Contents
- Bruce Springsteen Facts – # 100 Fun Facts
- Bruce Springsteen Date of Birth and Early Years
- Bruce Springsteen Education
- Bruce Springstee: Wonder Years
- Music Career of Bruce Springsteen
- Bruce Springsteen Accolades and Recognition
- 16) Awards
- 17) 26th Greatest Artist of all times
- 18) The 96th Greatest Guitarist of all times
- 19) The 36th Greatest Singer of all times
- 20) Tied at Number 3
- 21) Wrecking Ball
- 22) Grammy Awards
- 23) Top 50 albums of 2012
- 24) Kennedy Center Honors
- 25) Polar Music Prize
- 26) John Steinbeck Award
- 27) Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 28) New Jersey Hall of Fame
- 29) The Oscar
- 30) Tributes
- 31) Brit Awards
- 32) Voice of the Decade
- 33) 15X Platinum Album, Born in the USA
- 34) Time 100 Most Influential People
- 35) Planet 23990
- 36) Emmy Awards
- Other Accomplishments of Bruce Springsteen
- Other Works of Bruce Springsteen
- Bruce Springsteen Social Work
- Bruce Springsteen Politics
- Personal Life of Bruce Springsteen
- Inspirational
- Bruce Springsteen Assets
- Other Facts about Bruce Springsteen
- 78) Compared to Bob Dylan
- 79) The People Speak
- 80) Rosalita
- 81) Singer, Composer, Songwriter and Multi instrumentalist
- 82) Youth Anthem of New Jersey
- 83) The Rising
- 84) Heartland Rock
- 85) Darkness on the Edge of Town
- 86) Twitter following
- 87) Legal Battle with Mike Appel
- 88) Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- 89) Dissolution of the E Street Band
- 90) Claiming Happiness
- 91) 1990s- A lost period
- 92) Reunion of the E Street Band
- 93) Renewal of Asbury Park
- 94) Homage to Joe Strummer
- 95) First Time in 25 Years
- 96) Springsteen & I
- 97) We Are the World
- 98) Covers of Newsweek and Times Magazine
- 99) The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town
- 100) Bruce Springsteen, American Skin (41 shots)
Bruce Springsteen Facts – # 100 Fun Facts

Bruce Springsteen Facts – Biography
Bruce Springsteen Date of Birth and Early Years
1) Bruce Fredrick Joseph Springsteen
Bruce Fredrick Joseph Springsteen is the first-born and the only son of Adele Ann Zerilli and Douglas Frederick Springsteen Adele Ann Zerilli.
Adele Ann Zerilli, a legal secretary belonging to Italian ancestry gave birth to Bruce Fredrick Joseph Springsteen on 23 September 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey.
2) Parents
While the mother, Adele Ann Zerilli was the main breadwinner, the father, Douglas Fredrick Springsteen having ancestors of Irish and Dutch race, jumped between jobs.
He made an unstable contribution to the house expenses usually roaming around unemployed or sometimes working as a milkman or driving buses at times.
Sources reveal that Bruce Springsteen’s relationship with his father was embittered.
Bruce Springsteen wrote songs like ‘Adam raised a Cain’ and ‘Independence day’ expressing the father- son dynamics he experienced.
3) Siblings of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen has two siblings: Virginia Springsteen Shave and Pamela Springsteen.
Both the sisters are younger than Springsteen.
Virginia Springsteen Shave is the elder of the two sisters.
Pamela Springsteen, born on February 8, 1962 known for her career in the film industry, which began with the role of a young cheerleader in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ in 1982.
Pamela Springsteen made a mark with her role of a serial killer, Angela Baker in the ‘Sleepaway Camp’ series.
Pamela Springsteen bid farewell to her acting career in 1990 and moved on to working as a full time still life photographer.
Bruce Springsteen Education
4) School and College
Bruce Springsteen was a Catholic by faith.
Bruce encountered problems coming to terms with the Catholic way of life and the rules and boundaries imposed by the nuns of the school.
He was unable to comply with the structure and the demands of the school’s ethics and etiquettes.
Bruce transferred to Freehold Regional High School.
However, he had problems adjusting here as well.
He did not see the school to be fit for himself.
Encountering numerous problems, Bruce Springsteen somehow got through high school and later attended Ocean County College, but did not complete the degree.
Bruce Springstee: Wonder Years
5) The Love of Music
Bruce Springsteen developed a love for music when he turned seven, inspired by the legendary, Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show.
This show motivated Springsteen to take up music later on in his life.
Seeing Bruce’s love for music, his mother, Adele Ann Zerilli bought Bruce a guitar for the first time for $18 when he was thirteen years of age.
When Bruce was sixteen, his mother borrowed money to get him a Kent guitar worth $60.
