#BornThisDay: Bruce Springsteen

September 23, 1949– Bruce Springsteen composed the Academy Award winning song Streets Of Philadelphia written for the film Philadelphia (1993) with Tom Hanks starring, one of the first mainstream films dealing with HIV/AIDS. The song was a hit in the USA and around the globe. It won Grammy Award for Song Of The Year, Best Rock Song, Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture.

“The bonus I got out of writing Streets Of Philadelphia was that all of a sudden I could go out and meet some gay man somewhere and he wouldn’t be afraid to talk to me and say: ‘Hey, that song really meant something to me.’ My image had always been very heterosexual, very straight. So it was a nice experience for me, a chance to clarify my own feelings about gay and lesbian civil rights.”

Would you be surprised to discover that I am a fan of The Boss? I love straight ahead Rock N’ Roll, and I identify as working-class. Springsteen’s output does not occupy the largest section of my music collection, but he is there. I think highly of the sound and the message from The E Street Band. I admire the lonely spare sound of Nebraska (1982). I was Born In The USA (1984). I have had some of that Human Touch (1992) in the Tunnel Of Love (1987) while I was visting Lucky Town (1992), hoping for The Rising (2001).

Springsteen’s songs and his message are particularly relevant at this time of turmoil in our country, when the divisions among us resonate more deeply than the values we share. Politicians are exploiting our fears for their own ends. Those who suffer are met with mockery from the sort of people whose recklessness capsized the economy. Springsteen, a multi-millionaire, still speaks for us.

Early Bruce by Eric Meola

This spring, Springsteen canceled the North Carolina concerts on his tour to protest that State’s passage of a controversial bill that prevents transgender people from using the public restroom for the gender with which they identify, and also negated all local ordinances that provided protection from discrimination to gay and transgender people.

Saying: “some things are more important than a rock show”, Springsteen was one of the biggest names in entertainment to boycott the state. He released this statement:

“As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry, which is happening as I write, is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”

His songs are often celebrating the nobility in the struggles of average American life. He has more than 200 million records worldwide, making him one of our pretty planet’s bestselling artists of all time. His award shelf is home to 20 Grammys, two Golden Globes and that Oscar. Springsteen has been inducted into both the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Springsteen has been a Gay Rights activist for decades. He was one of the first celebrities to be vocal in his support of Marriage Equality.

“I’ve long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples. The Marriage Equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is, a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.’”

“I urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now.”

He is an artist who, after watching other rock musicians lose touch with reality after finding financial success, became determined to make his own music “a search for meaning and the future”. He has themed entire albums in response to unemployment in the post-industrial wasteland, the 9/11 attacks, the war in Iraq and the corruption of Wall Street.

Springsteen’s new memoir, Born To Run, was released on Tuesday to strong reviews. In it, he writes openly about his battle with depression, and about his conflicted love of his musical sidekick, Clarence Clemons, the giant saxophonist whose appearance alongside Springsteen on the cover of Born To Run, for me a decidedly homoerotic partnership. He also addresses the dichotomy of his working-class message and his personal wealth:

“I was never going to be Woody Guthrie, I liked the pink Cadillac too much, but there was work to be done.”

This is my favorite Springsteen song. I find it very moving. I also think that at 67 years old, Springsteen is still smokin’ hot. Sorry to bring it down to that level, but his sex appeal speaks to me as much as his songs.

We said we’d walk together baby come what may

That come the twilight should we lose our way

If as we’re walking a hand should slip free

I’ll wait for you

And should I fall behind

Wait for me

We swore we’d travel darlin’ side by side

We’d help each other stay in stride

But each lover’s steps fall so differently

But I’ll wait for you

And if I should fall behind

Wait for me