Jeff Burger - Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters

O THER B OOKS IN THE M USICIANS IN T HEIR O WN W ORDS S ERIES

Coltrane on Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews Hendrix on Hendrix: Interviews and Encounters with Jimi Hendrix Miles on Miles: Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters

Copyright 2013 by Jeff Burger

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61374-434-5

A list of credits and copyright notices for the individual pieces in this collection can be found on

Interior design: Jonathan Hahn

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Springsteen on Springsteen: interviews, speeches, and encounters / edited by Jeff Burger.

pages cm. (First edition)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61374-434-5 (cloth)

1. Springsteen, BruceInterviews. 2. Rock musiciansUnited StatesInterviews. I. Burger, Jeff, editor of compilation.

ML420.S77A5 2013
782.42166092dc23

2012045658

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To my wife and best friend, Madeleine; to our children, Andre and Myriam, who make me proud every day; and to the memory of my parents, Hannah and Chester Burger.

PART I FROM SMALL THINGS (BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME)
Springsteen struggles for successand rent money.

Bruce SpringsteenLive! | BRUCE POLLOCK
March 1973 | Rock (US)

Was Bob Dylan the Previous Bruce Springsteen? | STEVE TURNER
October 6, 1973 | New Musical Express (UK)

Bruce Springsteen: Say Hello to Last Years Genius | JEFF BURGER
March 14, 1974 | Zoo World (US)

Bruce Springsteen: Its Hard to Be a Saint in the City | JERRY GILBERT
August 1974 | Zigzag (UK)

Lost in the Flood | PAUL WILLIAMS
October 13, 1974 | Long Branch, New Jersey

PART II LIGHT OF DAY
Born to Run, Darkness, and The River turn Springsteen into a household name.

Bruce Springsteen and the Wall of Faith | ANDREW TYLER
November 15, 1975 | New Musical Express (UK)

Radio Interview | DAVE HERMAN
July 9, 1978 | King Biscuit Flower Hour, D.I.R. Radio Network (US)

Radio Interview | ED SCIAKY
August 19, 1978 | WIOQ-FM (Philadelphia)

Lawdamercy, Springsteen Saves! | ROBERT DUNCAN
October 1978 | Creem (US)

Bruce Springsteen: The Return of the Native | MIKE GREENBLATT
October 11, 1978 | The Aquarian (New Jersey)

Bruce Springsteen Takes It to the River | DAVE DIMARTINO
January 1981 | Creem (US)

Bruce Springsteen: A Responsible Rocker | RICHARD WILLIAMS
May 31, 1981 | Sunday Times (London)

PART III GLORY DAYS
Born in the U.S.A. produces megafame as Springsteen undergoes changes on the home front and splits with the E Street Band.

The Bruce Springsteen Interview | DON MCLEESE
October 1984 | International Musician and Recording World (UK)

American Heartbeat | ROGER SCOTT AND
PATRICK HUMPHRIES
November 2, 1984 | Hot Press (Dublin, Ireland)

The Boss Has Spoken
January 5, 1986 | Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, Australia)

Bob Dylan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
January 20, 1988 | New York

The Q Interview: Bruce Springsteen | DAVID HEPWORTH
August 1992 | Q Magazine (UK)

Live Again, Springsteen Still Has Mettle | GARY GRAFF
August 9, 1992 | Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan)

Radio Interview | IAN DEMPSEY
May 14, 1993 | RTE 2FM (Ireland)

PART IV ROCKAWAY THE DAYS
Springsteen issues The Ghost of Tom Joad and looks back with Greatest Hits and Tracks.

Human Touch | NEIL STRAUSS
September 1995 | Guitar World (US)

Dont Yell Broooce | GARY GRAFF
January 12, 1996 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Bruce Springsteen Tells the Story of the Secret America | DAVID CORN
March/April 1996 | Mother Jones (US)

Hey Joad, Dont Make It Sad (Oh, Go On Then) | GAVIN MARTIN
March 9, 1996 | New Musical Express (UK)

Bruce Springsteen: The Advocate Interview | JUDY WIEDER
April 2, 1996 | The Advocate (US)

Rock and Read | WILL PERCY
Spring 1998 | DoubleTake (US)

TV Interview | CHARLIE ROSE
November 20, 1998 | The Charlie Rose Show, PBS Network (US)

PART V BETTE R DAYS
Springsteen enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunites the E Street Band as politics moves to the fore.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Acceptance Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
March 15, 1999 | New York

New Glory Days | GARY GRAFF
April 1, 2001 | Oakland Press (Pontiac, Michigan)

Springsteen The Boss Is Back | VERNELL HACKETT
March/April 2003 | American Songwriter (US)

TV Interview | TED KOPPEL
August 4, 2004 | Nightline, ABC Network (US)

John Kerry Campaign Rally Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
October 28, 2004 | Madison, Wisconsin

U2 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
March 17, 2005 | New York

A Fans Eye View | NICK HORNBY
July 16, 2005 | Observer Music Monthly (UK)

The Feelings Mutual | STEVE KANDELL
December 2007 | Spin (US)

New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Acceptance Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
May 4, 2008 | Newark, New Jersey

Barack Obama Campaign Rally Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
November 2, 2008 | Cleveland, Ohio

PART VI KINGDOM OF DAYS
Springsteen and the E Street Band remain a powerful force, but they lose their star sax player.

Brucie Bonus | STEVE TURNER
June 27, 2009 | RadioTimes (London)

Interview | ED NORTON
September 14, 2010 | Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto)

TV Interview | BRIAN WILLIAMS
October 7, 2010 | NBC Network (US)

TV Interview | IAN MOLLY MELDRUM
November 20, 2010 | Sunday Night, Seven Network (Australia)

Eulogy for Clarence Clemons | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
June 21, 2011 | Palm Beach, Florida

Keynote Speech | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
March 15, 2012 | South by Southwest Music Festival (Austin, Texas)

I remember when I first heard the name Bruce Springsteen.

It was 1972, and I was sitting in the office of Paul Nelson, head of A&R at Mercury Records, ready to play my demo with Last of the Rock Stars, Hows the Family, White Middle Class Blues, and a few other original songs. Paul Nelson was a legendary figure who had gone to school with Bob Dylan and started one of the first folk magazines,