Having a guitar made him very unpopular around the house as the singer quotes, “When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house, one was me, and the other was my guitar.”
6) Military Service Incident
Bruce Springsteen was asked to come in for induction at the age of 18, in 1967.
This was in the military service for the Vietnam War.
The singer in his interviews later told the Rolling Stone magazine that he on his way to take his physical test had already decided that he was not going.
Springsteen failed his physical test because of a concussion he suffered in an unfortunate incident while riding a motorcycle.
This coupled with Springsteen’s act of crazy and unacceptable behavior made him unfit for the induction.
7) Spirituality
Bruce Springsteen once made a comment that his upbringing according to the Catholic environment helped him undertake a very active spiritual life.
It is believed that being spiritual and being religious are two very different things.
Bruce Springsteen experienced a connection with his creator, which was good for his soul.
Springsteen was highly influenced by the Irish Catholic hymns that he used to listen to in his earlier years.
In some of his songs, Bruce has tried to incorporate the traditional hymn music along with his own style and preference of rock music.
This shows that despite his resentful behavior towards the structure followed by the Catholics he did take some inspirations from the faith.
The singer is quoted to have said “Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.”
Music Career of Bruce Springsteen
8) Stepping into the main stream
In the 1960s, Bruce started performing gigs with different people at the Absury Park on the shore of New Jersey.
Later he went to meet Tex and Marion Vinyard who took pride in promoting young talented bands.
It was Tex and Marion Vinyard who guided Bruce with his baby steps in the mainstream by helping him become the lead guitarist and eventually the lead singer of the band, The Castiles.
The Castiles started performing in nightclubs, cafes around town.
After some time The Castiles recorded two songs in a public studio.
9) The ‘Boss’, origin of the name of Bruce Springsteen
During his time playing with The Castiles and performing around town, Bruce Springsteen developed a habit of collecting money during the gigs and then distributing them equally amongst the band members as the night’s pay.
Due to this habit, Bruce Springsteen acquired the nickname, ‘Boss.’
In the beginning, Bruce did not approve of this nickname because he despises bosses.
However, later on Bruce became used to the nickname and doesn’t frown upon it any more.
10) Making a Mark
During the period 1969-1971, Bruce Springsteen teamed up with a band, Steel Mill.
Steel Mill featured three of the members that later on became part of the band E street.
Steel Mill performed in California and a mid-Atlantic college circuit.
In 1970, a music critic, Phillip Elwood made an assessment of the Steel Mill and regarded their music very highly.
Elwood especially made comments on Springsteen’s talent quoting him as the most impressive composer.
11) Prime Exponent
Even after getting international acclaim, Bruce Springsteen maintained his public appearances in nightclubs and cafes.
He would perform in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia and was almost always sold out.
Bruce Springsteen kept making surprise visits to cafes of New Jersey and praised his hometown in shows.
He was later ranked as a prime exponent of the Jersey Shore sound.
12) Struggle Period
Springsteen’s fight for making it big started in 1972 when he signed a contract with the Columbia Records.
In 1973, he made his debut with the album, Absury Park, NJ was released gaining him critical acclaim.
However the sales of the album were seen to be a little slow, the album established Bruce Springsteen in the music industry.
13) The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
In September 1973, Bruce Springsteen released his next album, which featured the members of the band, E street.
This time around, the sound of the album was different from the debut album giving it a more R&B feel.
The poetry was made to connect more with the teenagers.
The album was a success with the critics but didn’t receive any commercial success.
This album released songs like ‘Incident on 57th Street’ and ‘Rosalita’ which became most popular among the fans and a must for the concerts.
14) Stairway to Success
Springsteen found success on 25 August 1975 with his third album, Born to Run.
This album proved to be a huge success.
It was able to connect with the listeners and people found songs like ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Thunder Road’ and ‘Jungleland’ being blasted everywhere they went.
These songs are still considered to be major hits and favorites of Rock music lovers.
15) A Turning Point
In 1978, Darkness on the Edge of Town was released and the album is considered a turning point in Springsteen’s career.
The music in this album was very different from the Bruce Springsteen signature style.
The raw feel of Springsteen’s music was not there anymore.
The album’s music showed Springsteen’s growth as a person.
The lyrics of the songs and the feel of the music were more mature and easy to relate.
Bruce Springsteen Accolades and Recognition
16) Awards
Bruce Springsteen for his immense talent and for bringing a revolution in the music industry has been awarded with 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award.
In 1994, Springsteen for his song “Streets of Philadelphia” garnered an Academy Award.
17) 26th Greatest Artist of all times
In 2004, Boss was coined as the 26th greatest artist of all times by the Rolling Stone magazine.
Springsteen, regarded as someone with exceptional writing skills.
