Bruce Springsteen is an American singer and songwriter. He is of Dutch, Irish and Italian descent.
Bruce Springsteen was born at Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1949. He spent his childhood on South Street in Freehold, New Jersey. Springsteen was raised Catholic and attended the St. Rose of Lima Catholic school in Freehold.
To learn more about Bruce Springsteen’s early life and his music career, keep reading.
Bruce Springsteen Early Years
Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and raised in Freehold, New Jersey. He was the oldest one of the three children.
He attended a Catcholic school, St. Rose of Lima Catholic, in Freehold, New Jersey. During his time at the Catholic school, Springsteen often listened to Frank Sinatra and watched Elvis Presley, and discovered his passion for music.
Springsteen did not fit in at the Catholic school as he had a difficult time obeying the rules, so he moved to Freehold High School in the ninth grade. He also had a difficult time fitting in there as he spent most of his time playing his guitar. He did not even attend his high school graduation.
He was supposed to be drafted in the U.S Army at age 19, but he couldn’t pass the physical exam and therefore did not serve in the Vietnam War.
In 1964, Springsteen watched The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, which prompted him to purchase his own guitar for little less than $19. Later on, Springsteen’s mother took out a loan and gifted him with a $60 Kent guitar.
Springsteen’s Music Career
Bruce Springsteen’s initial music career started in a power trio called “Earth”. That didn’t last long, and Springsteen continued playing on his own with Steel Mill from 1969 until 1971.
During his time with Steel Mill, Springsteen started building up a fan base as he performed regularly in New Jersey, California and Tennessee. He stood out for his talent, and his songwriting abilities which later landed him a contract with Columbia Records in1972.
After signing with the record label, Springsteen started bringing in more New Jersey-based colleagues of his, and eventually started a band called “E Street Band”. The band released two albums, one in January 1973 and the second in September 1973, but neither had any notable success.
Springsteen’s Rise to Fame
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band released another album in 1975, called “Born to Run”. The album was a hit and it even got to third place on the Billboard 200. However, shortly after, Springsteen had a fallout with his manager at the time and could not record in a studio for a year.
While that dispute was happening and Springsteen wasn’t recording or releasing any new songs, his relevance in the music world was slowly fading. However, in 1984, Springsteen released his most famous album, “Born in the U.S.A”.
The album was sold in over 15 million copies in the US, and is regarded as one of the best selling albums of all time. The biggest single on that album was the song “Dancing in the Dark” that made it to second place in the Billboard singles chart.
After the “Born in the U.S.A” Album
After the release and the success of the “Born in the U.S.A” album, Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band in 1989. He actually reorganized the band on several occasions, and continued playing together until 2017.
In 1995, Springsteen temporarily reorganized the E Street Band to record a few new songs for his “Greatest Hits” album, as well as performing at one show in New York City. Four years later, in 1999, the E Street Band was reunited once again.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band went on a “Reunion Tour”, which lasted over a year. In 2002, Springsteen and the band released their first album in 18 years. Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 by Bono.