Bruce Springsteen is a New Jersey-born singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his working-class image and iconic status in American popular music. He has won fifteen Grammys, an Oscar, and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite early commercial struggles, Springsteen became legendary for his live shows with the E Street Band. Born to Run and Born in the USA are his biggest commercial successes. He remains relevant today and has recently adopted a voice in American politics, supporting Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.
American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen is known for his down-to-earth image and his songs that celebrate the working man. Since the release of his breakthrough album, Born to Run in 1975, Springsteen has achieved an iconic status in American popular music. He has won fifteen Grammys, an Oscar and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Bruce Springsteen was born in Freehold, New Jersey, in 1949, to a working-class Catholic family. He bought his first guitar at age thirteen and was soon playing in bands around New Jersey.
Bruce Springsteen’s first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, was released by Columbia Records in 1972 and immediately drew comparisons to Bob Dylan for its emphasis on lyrics, although it was not commercially successful. His second albums The Wild, the Innocent and E Street Shuffle also didn’t find much of an audience base.
However, Bruce Springsteen soon became legendary for his live shows. He and his band, the E Street Band, often played upbeat, high-energy shows that lasted three or four hours. Bootleg recordings from these early shows are still in high demand today.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen got his first big break with the release of Born to Run, an epic record featuring Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound-style production. Two of the album’s standout tracks, “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run,” still receive major radio airplay on classic rock stations. Bruce Springsteen’s biggest commercial success came with the release of Born in the USA in 1984, which is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with seven Top Ten singles.
Although his career has had several ups and downs, Bruce Springsteen’s music remains popular and relevant today; he garnered widespread critical acclaim for his 2002 album, The Rising, which responded to the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks. In 2006, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band recorded an album of Pete Seeger covers, titled We Shall Overcome: the Seeger Sessions.
Bruce Springsteen has also recently adopted a voice in American politics. In 2004, he played in support of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who used Springsteen’s song, “No Surrender,” as his campaign theme song. Although Kerry ultimately lost the election, Springsteen was a powerful voice for his candidacy.
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