His poetic lyrics and beautiful composition gave way to success and he became more and more popular every day.
18) The 96th Greatest Guitarist of all times
The title of ‘The 96th Greatest Guitarist of all times’ was given to Bruce in the year of 2008.
Music critics like Jon Landau, Phillip Elwood and Lester Bangs have praised his music since the 1970s.
Bruce was named as the future of rock and roll.
His music made people feel young and alive.
His guitar skills are evident in almost all of his songs adding the X factor to his music.
19) The 36th Greatest Singer of all times
In the year 2008, Bruce Springsteen was ranked The 36th Greatest Singer of all times.
Many music critics admired Springsteen’s singing talent and his voice.
They all found his voice to have a different freshness and feel for lyrics and songs.
The urgency and emotions in his voice were able to connect to the audience.
Songs of the album, Tunnel of Love were a major hit because Springsteen felt every word of the song and made sure it was evident in his voice.
20) Tied at Number 3
Bruce Springsteen’s album, Wrecking Ball, the tenth album of his career ranked the number 1 album in the USA and because of the success of Wrecking Ball, Elvis Presley and Springsteen tied at number 3 for the most number 1 albums of all times.
Springsteen always saw Presley as his idol and looked up to him for inspiration.
However, at this stage they both tied for the same position in the charts.
21) Wrecking Ball
The album, Wrecking Ball beats Adele’s album 21, which received a Grammy Award for its unique sound and music.
Adele’s album was pushed aside when Springsteen album, Wrecking Ball maintained its position on the charts for the number 1 spot for 23 weeks.
22) Grammy Awards
Springsteen’s album of 2012, Wrecking Ball and the single from the album, ‘We take care of our own’ were nominated in three different categories for the Grammy Awards.
The categories ranged from Best Rock Performance to the Best Rock Song and the album was nominated as the Best Rock Album.
23) Top 50 albums of 2012
Bruce Springsteen broke all records with his album, Wrecking Ball.
The album came with a big bang and was an instant hit.
Springsteen’s album, the Wrecking Ball was ranked as the number 1 album of 2012 by the magazine, Rolling Stone.
Wrecking Ball with its hit singles and a different music style became everybody’s favorite and sales shot high.
24) Kennedy Center Honors
December 2009 brought along the Kennedy Center Honors for Bruce Springsteen.
It is awarded annually to appreciate and praise the efforts of the talented people who do their part of contributing to the culture of America.
It is a very prestigious award for people from around the world.
This award is for efforts in the field of arts.
25) Polar Music Prize
The prestigious Swedish award, Polar Music Prize, founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson was awarded to Bruce Springsteen in 1997 to appreciate his exceptional career as a singer and his entertaining and vibrant stage presence.
Springsteen’s was facing career hardships during the years 1992-1998 but the prestigious award of the Polar Music Prize helped him revive his position in the industry once again.
26) John Steinbeck Award
The annual John Steinbeck Award is awarded to people who capture the essence of John Steinbeck in their music, their beliefs, and their services to humanity.
The John Steinbeck Award is one of the most prestigious awards and has only been given to a handful of people.
Bruce Springsteen received this prestigious award in 1996.
27) Songwriters Hall of Fame
Bruce Springsteen has been known for his phenomenal talent of song writing.
His music and his poetic lyrics have always created magic.
Bruce Springsteen however changed his style of writing to a certain degree during the years.
His albums in the beginning of his career had a much different style of writing.
They had a very raw and direct feel.
Later on Springsteen adopted a more mature style of writing. In 1999, Springsteen became a part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
28) New Jersey Hall of Fame
Bruce Springsteen always spoke highly of his hometown, New Jersey.
Bruce Springsteen was inducted in the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2007 as an appreciation for his work.
Bruce Springsteen brought a good name to New Jersey and served his town in every possible way.
He made donations and was present to support many causes.
He played a major rule in the revitalization of Asbury Park.
29) The Oscar
Along with the many other awards that Springsteen won for his music and song writing, Springsteen also won the Oscar Award for his song ‘Streets of Philadelphia’.
This song was the original soundtrack of the movie, Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks.
Bruce Springsteen won the Oscar in 1994.
He was nominated again in 1996 for his song ‘Dead Man Walking.’
30) Tributes
Every music lover regards Bruce Springsteen very highly.
Many artists praise Bruce Springsteen’s talent and eloquence at times by doing covers of his songs.
Some of the artists have shown their love and appreciation for Springsteen’s skills by performing his songs as a tribute.
Artists like John Mellencamp, Ben Harper and others are known for paying a musical tribute to the legendary Springsteen.
31) Brit Awards
For the immensely talented artist that Springsteen is, he has been nominated for the Brit Awards a number of times however till now he has only won one Brit Award in the category of ‘Best International Solo Artist’ in 1986.
