;—;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——; ——;——;——;——;——;——;——;—
——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——; ——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——; ——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;
——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——; ——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——; ——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;——;
Landau and Bruce, 1974
;
;
;
J
O
N
L
A
N
D
A
U
MUSICAL PAR TNER
A music critic, Landau became Springsteen’s producer in ’ 75 and manager in ’77.
“I’d written a favorable review for
Rolling Stone of Bruce’s second album, but
I’d never seen him perform. I went to a
club where he was playing in Cambridge
[Massachusetts]. They’d put the article
in the window. Bruce was outside the
club, hopping up and down, trying to stay
warm while he read the article. I strolled
up to him and asked how the article was.
“‘Pretty good,’ he said. ‘This guy is usually pretty good.’ There were 15 or 20
people in the club. Afterwards we had a
chance to talk about the performance,
which was fantastic. He called me the
next day, and we talked for several
hours. That was the beginning of a conversation that we’re still having about
how to relate to the world around us and
how to nurture who you are and what
you want to do in the context of a universe that may or may not be sympathetic or interested.
“A few months later I saw him perform at the Harvard Square Theatre.
He had this incredibly innate connection to the innermost parts of rock
music experience. Although I came to
know how much effort went into it, he
had the humility to make it look effortless. You feel like you’re in the presence
of this unique and incredibly honest
and authentic voice.”
NBC NE WS CORRESPONDEN T
Russert’s dad, the late TV journalist Tim
Russert, became an avid Springsteen fan
after booking him to play at John Carroll
University, Tim’s alma mater, in 1975.
Springsteen played “Thunder Road” via
satellite at Russert’s memorial in 2008.
“My father deeply identified with the
blue-collar, working-class stories
Springsteen tells in his music. They were
all part of his life growing up in South
Buffalo. The other attachment was the
authenticity of the music. My dad al-
ways valued substance over style, and in
a world of rock ’n’ roll where you had Jimi
Hendrix lighting guitars on fire and God
knows what during disco and the ’80s,
you could identify with Springsteen: he
never forgot where he came from. I find
comfort in Bruce’s music and, specifi-
cally, in ‘Thunder Road.’”
up the front door of my hotel room. An
album and a bunch of tapes fell down.
He had picked up Darkness on the Edge
of Town and some of his earlier albums.
He had written: ‘If my music can touch
you and move you as much as your book
moved me, that will mean a lot to me.
Bruce Springsteen.’
“He invited me to see him at Winter-
land in San Francisco. All of a sudden he
told the story to the audience about
how he picked up Born on the Fourth of
July and how much it had meant to him.
He went on to talk about how he met a
guy named Ron Kovic. Then he sang
‘Darkness on the Edge of Town.’ He said,
‘This one’s for you, Ron.’ I sat there in my
wheelchair with tears in my eyes.”
AU THOR AND VIETNAM VE T
Kovic’s 1976 book Born on the Fourth of
July inspired Springsteen to write the
1984 hit song “Born in the U.S.A.”
“In the late 1970s I was living in Holly-
wood at the Sunset Marquis Hotel. I’d
sleep in and then write every day. I’d
take a break in the afternoon and sit at
the pool to clear my head. One after-
noon I was watching this young man in
the pool, swimming up a storm. He
looked familiar, like Bruce Springsteen. I
went over to him in my wheelchair. ‘Ex-
cuse me, you probably don’t know me,
but my name is Ron Kovic. I’m a Vietnam
veteran, and I wrote a book called Born
on the Fourth of July.’
“He looked surprised. ‘You’re that
guy? I just read your book. I couldn’t put
it down.’ Two or three days later I opened
Jackson Browne, Bruce, and Bonnie Raitt, 1992
N
N
E
I
A
R
I
T
T
;
;
;
SINGER-SONGWRITER
Raitt shared the stage with Springsteen
for the No Nukes concert in 1979 and the
2004 Vote for Change tour.
“It was an incredible boost when
Bruce committed to joining the No
Nukes concerts. From the groundbreak-
ing Amnesty International tour, to help-
ing stop Contra aid in the ’80s, to a
steady stream of benefits, I don’t know
if any other American artist has made as
profound a difference. I think he taps
into the promise of who we want to be.
In a world where persona is so carefully
calculated, Bruce is the real deal. And
people love him for it.”
ARTWORK BY DAVID COWLES
