Bruce Springsteen was born at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey on September 23, 1949.
His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver, among other vocations, although he was mostly unemployed. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zirilli), a legal secretary, was the main bread winner.
His younger sister Pamela was once an actress but left the profession to become a photographer. She took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.
Bruce spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough, New Jersey.
His mother took out a loan to buy him a $60 guitar at 16.
Springsteen was called up to serve in Vietnam, but failed his physical examination having suffered a concussion in a motorcycle accident when he was 17. This together with his "crazy" behavior at induction and not writing anything in tests resulted in him being disqualified from serving in uniform.
Bruce Springsteen's first car was, a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. "In '70s New Jersey, the car was still a powerful image," Springsteen wrote in his book Songs. "That summer I bought my first set of wheels for $2,000. It was a '57 Chevy with dual, four-barrel carbs, a Hurst on the floor and orange flames spread across the hood."
In his Born to Run autobiography, Springsteen wrote about the strict discipline he received at a Catholic school and how it disenchanted him from his faith for many years. He explained that it wasn't until years later when he "came to ruefully and bemusedly understand that once you're a Catholic you're always a Catholic."
"I don't participate in my religion but I know somewhere - deep inside - I'm still on the team," he added.
Springsteen also stated in Born To Run that he has "a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe in his power to save, love... but not to damn".
Bruce Springsteen has never had a job besides making and playing music.
Springsteen has done most of his records with the E Street Band, which was formed in October 1972. The band took the name from a street in Belmar, New Jersey where the mother of a founding member lived.
Before fame, Bruce Springsteen acquired his nickname "The Boss" because he took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay from their club gigs and distributing it amongst his bandmates. Springsteen is not fond of this nickname, due to his dislike of bosses, but has tacitly accepted it.
Bruce Springsteen released his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. on January 5, 1973. Recorded in a single week the LP only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release.
Springsteen hated his 1975 album Born to Run. "I thought it was the worst piece of garbage I'd ever heard," he told one interviewer. The Boss was so unhappy when he first heard the record that he threw it into a hotel swimming pool.
Springsteen appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek on October 27, 1975, becoming the first entertainer to do so.
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| Bruce Springsteen performing at Roskilde Festival 2012. Photo credit: Bill Ebbesen. |
His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver, among other vocations, although he was mostly unemployed. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zirilli), a legal secretary, was the main bread winner.
His younger sister Pamela was once an actress but left the profession to become a photographer. She took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.
Bruce spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough, New Jersey.
His mother took out a loan to buy him a $60 guitar at 16.
Springsteen was called up to serve in Vietnam, but failed his physical examination having suffered a concussion in a motorcycle accident when he was 17. This together with his "crazy" behavior at induction and not writing anything in tests resulted in him being disqualified from serving in uniform.
Bruce Springsteen's first car was, a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. "In '70s New Jersey, the car was still a powerful image," Springsteen wrote in his book Songs. "That summer I bought my first set of wheels for $2,000. It was a '57 Chevy with dual, four-barrel carbs, a Hurst on the floor and orange flames spread across the hood."
In his Born to Run autobiography, Springsteen wrote about the strict discipline he received at a Catholic school and how it disenchanted him from his faith for many years. He explained that it wasn't until years later when he "came to ruefully and bemusedly understand that once you're a Catholic you're always a Catholic."
"I don't participate in my religion but I know somewhere - deep inside - I'm still on the team," he added.
Springsteen also stated in Born To Run that he has "a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe in his power to save, love... but not to damn".
Bruce Springsteen has never had a job besides making and playing music.
Springsteen has done most of his records with the E Street Band, which was formed in October 1972. The band took the name from a street in Belmar, New Jersey where the mother of a founding member lived.
Before fame, Bruce Springsteen acquired his nickname "The Boss" because he took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay from their club gigs and distributing it amongst his bandmates. Springsteen is not fond of this nickname, due to his dislike of bosses, but has tacitly accepted it.
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| Springsteen and the E Street Band, 1977 |
Bruce Springsteen released his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. on January 5, 1973. Recorded in a single week the LP only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release.
Springsteen hated his 1975 album Born to Run. "I thought it was the worst piece of garbage I'd ever heard," he told one interviewer. The Boss was so unhappy when he first heard the record that he threw it into a hotel swimming pool.
Springsteen appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek on October 27, 1975, becoming the first entertainer to do so.
When Bruce Springsteen went to a Ramones show, he met Joey Ramone, who asked him to write a song for them. Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for the group that night but decided to keep it on the advice of his producer and manager, Jon Landau. Released as a single on October 21, 1980, it became Bruce Springsteen's first Top 10 hit as a performer.
Bruce Springsteen released the album Born In The USA on June 4, 1984. The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles in the USA and was the best-selling LP of 1985. It proved to be the best-selling record of Springsteen's career.
Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." isn't a song about American pride, but a shameful look at how America treated its Vietnam War vets.
Chrysler once offered Bruce Springsteen $12 million to use "Born in the U.S.A." in an advertising campaign. Springsteen turned them down and has still never let his music be used to sell products.
Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar in 1994 for the song "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia.
Bruce Springsteen signed 9-year-old Xabi Glovsky's late note after he came to a 2016 concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Xabi had held up a sign saying he's be late to school tomorrow. The note read, “Dear Ms. Jackson, Xabi has been out very late rocking & rolling. Please excuse him if he is tardy.”
On November 22, 2016, Springsteen was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by Barack Obama. The award is the highest honor for a civilian to receive.
Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide, but has never had a #1 single in the U.S. or Britain.
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| Cover art for Born in the U.S.A Wikipedia |
Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." isn't a song about American pride, but a shameful look at how America treated its Vietnam War vets.
Chrysler once offered Bruce Springsteen $12 million to use "Born in the U.S.A." in an advertising campaign. Springsteen turned them down and has still never let his music be used to sell products.
Bruce Springsteen won an Oscar in 1994 for the song "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia.
Bruce Springsteen signed 9-year-old Xabi Glovsky's late note after he came to a 2016 concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Xabi had held up a sign saying he's be late to school tomorrow. The note read, “Dear Ms. Jackson, Xabi has been out very late rocking & rolling. Please excuse him if he is tardy.”
On November 22, 2016, Springsteen was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom award by Barack Obama. The award is the highest honor for a civilian to receive.
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| Springsteen receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom |
Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide, but has never had a #1 single in the U.S. or Britain.
Despite his discomfort with the trappings of wealth, Springsteen has amassed a substantial fortune —which Forbes conservatively estimated in July 2024 to be worth $1.1 billion
Sources Artistfacts, Forbes
Sources Artistfacts, Forbes
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