He has been nominated in categories like ‘International Male Solo Artist’ and ‘Best International Male’ over the years.
32) Voice of the Decade
The Rolling Stone magazine has always appreciated and credited Bruce Springsteen for his work and talent.
In 1990, after Springsteen’s album, Born in the USA, came out, the magazine named Bruce Springsteen “Voice of the Decade” in one of 1990’s issues.
33) 15X Platinum Album, Born in the USA
Bruce Springsteen’s album Born in the USA was certified 15 times platinum by RIAA.
The album, Born in the USA landed seven top-10 single songs.
The widely popular album has been credited for the beautiful songs like Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark and I’m on Fire.
34) Time 100 Most Influential People
Bruce Springsteen made it to the Time magazine list of 100 most influential people in 2008.
The Time magazine used beautiful words to describe the man of influence, The Boss.
Time magazine writes about the honest and passionate vibes that are felt when one meets, The Boss.
The magazine also writes, ‘Boss comes from the boss man, and if this guy isn’t the boss…man, nobody is.’
35) Planet 23990
On 4 September 1999, a minor planet was discovered in Auckland, New York.
This planet is said to be named after the legendary, Bruce Springsteen.
This was a way of honoring one of the greatest artists of all times.
The planet was named (23990) Springsteen.
It is said that one of the reasons to name the planet after Bruce Springsteen was because on the night that the planet was discovered, Springsteen was performing and entertaining his fans.
36) Emmy Awards
The critics have always praised Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
However, it took some time for the commercial value of the band to be recognized.
After they made their mark in the hearts of millions of fans, in 2001, they received two technical Emmy Awards in 2001.
Other Accomplishments of Bruce Springsteen
37) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Bono, a member of U2, included Bruce Springsteen in the Hall of Fame in 1999.
Springsteen has always been the critics’ favorite and has always had a strong fan following.
Even in the years when he was unable to deliver and connect to the audience, he always had loyal fans on his side.
The music critics’ along with the artists in the industry thought very highly of Bruce Springsteen, thus his induction in the Hall of Fame in 1999.
38) The Wrestler
Springsteen’s popularity is rising with every passing day.
He had been the critics’ favorite since the very beginning and in 2009; Springsteen won Critic’s choice Award with the Wrestler for The Best Song.
39) Super Bowl XLIII
The Super Bowl XLIII featured a 12-minute half time performance by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
The artists played four songs in total.
The songs were edited to fit in the period of 12-minutes.
Springsteen was made offers in the past as well to perform for the Super Bowl but after turning down the offers repeatedly, he finally accepted and performed in the Super Bowl XLIII.
40) The Celebrity 100 by Forbes
Forbes is an American magazine and deals with subjects like business, finance, technology and communication.
Every year Forbes accounts for the Most Paid Stars, the Richest Americans list etc.
Forbes magazine ranked Bruce Springsteen as #6 in The Celebrity 100 in 2009.
This rating was based on the $166 million sales made on the music tours in 2008.
41) Top Draw of 2008
The Magic Tour of 2007-2008 by The E Street Band and Bruce Springsteen was one of the major events in the music industry in the period of 2007-2008.
The Magic Tour yielded the rank of Top Draw of 2008 and won the BillBoard Touring Award.
The Magic Tour made $204.5 million and came second to Bon Jovi’s tour.
42) Top Draw of 2012
The Wrecking Ball Tour constitutes of performances by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
This is the band’s first tour without The Big Man.
The E street Band without the legendary Clemons was expected to not be a big success as he was a vital part of the band.
The Wrecking Ball tour however managed to keep the memory of Clemons alive in all of their songs.
The Wrecking Ball Tour yielded the position of the second highest grossing tour, first being Madonna.
The Top Draw 2012 Award was awarded to the artists because The Wrecking Ball tour had the most attended concerts of the year.
43) $33.44 million in 2012
Bruce Springsteen earned a big fortune from his album ‘Wrecking Ball’ in 2012.
He eventually was named the second ‘Top money maker of 2012’.
He lost first rank to Madonna by the difference of $1 million.
44) Longest Concert
On 31 July 2012, the world witnessed Bruce Springsteen perform for 4hours and 6 minutes with 33 songs.
This was Springsteen’s longest performance until date.
This concert was in Finland, on the stage of Helsinki Olympiastadion.
Springsteen’s 30-minute solo performance with 5 songs before the beginning of the show is not accounted for in these statistics.
45) Hungry Heart
Hungry heart is one of the songs from Springsteen’s album, The River.
This song marked Springsteen’s entry in the world of Pop music.
His style was Pop-Rock rather than just plain Pop music.
The song, Hungry heart was Springsteens first hit to the Top 10 singles list.
