Born to Run: Biography

After more recording and another solo tour, Springsteen buys a large parcel of land in Colt’s Neck, New Jersey, where he and Scialfa raise horses. He eventually finds a horse, “Cadillac Jack,” that suits him perfectly. Over time, they acquire a stable of horses and hold small rodeos and equestrian contests for friends.

El Charro

While researching for a song, Springsteen meets Juan Marrufo Sanchez, a Mexican riding champion living in New Jersey. He eventually stays at the farm, teaching Springsteen rope tricks and organizing the rodeos. One day, a cow breaks from the herd, and Sanchez ropes it just before it reaches a stand of trees near the property’s border (and the busy Route 34).

On three days between 1997 and 2006, Springsteen and a group of folk musicians (dubbed The Sessions Band) record a collection of Pete Seeger songs. When Springsteen is invited to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the first after Hurricane Katrina, he appears with The Sessions Band. The festival is an opportunity to pay homage to the city that spawned “blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and so much of the most epic American culture” (450), though the acoustics at the outdoor venue are less than ideal.

Showtime in New Orleans

As they begin their set, Springsteen senses a tough crowd, polite but distracted, anticipating some of the other upcoming acts. The band buckles down and plays, and he eventually feels the crowd warming up. “My City in Ruins” wins over the audience. The band closes with a “prayerful” arrangement of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” To this day, he considers it one of his most memorable shows. He reflects on the elements of a strong performance—one that pulls from “the center of your being, from your godhead, from your gutter” (454). When that happens, the rest—the playing, the singing—is just details.

During The Rising tour, he begins writing material for his next album: Magic (2007). It’s his statement of protest over the Iraq War, yet he aims to keep politics below the surface. They begin the Magic tour in Asbury Park, as they often do, and move on to Hartford, Connecticut. Danny Federici, sidelined by cancer, is replaced by The Sessions Band keyboardist Charlie Giordano. Federici makes a few appearances, but his prognosis isn’t good. Their show in Indianapolis is his last. He dies in 2008.

As Springsteen prepares to play the Super Bowl halftime show, an army of volunteers rushes onto the field to set up the stage, assembling it with amazing speed and precision. Technicians are adjusting the stage and tinkering with the sound moments before showtime, a bit too close for Springsteen’s liking, but the show goes smoothly, exploding with a rush of energy and some of the band’s greatest hits—and then it’s over, the volunteers disassembling the stage with the same choreographed precision. Although he’s dubious about halftime shows, it’s one of his career highlights, an opportunity to tell their 35-year story in 12 minutes.

In 2009, Jay Weinberg replaces his father, Max, on drums for the Working on a Dream (2009) tour. After a rough start, he finds his groove, immersing himself in the songs rather than playing “on top” of them. Clemons’s health begins deteriorating on the tour. He travels with a trainer and special accommodations to help him on and off stage, but despite his physical condition, he remains fully committed. At the tour’s last show—in Buffalo, NY—the band reunites with Mike Appel. After so many years together, Springsteen is grateful to still be playing with his old friends, “navigating this part of our work life with grace and energy” (467).

Angry about the 2008 recession (bank bailouts, income disparity, and capitalism run amuck), Springsteen begins work on his next album, Wrecking Ball (2012). He feels this record addresses these issues powerfully, but the reception is lackluster given the material’s topicality. Despite a successful tour, he realizes that rock music is no longer the cultural force and political platform it once was.

While celebrating his anniversary in Paris, Springsteen learns that Clemons had a “massive” stroke. He visits him in a Florida hospital and finds him barely conscious. While Springsteen waits there with Clemons’s family, the doctors do everything they can, but if he regains consciousness (a “near miracle”), he’ll be wheelchair bound and never play the saxophone again. His condition worsens, and he dies a week later. Springsteen swims in the ocean to cope with the loss.

Clemons and Springsteen formed a special bond—mutual protectors of each other, united in their music—exemplifying racial harmony. Clemons was a force of nature, and Springsteen feels privileged to have collaborated with him.

As the tour for Wrecking Ball nears, Springsteen struggles to find a replacement for Clemons and his “shamanistic” presence. They hear many good sax players but none with the right authority and charisma.

