip okay?). Sometimes it's Thunder Road.

It was and is obvious that Bruce wrote poetry set to music and on top of that*** he's the best rock and roll performer to come out of the seventies and he remains important still. One will never come away from his shows dissatisfied. One will never feel like she was shortchanged that he didn't give it his all --'cos he does every time. And you can read those words and nod but until you have seen him live--you don't know Bruce or E Street, for that matter.

I remember reading more than once when we were just passing the mid-point of the 1970's that we hadn't yet had the 70's version of Elvis and the Beatles.

I'm sure of who it is now.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to attempt to get tickets to his show in Milwaukee as tics go on sale tomorrow Monday and he hasn't lined up any Chicago dates as of now. I know he will but I'm going to fret about it until he does and I'd rather drive the 100 miles to Milwaukee for a sure thing than wait.

/Edit I just read at backsteets.com, a site second only to Springsteen's official site that this is only the first leg of the tour and that the band will mostly likey have a second go 'round as well as add onto existing dates. Probably.

Now I'm torn. With Christmas expenditures, a pair of Bruce tickets are really coming at a inconvenient time!

I'll Work For Your Love" (Springsteen) Street)

Pour me a drink Theresa in one of those glasses you dust off
And I'll watch the bones in your back like the stations of the cross
'Round your hair the sun lifts a halo, at your lips a crown of thorns
Whatever the deal's going down, to this one I'm sworn

I'll work for your love dear
I'll work for your love
What others may want for free
I'll work for your love

The dust of civilizations and love's sweet remains
Slip off of your fingers and come drifting down like rain
The pages of Revelation lie open in your empty eyes of blue
I watch you slip that comb through your hair and this I promise you

I'll work for your love dear
I'll work for your love
What others may want for free
I'll work for your love

[Instrumental]

Well tears they fill the rosary, at your feet my temple of bones
Here in this perdition we go on and on
Now I see your pieces crumbled and our book of faith's been tossed
And I'm just down here searching for my own piece of the cross
In the late afternoon sun fills the room with a mist in the garden before the fall
I watch your hands smooth the front of your blouse and seven drops of blood fall

I'll work for your love dear
I'll work for your love
What others may want for free
I'll work for your love
What others may want for free
I'll work for your love
What others may want for free
I'll work for your love

SPIN interview link   ...about those covers

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ... When I was 24 or 25, I ended up on the cover of Time and Newsweek, which I found both thrilling and embarrassing simultaneously. Everybody had different responses -- I remember [guitarist] Steve [Van Zandt] buying copies and handing them out by the pool at the Sunset Marquis. He was like, "This is the greatest, we've hit it!" And I was more like, "I'm going to go up to my room for a little while." I think if I had been by myself, it would have been a lot tougher. Having the band there -- knowing that ten years have gone by before this moment, knowing that tonight we're gonna go out and do the same thing we did in Asbury Park for 150 people -- provided an element of sanity. It's the bargain you ask for, but at the same time, it's nice to have your friends around you.