Other Works of Bruce Springsteen
46) Children’s Song
Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen sang a lovely duet in early 2011 called the ‘Children’s Song’.
This duet was done for a charity purpose.
Patti Scialfa has the credits for writing the beautiful song.
Initially, Scialfa was planning to do a solo number but eventually Scialfa and Springsteen ended up singing the song together.
This song became a part of a CD that was targeted for mothers.
It is a notable fact that Springsteen has not been credited on the CD for the song.
47) Springsteen’s songs for movies
Many of Springsteen’s songs have been used in movies and TV shows including the song ‘Red headed woman’ in the movie, Romance & Cigarettes, Secret Garden in Jerry Maguire, Streets of Philadelphia in Philadelphia and more.
The popular TV show, One Tree Hill also featured Springsteen’s song in one of its episodes.
48) Bruce Springsteen in a movie
Bruce Springsteen did a cameo in a movie, ‘High Fidelity’.
High Fidelity was released in the year 2000.
In addition, ‘No Nukes’, a concert film, showed a live act performed by Bruce Springsteen with his band, The E Street.
The performance was highly praised and regarded as the best act in the movie.
49) Bruce Springsteen Collaboration with Donna Summers
Bruce Springsteen is known to be one of the admirers of the great Donna Summers.
Since Springsteen was known for his song writing skills, he was contacted by Summers to write a song for her.
Springsteen’s song ‘Cover Me’ was originally written for Donna Summers but on the advice of his manager, Springsteen kept the song for himself and later wrote the song, ‘Protection’ for Donna Summers.
50) Collaborations with other artists
Bruce Springsteen usually only worked with The E Street Band but in the years of his musical career he is known to have collaborated with big names like John Fogerty, Lou Reed, Jerry Lee Lewis and others.
Bruce also collaborated with Michael Jackson and other artists on the song We Are the World.
Springsteen is popular for sharing stage space with Bon Jovi during one of the tours.
51) Dancing in the Dark
The song Dancing in the Dark is from the album, Born in the USA.
In this song, Springsteen mentions his frustration and difficulty to produce songs that would become popular with people.
This song is about the emotions and the problems that Springsteen was facing in his career as this album was said to be Springsteen’s last try at becoming commercially valuable.
The song was a hit and reached high positions in the top ten charts.
52) Devils & Dust
The album was a low-key album creating a connection with the families of the soldiers in the Iraq War.
Starbucks turned down the offer for Co Branding the album.
According to Starbucks, the album had content that was a bit over the top.
Even after all the controversy, the album made it big by entering the ranking number 1 in 10 countries
53) Nebraska
Springsteen’s album, Nebraska did not make a mark with the audience and left Springsteen’s fans disappointed.
However, Nebraska received major critical acclaim and was coined “Album of the Year” by the critics of Rolling Stone magazine.
The music created in Nebraska worked as an inspiration for many artists, namely U2.
It is believed that Nebraska was a major inspiration for the ‘lo-fi’ genre of music.
54) Terry’s Song
Terry Magovern was Bruce Springsteen’s long time assistant and close friend.
They knew each other since 1972.
The ‘Terry’s Song’ became a part of Springsteen’s album “magic” after Terry’s death on 30 July 2007.
The song highlights the character of McGovern and his importance in Springsteen’s life.
Springsteen in hidden words refers to his friend, Terry as being irreplaceable.
Bruce Springsteen Social Work
55) We take care of our own
Bruce Springsteen helped Barrack Obama campaign for the elections in October 2012.
Springsteen addressed the audience persuading them to vote for Barrack Obama.
‘We take care of our own’ was made the one of the official song for Obama’s campaign.
The song was also played right after Obama gave his victory speech.
56) Hurricane Sandy
On 12 December 2012, a concert to collect relief funds for the hurricane was arranged at Madison square Garden.
There were performances by Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band.
Many other artists of the industry also played their part in collecting funds for the victims.
The concert was telecast on mainstream TV channels like HBO and others.
57) MusiCares Person of the Year
On February 8, 2013, a ceremony was held in Los Angeles honoring Bruce Springsteen with the ‘MusiCares Person of the Year’.
This award signifies Springsteen’s achievements and accomplishments.
The award was given to appreciate his philanthropic efforts.
58) Hope for Haiti
Bruce Springsteen is known for his acts of humanity and charity.
After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, George Clooney organized a concert.
Very well known artists along with Bruce Springsteen joined hands to raise money for the assistance of the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Bruce Springsteen Politics
59) A supporter of gay marriages
Bruce Springsteen has always been known for voicing his opinions without any hesitation.
He is also a great supporter of gay marriages and their rights.
Bruce Springsteen IS seen supporting the cause at different occasions and appreciating Governor Corzine for his efforts to legalize gay marriages.
