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By Nina Kristin |
Blue jeans and leather jackets, bandanas and ruffled hair and sometimes even a 5 o'clock shadow twice removed. 'The Boss' has saved us from the routine megastar image.
His music reflects the common people. His down to earth attitude, his compassion for others give us a connection with his music, allows our emotions to soar beyond the 'Baby-Baby-I'll-let-you-have-me-tonight-cause-I'm-so-great" mentality. More often than not, you can listen to his lyrics and say 'Hey, I've been there' or 'Wow, that's the way I feel too'. He delivers a message that you can identify with and the best lyrics written are those done so with experience, from the heart. His working class roots have stuck with him. The stardom and media hype hasn't clouded his ego and put him above everyone else.
Bruce Springsteen has played at disarmament rallies, spoken out on stage in support of food banks and community action groups and even opened his own wallet to help make these things a reality. His recent hit single 'Born in the USA' has given Vietnam War vets the attention and compassion they have long deserved.
Although no one knows how much, he has contributed large sums of cash to Vietnam Veterans and even though Springsteen didn't pass the physical and escaped the draft, he hasn't forgotten.
'Born in the USA' also landed him right in the middle of politics. The album, which was released during an election year, bearing the great Red, White and Blue on the front cover lead some to feel this was a political statement. Not to mention his name was brought up in campaign speeches by Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. What does he think about all this? He feels strongly about "Human Politics" as he refers to it, rather than organizations. Helping people, really helping people, not just talking about it until you get elected. His support of Vietnam Vets, food banks, community action groups and the interest he has in communities wherever he plays, shows that he not only wants to change things for the better, but is willing to support his words with actions. But political leaders using his name in campaign speeches is to him, just another political manipulation.
Springsteen was born in 1949 in Freehold, New Jersey. His dad was a bus driver, often unemployed; his mom, a secretary. Brought up in a small town and knowing what power doesn't offer, he's kept the values and morals of his childhood. He knows what it feels like to have dreams and wonder if they'll ever come true. He knows what it's like to search for answers, cling to faith and the promise of a better tomorrow. In fact, the album 'Born to Run' was his reflection of human emotions, testing one's faith.
Seeing Elvis Priesley on the Ed Sullivan Show, when Springsteen was nine, was an inspirational breakthrough that would eventually change his life forever. He even tried to jump over the wall at Graceland Mansion so he could meet 'The King' himself. He took a stab at baseball but it just wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't until the age of 13 when he bought his first guitar at a pawnshop that his sense of worth really jolted him. His natural talent gave him a sense of freedom, and he finally found his place.
Springsteen tried his hand at Ocean County College but eventually became a permanent fixture in the club scene along the Jersey Shore, more so in Asbury Park, a small boardwalk town with lots night clubs for struggling musicians. Springsteen rose above them all and became the fastest guitar in town. With his obvious talent for writing about people, making songs become stories, he branched out and went in his own direction. Because of a lawsuit over recording rights with a former manager, he was out of commission for over a year. When he finally did start recording again in 1977, with a producer Jon Landu, it took 10 months and 30 songs to come up with Darkness on the Edge of Town. The whole messy business threw him off, but he put it behind him and came back with a boom! His final recognition seems long overdue.
Watching Springsteen on stage is a personal experience. He doesn't sing to an audience, but to the people in the audience. He personally does soundchecks up in 'cheap seats' to ensure that everybody is getting what they came to hear. And he's not about to let you down. He pulls girls on the stage to dance with him, talks about his father, cracks a joke. You feel as though you're watching a real person not just a superstar.
Fame and money go hand in hand. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's a millionaire. For most of us that kind of money would immediately have us asking ourselves 'What great things can I buy', but for Springsteen, money hasn't really made his life that much easier. It gives him freedom to play benefit concerts and help other people. When he first got started he used to sit and dream about what money would bring, like buying a pink Cadillac, but now he's in it for the satisfaction he gets out.
Until recently, marriage wasn't exactly top priority on Springsteen's list of things to do. He enjoyed touring and making music. That changed when he met model/actress Julianne Phillips backstage at one of his concerts. Married six months later, they decided to beat the media, announced a wedding date, then had a small ceremony in Lake Oswego, Oregon, two days before the marriage was supposed to take place. Phillips describes her relationship with Bruce as 'very private and very dear to her.' She doesn't want success in her career to come just because she's 'Mrs. Boss'. She wants success because she's earned it.
What scares the Boss? Isolation caused by fame. The album 'Nebraska' was written about American isolation. The things people go through should they be isolated from friends, family, community, or even jobs. He feels that these simple things give your life meaning and to lose them would bring it down to nothing more than a sad joke. If fame were to isolate him like it did the late Elvis, or even Michael Jackson, it would be too high a price to pay. Not being able to walk the streets, go to a club or even going out to dinner would be like separating him from the rest of the world. He never wants to lose contact with people because people are important to him. As Springsteen puts it, 'the biggest gift your fans can give you is treating you like a human being, because anything else dehumanizes you."
©1999 TG Magazine/Le Magazine TG
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