10 Things You Didn't Know About Bruce Springsteen
- Publish Date
- Friday, 23 September 2016, 9:53AM
Photo / Getty Images
It's Bruce 'The Boss' Springsteen's 67th birthday today (23rd Sept. 2016)!
Along with tickets going on sale TODAY for his NZ shows, we take a look back at 10 surprising things you may not know about Springsteen.
1. The first song a young Bruce learned play on the guitar was the Beatles' "Twist and Shout."
2. There really is an E Street. It runs northeast through the New Jersey shore town of Belmar. According to Springsteen lore, the band took its name from the street because original keyboard player David Sancious' mother lived there and allowed the band to rehearse in her house.
Image courtesy of NJ.com.
3. With the sole exception of 1995's The Ghost of Tom Joad, all of Bruce's albums since 1975's Born to Run have been in the Top 5 of the US Album Chart.
4. In November 1996, Bruce played a benefit concert in the gymnasium of his former grade school, the St. Rose of Lima School in Freehold, NJ. Only Freehold residents were allowed to purchase tickets.
5. He has a comet named after him!
6. Sesame Street has done two Bruce covers: "Born to Add," a mashup of "Born to Run" and "Jungleland" sung by a character called Bruce Stringbean... ...and "Barn in the USA," which features Stringbean backed by the S Street Band.
7. The live debut of the E Street Band, with Max Weinberg on drums and Roy Bittan on piano, occurred in September 1974 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. That show marked the first time that Springsteen earned $5,000 for a night's work.
8. Future Friends star Courteney Cox featured in the “Dancing in the Dark” video (3.20s):
9. The Rising was the first major rock album about 9/11: Springsteen's 2003 record served as something of a soundtrack to American resilience in the wake of the terror attacks.
10. He tried to break into Graceland to see Elvis Presley: after a show in Memphis in 1976, a 26-year-old Springsteen climbed over the wall to Graceland, ran to the front door and asked to see Elvis. Security guards told The Boss that The King was out of town (which was true) and escorted him off the property.
NZME.
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