In 1974, music critic Jon Landau attended a concert by US singer Bonnie Raitt in a small hall in Boston. He was particularly impressed by the then largely unknown 24-year-old singer in the opening act. “I saw the future of rock ‘n’ roll – and it’s called Bruce Springsteen,” wrote “Rolling Stone” critic Landau after the concert. Shortly afterwards, Landau became the young musician’s manager – and Springsteen, who is now 75 years old, soon became a global star.
Around half a century later, the list of his hits and awards is long, many of his songs – for example “Born To Run” or “Born In The USA” – have long since become classics and Springsteen still fills large stadiums around the world. He has just completed a European tour with his E Street Band, concerts in the USA and Canada are already planned until the end of the year and performances in Europe are already scheduled for 2025. Springsteen’s health has not been all that well in recent months, with repeated problems with his voice and stomach ulcers. Some concerts had to be postponed – but when he was on stage, you couldn’t tell that the musician nicknamed “The Boss” (which came from a joke among the musicians of the E Street Band and stuck) was not at all off.
From New Jersey to the stages of the world
Springsteen was born into humble circumstances in 1949 in the small coastal town of Long Branch in the US state of New Jersey. Springsteen later described his childhood in his extended family of Irish and Italian descent in his songs – his father was often choleric, drunk or depressed, his mother was constantly trying to keep the family together. Springsteen was given his first guitar as a child – and found refuge and an escape in music. To this day, the musician is considered the voice of the working class and a chronicler of America.
His first two albums after the record deal, however, sold only moderately – it was “Born To Run” in 1975 that made him a global star. Around ten years later, “Born In The USA” came out and sold more than 30 million copies. Many politicians, including Republican President Ronald Reagan, liked to interpret the title song as a patriotic anthem for the USA, although it was and is a bitter reckoning with the Vietnam War.
Political engagement
Springsteen, who is married for the second time and has three children and a grandchild, was and still is political. For decades he has been regularly involved in the election campaign for the Democrats. “I’m the president, but he’s the boss,” Barack Obama once said during his term in office. The two are still close friends today and have published books and podcasts together, among other things.
Above all, Springsteen continues to rock – even after dozens of albums, hits and awards. Most recently, he released the album “Only the Strong Survive” in 2022, after previously publishing his autobiography and being celebrated hundreds of times in New York with his show “Springsteen on Broadway”. He also works a lot with younger music stars. The heavy workload has always been a remedy for depression, which he has often fought against, Springsteen recently openly admitted in an interview with the magazine “New Yorker”. “I had had enough of myself some time ago and wanted to lose myself. So I went on stage every night to do just that.”
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