Springsteen - Glory Days
[ame="[MEDIA=youtube]6vQpW9XRiyM[/MEDIA]"]Bruce Springsteen - Glory Days - YouTube[/ame]
5 things you didn't know about Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
He's sold over 120 million albums, won 20 Grammys and is one of the few rock acts who can consistently sell out arenas—and has for decades. So it's hard to believe there's a lot that people wouldn't know about Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. But with a 40 year history comes some little known facts that might have slipped by. Springsteen himself added a bit more knowledge with his autobiography "Born to Run." Here are five facts you might not know about Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.
1. “The Boss” isn't just a nickname
For most of his career, Bruce Springsteen's nickname has been “The Boss.” Most fans just assume that's in deference to his position as bandleader of The E Street Band. But the origins of that name actually go much farther back, to the very early days of the band's career. Before the band was big enough to have management, Springsteen acted as not only the vocalist, but band manager. Springsteen was the one who negotiated with the club owners, ensured things were set up as needed, collected the money at the end of the night, and made sure everyone got paid. Springsteen reportedly dislikes the nickname due to his pro-union stances giving him a dim view of bosses.
2. His only #1 hit was when someone else covered him
Despite being arguably the most famous American rock and roller in the world, Springsteen has never notched a #1 hit song. His biggest hit under his own name was 1984's “Dancing In the Dark.” But Bruce Springsteen does have one #1 hit to his credit, as a songwriter. Mannfred Mann's Earth Band scored a #1 hit in 1977 with a cover of Springsteen's “Blinded By the Light.”
3. The E Street Band is one of the highest paid backing groups in the world
While the exact numbers of The E Street Band's finances are not publicly released, it has long been reported that Springsteen has kept his all-star cast together by paying them well above market rate. Springsteen himself referred to it in his autobiography, citing a past conversation with an unnamed member of The E Street Band who wanted more money. Springsteen gave him time off to search and offered to up his pay if he could find anyone else who would pay him more. The band member never did.
4. Springsteen makes the E Street Band earn that big paycheck
Despite being one of, if not
the, highest paid backing band in the world, The E Street Band earns their money. In a 2013 interview with UK's Telegraph, drummer Max Weinberg and guitarist Nils Lofgren dished on what it is like to work for The Boss. One big take away was that, on any given night, approximately 30% of the setlist is made up on the fly, requiring The E Street Band to know practically every song in their massive catalog enough to play them at a moment's notice.
This astounding fact is borne out by looking at Springsteen's tour statistics on the website setlist.fm. In 2016, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played 78 shows. In those 78 shows, a staggering 149 different songs were played at least once. In the same interview, Lofgren revealed that he travels with over 30 guitars, banjos, lap steel and pedal steel just to make sure he has the proper instrument to cater to Springsteen's improvisation.
5. Springsteen suffered from serious depression
It's hard to believe the man who gets up in front of 60,000 people every night, strutting and strumming his way through three-plus hour shows with an energy that is the envy of men half his age, could ever battle depression, but in "Born to Run," Springsteen revealed that he has struggled with depression for years, including days when he couldn't even get out of bed. He had been quietly treating the disease with medication for years before telling all in his book. Springsteen also wrote about his father's battles with mental illness that worsened as he grew older.
https://www.axs.com/5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-bruce-springsteen-the-e-street-band-121182
