Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen
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Film credits
9
Books
10
Awards
Bruce Springsteen, known as The Boss, released the multi-platinum album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984, selling 15 million copies in the United States alone. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1994 for Streets of Philadelphia from the film Philadelphia. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, Springsteen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. His career spans over five decades, with albums such as Born to Run and Nebraska.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Bruce Springsteen — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Bruce Springsteen by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Bruce Springsteen — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age seven, Bruce Springsteen saw Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show, which inspired him to take up music. He was born on September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, the son of bus driver Douglas Frederick Springsteen and legal secretary Adele Ann Zerilli. He bought his first guitar at 13 for 18 dollars, and his mother took out a loan to buy him a Kent guitar for 60 dollars when he was 16. Raised Catholic, he grew up with older sister Virginia and younger sister Pamela.
In 1965, Springsteen became lead guitarist in the band The Castiles, recording two original songs. After performing with Steven Van Zandt and others in Steel Mill, he signed with Columbia Records in 1972. His debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. came in January 1973. The 1975 album Born to Run brought critical and commercial success. After a legal battle with manager Mike Appel, he released Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978. The 1984 album Born in the U.S.A. sold 15 million copies in the U.S. and produced seven top ten singles. In 1994, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Streets of Philadelphia. He reunited with the E Street Band for a tour ending at Madison Square Garden in 2000 and released The Rising in 2002 with the full band.
Springsteen married actress Julianne Phillips in 1985; the marriage ended in 1989 after Phillips discovered his affair with singer Patti Scialfa. He married Scialfa on June 8, 1991. They have three children: Evan James born July 25, 1990, Jessica Rae born December 30, 1991, and Sam Ryan born January 5, 1994. Springsteen has battled clinical depression since the mid-1980s. His father died in 1998, and his mother Adele passed away in 2024 at age 98 after a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s.
Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, with Bono giving the induction speech. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016. His album Born in the U.S.A. remains among the best-selling albums of all time. Artists like The Killers have cited his music as an influence. He is remembered for his working-class anthems, marathon live concerts, and his nickname The Boss.
The complete filmography of Bruce Springsteen — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Bruce Springsteen — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Bruce Springsteen's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Bruce Springsteen — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Until I Realized That Rock Music Was My Connection to the Rest of the Human Race, I Felt Like I Was Dying, for Some Reason, and I Didn’t Know Why.
When It Comes to Luck, You Make Your Own.
When I Was Growing Up, There Were Two Things That Were Unpopular in My House. One Was Me, and the Other Was My Guitar.
When You Get the Music and the Lyrics Right, Your Voice Disappears into the Voices of Those You’ve Chosen to Write About… but All the Telling Detail in the World Doesn’t Matter If the Song Lacks an Emotional Center.
You Know the Old Saying: Trust the Art, Not the Artist. I Think That’s True. I Think Somebody Can Do Real Good Work and Be a Fool in a Variety of Ways.
Adult Life Is Dealing with an Enormous Amount of Questions That Don’t Have Answers. so I Let the Mystery Settle into My Music. I Don’t Deny Anything, I Don’t Advocate Anything, I Just Live with It.
In the Third Grade a Nun Stuffed Me in a Garbage Can Under Her Desk Because She Said That’s Where I Belonged. I Also Had the Distinction of Being the Only Altar Boy Knocked Down by a Priest During Mass.
Sustaining an Audience Is Hard. It Demands a Consistency of Thought, of Purpose, and of Action Over a Long Period of Time.
Little-known facts about Bruce Springsteen — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999; Bono of U2 gave the induction speech. When U2 was inducted in 2005, Springsteen returned the favor.
Paul Schrader asked Springsteen to write a title song for a movie called Born in the USA. Springsteen liked the song so much he used it for his album; the replacement song became the film’s new title, Light of Day 1987.
On October 27, 1975, Springsteen appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek magazines simultaneously, a feat previously only achieved by world leaders.