He also became a part of an advertisement to show his support for the cause.
60) Political Views
During Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign, Bruce Springsteen spoke about the importance of fair and thoughtful administration.
Springsteen highlighted the value of truth and transparency in the acts of the government.
Moreover, Springsteen believes in equality and treatment fairness for all.
He could go on and on about the rights of Americans and how getting basic education and a decent job should be provided to everyone.
Springsteen had a strong dislike for Bush’s government where the entire system was tailored to match his needs.
61) Barrack Obama on Springsteen
Barrack Obama speaks very highly of Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen was a part of Obama’s election campaign both times.
Barrack Obama addressing his audience, referring to Springsteen once said, ‘I may be the President, but he is The Boss.’
Barrack Obama has always been inspired by the way Springsteen integrated the American culture and lifestyle in his songs.
62) Obama Inaugural Celebration
Bruce Springsteen was an enthusiastic supporter of Barrack Obama.
He believed in Obama’s present and future agenda and supported his views.
On January 18, 2009, Springsteen opened the Obama Inaugural Celebration with his music.
The ceremony was attended by more than 400,000 people.
This gave Springsteen a much-needed chance to revive his bond with his fans.
Personal Life of Bruce Springsteen
63) Marriage to Julianne Phillips
Bruce Springsteen was introduced to Julianne Phillips by Barry Bell after the success of ‘Born to Run’.
The two, fell in love instantly and got married on 13 May 1985.
The difference in the nature of the two and the eleven-year age gap along with Springsteen’s travel tours resulted in the marriage falling apart.
The couple separated in spring of 1988 and they divorced on 1 March 1989.
The failure of marriage left Bruce broken hearted.
64) Tunnel of Love
Tunnel of love was written and released in 1987 expressing the pain and the confusion of lost love and failure.
The songs symbolize the heartbreak and its consequences.
Tunnel of Love speaks of the high and low points of relationships and their effect on people.
Springsteen’s voice along with the deep felt lyrics and heartache proved to be a magical combination.
65) Patti Scialfa
Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen were introduced to each other in early 1980s.
In 1988, the tour for ‘Tunnel of Love’ began and Bruce insisted Scialfa to join him on the tour.
During the tour, Springsteen and Scialfa fell in love and moved in together.
The couple got married on June 8, 1990 in Los Angeles in a private ceremony.
66) Received criticism for a hasty relationship
In his interview with the magazine, The Advocate, Springsteen spoke on how people have been criticizing his relationship with Patti Scialfa as it started right after his separation with Julianne Phillips.
Bruce cleared his point of view on the subject and told everybody that it was his life and he took the step because he and his partner, Scialfa felt that they were ready to be together.
Springsteen was disappointed because of the all the criticism but he never changed his mind.
67) Father – Son phenomena
Springsteen’s relationship with his father was a difficult and a bitter one.
The father and son were like two sides of a coin.
While growing up, Springsteen was never his father’s favorite rather he was bashed almost all the time.
However later Springsteen made peace with his childhood memories.
Remembering his father, Springsteen said, “I’ve gotta thank him because – what would I conceivably have written about without him? I mean, you can imagine that if everything had gone great between us, we would have had disaster.
I would have written just happy songs – and I tried it in the early ’90s and it didn’t work; the public didn’t like it.”
68) Children of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen and his wife have three children.
Scialfa and Springsteen’s first child, Evan James Springsteen was born on July 25, 1990.
On 30 December 1991, the couple’s second born, Jessica Rae Springsteen came into the world.
Samuel Ryan Springsteen, their third child was given birth on 5 January 1994.
The first-born is following the footsteps of his father writing and performing his own songs.
69) Lost a friend
Clarence Clemons better known as The Big Man and Bruce Springsteen became very close friends during their time playing in the E Street Band.
Clarence Clemons died on June 18, 2011.
He played the saxophone since 1972 and was an essential part of the E Street Band.
Springsteen and The Big Man were a magical duo.
They understood each other’s idea of music.
After Clemons death, Wrecking Ball was released in 2012 and critics said that this album has a particularly angry feel to it.
Many people related Springsteen’s anger to Clemons’ death.
Inspirational
70) Springsteen’s biggest fear
Springsteen when asked about his biggest fear said that he has seen people lose their personality as a reaction to their good fortune.
Bruce Springsteen’s greatest fear is losing the essence of his personality.
He fears losing connection to his roots and his soul.
Bruce Springsteen wants to hold on to the emotions that make him the person that he is really.
71) Springsteen’s Idol: Elvis Presley
Bruce Springsteen saw Elvis Presley as his idol.
Springsteen fell in love with Presley at the age of seven.
Elvis was performing on the Ed Sullivan show and Springsteen says he remembers it like it was yesterday.
