A certain New Jersey fan of the Beatles received his first guitar from his mother and had a feeling his bus driver dad worked really hard to provide for him and his two sisters as well. Welcome to the Springsteen family.
Bruce Springsteen is probably best known for his album Born in the U.S.A. (1984), which sold 15 million copies in the U.S., 30 million worldwide, and became one of the best-selling albums of all time with seven singles hitting the Top 10.
The title track, “Born in the U.S.A.” was a bitter commentary on the treatment of Vietnam veterans, some of whom were Springsteen’s friends. The lyrics in the verses were entirely unambiguous when listened to, but the anthemic music and the title of the song made it hard for many, from politicians to the common person, to get the lyrics–except those in the chorus, which could be read many ways. The song made a huge political impact, as he was advocating for the rights of the common working-class man.
“I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American Dream and American reality,” Springsteen is quoted as saying.
Springsteen is also an activist for LGBT rights and has spoken out many times as a strong supporter of gay marriage. In 2009, he posted the following statement on his website: “I’ve long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that ‘The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is—a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.
In November 2014, Springsteen announced that he would be opening the Bruce Springsteen Archives and will release live concerts from throughout his career including many shows which fans consider to be among his most essential performances and that were only previously available through bootlegs. Each show has been completely restored, remixed and remastered for the highest possible sound quality and are available for purchase through digital download or CD at live.brucespringsteen.net, where fans can also buy all of Springsteen’s live recordings from the High Hopes Tour.
Springsteen’s recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born to Run (1975) and Born in the U.S.A. (1984) find pleasures in the struggles of daily American life.
He has sold more than 120 million records worldwide and more than 64 million records in the United States, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award as well as being inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1999. In 2009, Springsteen was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, in 2013 was named MusiCares person of the year, and in 2016 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He married Patti Scialfa in 1991, and the couple have had three children – Evan James, Jessica Rae and Sam Ryan. Letter To You, streeted Oct. 23, 2020.
Only the Strong Survive, a collection of some of his favorite soul and R&B covers, is his very first album of non-originals, prt from We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006). It released 11/11/2022.
Artist Website
Reference
Springsteen Allmusic Bio
Discography
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973)
Born To Run (1975)
Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
The River (1980)
Nebraska (1982)
Born in the USA (1984)
Tunnel of Love (1987)
Human Touch (1992)
Lucky Town (1992)
The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)
The Rising (2002)
Devils & Dust (2005)
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)
Magic (2007)
Working on a Dream (2009)
Wrecking Ball (2012)
High Hopes (2014)
Western Stars (2019)
Letter to You (2020)
Only the Strong Survive (2022)
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays Bruce Springsteen. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/
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