While composing Fire in the mid-1970s, Springsteen imagined Elvis Presley singing it. Elvis died without hearing it; The Pointer Sisters turned it into a hit in 1979.
Has suffered from clinical depression since the mid-1980s, a condition that almost crushed him by his early sixties.
Is a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
His Oscar-winning song Streets of Philadelphia from Philadelphia 1993 ranked #68 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest songs.
Is a huge fan of The Daily Show and has been in the audience anonymously.
As the Boss of the E Street Band, Springsteen sets high standards: no drugs, punctuality, and sobriety. He demands twice as much from himself.
The song The Ghost of Tom Joad was inspired by John Ford’s film The Grapes of Wrath 1940.
Originally wrote Hungry Heart for the Ramones, but recorded it himself at his manager’s insistence.
His concerts are known as marathons, often lasting multiple hours.
Father was of Dutch and Irish extraction; mother is of Italian extraction.
Sean Penn’s directorial debut The Indian Runner 1991 was loosely based on Springsteen’s song Highway Patrolman from the Nebraska album.
One of five winners of the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors, along with Robert De Niro, Dave Brubeck, Mel Brooks, and Grace Bumbry.
Says his favorite film as a kid was The Searchers 1956.
Has never recorded a #1 hit in the United States; his highest single was Dancing in the Dark at #2. He wrote Blinded by the Light, which hit #1 when recorded by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.
Children with Patti Scialfa: Evan James, Jessica Rae, and Sam Ryan Springsteen.
Awarded the Polar Music Prize in 1997.
Considered becoming a baseball player before devoting himself to music.
Ranked #27 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.
The title for the film Streets of Fire 1984 came from his song; Springsteen withdrew permission when he learned it would be rerecorded by other vocalists.
Inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.
Seven of the twelve tracks on Born in the U.S.A. reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on November 22, 2016.
Was occasionally confused with Bob Seger in the 1970s and 1980s due to similar raspy voices and working-class themes.
Good friends with former WWE star Jim Brunzell, Tom Hanks, and Edward Norton.
Has his voice insured for six million dollars.
Many of his earlier songs reference the New Jersey shore, where he spent his youth.
In 2004, radio station WXPN ranked Thunder Road as the greatest song ever, with Born to Run at #6.
Winner of the 1986 British Phonographic Industry Award for International Solo Artist.
Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2007 inaugural election.
His late cousin, Lenny Sullivan, was assistant road manager for his band for the last 10 years as of October 2009.
The album Nebraska 1982 was recorded on a Tascam 4-track tape recorder in his home studio.
Refused to play The Angry Game on a Swedish talk show in 1996.
His song It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City was covered by David Bowie during the Station to Station sessions.
Became friends with then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, performing at his rallies. They later collaborated on a podcast and book, Renegades: Born in the USA 2021.
The song Thunder Road was inspired by the Robert Mitchum movie of the same name 1958.
Participated in the 2004 Vote for Change concert tour to encourage the defeat of George W. Bush.
His father, Douglas, died in 1998; his mother, Adele, died at age 98 in 2024 after a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s.
Born on the same day as Ray Charles and Jason Alexander September 23.
His music influenced the direction of The Killers’ second album Sam’s Town.
Actress Courteney Cox appeared in his 1984 video for Dancing in the Dark, after he pulled her from the audience to dance.
Frequently works with director John Sayles, a fellow New Jersey native.
Ranked #59 on VH1’s 100 Sexiest Artists.
Appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Jeep in 2021, which was quickly pulled after news of his DWI arrest three months prior.
Became a big fan of the Harry Potter novels and wrote a ballad about Harry, but it was not used in the films due to J.K. Rowling’s stipulation against commercial songs.
Close friend of Robert De Niro since 1975.
Co-hosts the podcast Renegades with Barack Obama.
Voted the 23rd Greatest Rock n Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Bruce Springsteen.
Celebrities similar to Bruce Springsteen — same craft, ranked by reach.
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