Springsteen, talking about the show said that he had never seen anything as big as that.
He thought Elvis was the entire world, with his immense talent his essence.
72) My City of Ruins
The attack of 9/11 left everyone in America in great grief.
In the ‘Concert for New York City’ Springsteen selected his song, My City of Ruins to connect to the audience.
This song was seen as the emotional peak point of the concert and people started associating the song with the incident of 9/11 because it spoke to them.
73) Made his own luck
Springsteen has always believed in hard work and going all the way to achieve the target, you have set for yourself.
Springsteen faced a hard time in the beginning of his career connecting to the people and making his place in the market but he never gave up and worked hard.
Springsteen is known to have said,” When it comes to luck, you make your own.”
This is without a doubt evident in his life and his career as a musician.
Even when his albums were not doing so well he gathered himself and worked towards making himself a success, and that he did.
Bruce Springsteen Assets
74) Springsteen’s Estate
Springsteen and family have a horse farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
The Springsteen estate includes houses and horse community in Wellington, Florida, Los Angeles and Rumson.
Springsteen is so wealthy that he every now and then ends up on the Forbes list of the Richest Americans.
75) Made a Fortune worth $70 Million in 2010
Bruce Springsteen has made a steady income from the day he got his breakthrough.
He made a fortune of $ 70 million in 2010.
The world tour by Springsteen and E Street Band sold more than 2 million tickets and rendered a big pot of $ 70 million for Bruce Springsteen.
76) 120 million
With 17 albums to his credit, Springsteen has sold over 120 million copies of albums.
The sale of Springsteen’s albums took off slow as his first two albums were not very popular with the people.
However, regardless of the difficulties that Springsteen faced throughout his career and the breaks that he took to settle with his family, he has sold over 120 million copies all over the world.
77) Net worth $200 million
Bruce Springsteen has been working as a singer and a songwriter for as long as one can remember.
With his 17 albums and extensive tours around the world and uncountable concert performances, all adding to his account, Bruce Springsteen is worth $ 200 million.
Other Facts about Bruce Springsteen
78) Compared to Bob Dylan
Jon Hammond discovered Springsteen and with his help; Springsteen signed his contract with Columbia records in 1972.
Bob Dylan and Springsteen were both associated with the label Columbia Records and due to this association many of the fans and critics compared the two.
Springsteen was all set to be the next Bob Dylan, said critics.
79) The People Speak
Springsteen was seen performing in the documentary, The People Speak.
The speeches and diaries of ordinary Americans were performed using music and drama.
This documentary spoke of the daily issues that Americans faced.
The letters and words sent in from different parts of the country were incorporated in this documentary in the form of musical performances.
80) Rosalita
This song is from the album, “The wild, the innocent & the E Street Band”, released in 1973.
This song is about a rock star falling in love with Rosalita.
Rosalita’s parents however didn’t approve of the relationship and thus the relationship ended.
This song is about one of Springsteen’s real life experiences.
This song was not played in the concerts for quite some time to not bring a bad name to Rosalita but afterwards it became the most favorite song for concerts and live performances.
81) Singer, Composer, Songwriter and Multi instrumentalist
Bruce Springsteen is an American artist known for his exceptional talents as a singer, composer, songwriter and a multi instrumentalist.
His passion for guitar is evident in his music.
However, in some of his concerts Springsteen is also seen playing a piano or drums.
Springsteen is very popular for his long and full of life and energetic performances.
82) Youth Anthem of New Jersey
Springsteen’s song ‘Born to Run’ is from the third album of his music career.
The album was released in 1975.
The government of New Jersey gave this song the status of an unofficial anthem for the youth of New Jersey.
Addressing this subject Springsteen said that he finds it ironic because the song is about running away with a loved one far from the problems of the world.
83) The Rising
In 2008, after the reunion of The E Street Band, The Rising was released.
Songs from this album highlighted the feelings and emotions of 9/11’s victims’ family members.
In order to gain the true understanding of their pain and suffering, Bruce Springsteen spoke to the victims’ family members and wrote the lyrics after trying to understand their emotions.
84) Heartland Rock
Springsteen’s style of music is categorized as Heartland Rock.
This kind of music connects to the daily lives and routines of the ordinary people.
The lyrics are uncomplicated and clear-cut.
Bob Seger, Tom Patty, John Fogerty all adopted the Heartland genre of music.
After the success of Born in The USA, Springsteen undertook this genre as his forte.
85) Darkness on the Edge of Town
A change in Springsteen’s lyrics was evident on the album, Darkness on The Edge of Town.
Springsteen paid special attention to the emotional hardships faced by the working class.
Darkness on The Edge of Town focuses on the dreams and problems of the working class.
86) Twitter following
Bruce Springsteen is known for connecting with his fans.