Jake

Springsteen auditions Clemons’s nephew, Jake, a sax player whom Springsteen first heard play at Clemons’s funeral. When Jake comes to the audition not fully prepared, Springsteen tells him, “You don’t DARE come in here and play […] without having your [chops] DOWN COLD!” (479). His tirade aims to assess Jake’s “emotional understanding” of the stakes. Jake returns a few days later fully prepared, and Springsteen senses some of Clemons’s spirit in him. He auditions again and “kills it.” Springsteen is confident he made the right choice—not a “hired gun” but someone who understands and wants to be a part of the mission.

The first stop on the Wrecking Ball tour is the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. Springsteen feels obligated to live up to the theater’s “sacred” reputation. Although Clemons is irreplaceable, Springsteen hopes Jake can infuse the now-familiar solos with his own energy. His first solo at the Apollo proves he can. As the tour proceeds, Jake fills his uncle’s shoes while maintaining his own musical identity.

Shortly after his 60th birthday, Springsteen falls into a long, deep sadness. Scialfa—often the only one who can see it—ensures he takes his antidepressant medication (which he has taken for years). Many of his friends have died, but this isn’t the trigger. Suspecting the medication’s “temperamental” nature, he quits the meds, but the result is “oceans of […] cold, black tears pouring down my face” (486). He copes through physical activity or “reckless” motorcycle trips. Despite taking time off to be with his family, he yearns to tour to distract himself from the sadness. Finally, he tries a new medication, which immediately helps.

Mick Jagger invites Springsteen to join The Rolling Stones for a song during their Newark, New Jersey show. At their rehearsal studio—a small room with a few small amps—Springsteen runs through “Tumblin’ Dice” with them. Singing with his teen idols is surreal, but Springsteen is now a peer and enjoys bringing the “meat” of his voice to this rock standard. They rehearse it once and perform it the following night before 20,000 fans. To Springsteen, the Stones are “the GREATEST GARAGE BAND IN THE WORLD” (490).

As the Australian leg of the Wrecking Ball tour approaches, Springsteen tinkers with unfinished material and adds a few favorites with new guitarist Tom Morello. Before the tour, however, Springsteen must address growing numbness in his left hand. A cervical disc is pinching nerves, so he has surgery to rebuild the disc and part of his hip. After three months of convalescence, he resumes touring.

Over time, Springsteen comes to terms with his voice—not trained or mellifluous but his only voice. He learns that singing “deeply” and with feeling is more important than technique. He compensates by focusing on guitar playing, songwriting, and stamina. The Wrecking Ball tour covers South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and is the most “well-attended” tour the E Street Band has ever played.

Springsteen’s children, now grown, have all built independent lives. Evan is a music producer, Jessica a world-class equestrian, and Sam a firefighter. After the Wrecking Ball tour, in an empty house, Springsteen falls into an “agitated depression.” Without music and touring, his sense of self is adrift, and he spends long hours in bed. He feels his creative fire drying up, triggering a panic over not being able to perform anymore. A short medication regimen—and Scialfa’s steadfast support—solves the problem, but the six weeks of debilitating anxiety and negative thoughts trigger memories of his father. He pulls himself back from the edge of the abyss through the power of love.

Overcoming the negativity his father imprinted on him is hard but necessary work. He considers it the only way to “lessen the burdens our children have to carry” (503). He recalls a visit from his father later in his life meant to reclaim vestiges of a damaged relationship. Now, more self-aware than his father ever was, he seeks to create a new story for his children and their children to inherit. Driving through Freehold, he notices that the old “copper beech” tree of his youth is gone, but he can see the remnant of its life in the negative space it once occupied. Like the tree, his life—no longer physically in Freehold—remains there spiritually.

Springsteen rides his motorcycle out to Manasquan Inlet, where the Manasquan River empties into the Atlantic, and sits on a jetty at sunset, watching the locals. Heading home, he passes St. Rose of Lima, hoping to hear voices from his past, but hears only his motorcycle. Riding home through deepening twilight reminds him of life’s impermanence and the importance of appreciating every moment. He swings onto a country road, seeking home in his headlights.