It is done either through the music tours or during concerts.
Since the establishment of Social Networking websites like Twitter it has become easier for fans to follow Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen has a following of massive 380901 fans on his twitter account.
87) Legal Battle with Mike Appel
Mike Appel produced the first two music albums by Bruce Springsteen.
Mike Appel was also the Co producer of Springsteen’s third album.
However, due to some reasons, Mike Appel and Springsteen got into a tussle and a legal battle between the two began.
This legal battle kept Springsteen out of the studio for a significant amount of time.
The dispute was finally sorted out in 1978 outside court.
88) Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, a name with no real meaning to the band.
The story behind the song however, holds a high position in the hearts of all the members of the E Street Band.
The song, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out describes the story of the band coming together.
The mention of ‘The Big Man’ in the third verse refers to the multi talented Clemons.
89) Dissolution of the E Street Band
Bruce Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band in 1989 in order to move back to New Jersey with his new wife.
This step was taken to ensure the paparazzi free environment for his wife and children.
Bruce Springsteen, during this time worked on sessions with various artists keeping the music scene alive.
The band reunited in 1995 temporarily.
90) Claiming Happiness
Springsteen’s song writing is one of the best things about his music.
His lyrics are relatable for almost everyone.
The change in Springsteen’s writing has been evident in all of his albums.
In the beginning of his career with his first two albums, Springsteen wrote about dreaming of good days and of being happy.
Later on, the feel of his lyrics was more of disbelief; he feared losing himself and the essence of his personality in the success and popularity.
However, in his album, Lucky Town, for the first time Springsteen sees himself to be worthy of happiness and views it as his right and claim it.
91) 1990s- A lost period
The 1990s were mostly about settling back in New Jersey.
People said that Springsteen was unable to produce any significant and impressive work during this period.
Moreover, being the person that he is, Bruce Springsteen accepts all the criticisms and refers to this time as ‘A lost period’ for himself.
92) Reunion of the E Street Band
The E Street Band, after facing dissolution and temporary reunion was finally reformed in 1999.
This reunion was after almost 10 years of dissolution.
The band immediately went on a long reunion tour making up to their fans for their absence and connecting with the members as well as the fans all over again.
93) Renewal of Asbury Park
Bruce Springsteen has expressed his love for Asbury Park and New Jersey often.
In order to help revitalize the Asbury Park and help the small business and communities, Bruce Springsteen performed in many concerts raising money for the betterment and the establishment of the Asbury Park.
94) Homage to Joe Strummer
Springsteen and The Clash were considered competitors in the past.
Keeping the differences aside, Springsteen and the E Street Band along with various other artists played songs by The Clash, Joe Strummer to pay homage to the great singer.
95) First Time in 25 Years
Springsteen and the E Street Band are known for their tours around the world to promote their music and to renew their bonds with their fans every chance they get.
The band has been places but a wave of excitement went through entire Brazil when in October 2012 the announcement of Springsteen and the E Street Band performing at the festival of Rock in Rio was made.
The festival is to be held on 13 September 2013.
96) Springsteen & I
Springsteen & I is a unique kind of documentary being made with contents sent by Springsteen’s fans along with their photographs with the great artist.
Baillie Walsh is directing Springsteen & I. Springsteen’s fans sent in their videos and experiences during November 15 and November 29 2012.
The documentary is said to be released in 2013 in theaters all over.
97) We Are the World
We Are the World, as the name suggests is a song for the appeal of the entire human kind.
We Are the World was sung to create a sense of solidarity and unity amongst people of different nationalities and backgrounds.
The song was released on 7 March 1985 and features the hard work of more than 45 top pop artists.
98) Covers of Newsweek and Times Magazine
After his hit album, Born to Run in 1975, Springsteen got his major breakthrough and his popularity shot up amongst the critics and his fans.
His music was highly appreciated and it is said that after this album, Springsteen made it big.
He finally got commercial value and his albums sold better than before.
For his exceptional music, he made it to the covers of Newsweek and Times magazine simultaneously.
99) The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town
Springsteen’s fans always had a degree of curiosity about the workings of the genius mastermind.
In September 2010, a documentary titled The Promise: the making of darkness on the edge of town was shown in the Toronto International Film Festival.
The documentary was released as a component of the box reissue.
On November 2010, the documentary also aired on HBO.
100) Bruce Springsteen, American Skin (41 shots)
This song is referred to as an anti-tragedy song.
The song, American Skin (41 shots) is about the incident that happened in the New York City doorway where Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by the police after mistaking his wallet for a weapon.
This song brought a lot of controversy in Bruce Springsteen’s way.
Many cops refused to provide security at his concerts and protested against the song.
The song and Springsteen’ efforts were recognized by The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
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