10 Facts All Bruce Springsteen Fans Should Know

Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey. There, he was raised in a working-class household, as his father Doug had difficulty holding down a job. Doug worked at various time as a bus driver, millworker, and prison guard. Meanwhile, his mother Adele worked as a secretary in a local insurance office.

Springsteen’s relationship with his father was a rocky one.

“When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house,” the singer later recalled. “One was me, and the other was my guitar.”

Springsteen first fell in love with rock ’n’ roll at 7 years of age when he saw Elvis Presley perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.

“[Elvis] was as big as the whole country itself, as big as the whole dream,” Springsteen later recalled. “He just embodied the essence of it, and he was in mortal combat with the thing. Nothing will ever take the place of that guy.”

For Springsteen’s 16th birthday, his mother took out a loan to buy him a $60 Kent guitar, changing his life forever. All these years later, he’s never stopped playing the instrument!

Springsteen was 18 years-old when he was drafted into the U.S. military. As he traveled to his induction, however, he told himself, “I ain’t goin’.”

Sure enough, Springsteen failed his physical. This was because of both his deliberate “crazy” behavior and a concussion he’d previously gotten in a motorcycle accident. He was given a 4-F classification, making him unfit for military service.

Free from having to go to Vietnam, Springsteen was finally able to pursue music full-time.

By the end of the 1960s, Springsteen was spending most of his time at Asbury Park on the New Jersey Shore. There, he met the musicians that he would form his E Street Band with.

The band was founded in 1972, but it was not formally named until 1974. The original lineup of the band was Garry Tallent (bass), Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Danny Federici (keyboards, accordion), Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez (drums) and David Sancious (keyboards). 

The name of the band came from the street where Sancious’ mother lived on in Belmar, New Jersey.

Related: A New Movie About Bruce Springsteen Is Coming

Springsteen has long been known as the voice of working class people, according to American Songwriter. His songs about the working class include “Badlands” (1978), “My Hometown” (1984), “The River” (1980), “Factory” (1978), “Jack of All Trades” (2011), “Youngstown” (1995).

Unlike many celebrities, Springsteen has never forgotten where he came from, nor has he forgotten his working class roots.

Historian Bryan Garman previously said that “the apparently working-class Springsteen was for many Americans a white hardbody hero whose masculinity confirmed the values of patriarchy and patriotism, the work ethic and rugged individualism.”

Springsteen has been married twice. He was first married to the model and actress Julianne Phillips from 1985 until they divorced in 1989. They met in October of 1984 and married just five months later. They separated in 1988, with Phillips citing irreconcilable differences, and their divorce was finalized in March of 1989.

By then, Springsteen was already living with Patti Scialfa, who would become his second wife. They met when Springsteen saw her perform alongside his friend Bobby Bandiera at a New Jersey bar, and The Boss was so impressed that he just had to introduce himself to her.

“It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” she later recalled, according t0 People Magazine. “We had a beer together, sat at a table, and talked.”

Springsteen and Scialfa have been married since 1991, and they remain devoted to each other to this day!

Springsteen and Scialfa have three children: Evan, 33, Jessica, 32, and Samuel, 30.

“We had our kids late, I was 40 when our first son was born, and they showed a healthy disinterest in our work over all the years,” Springsteen told The New York Times in 2017.

“They had their own musical heroes, they had their own music they were interested in,” he added. “They’d be pretty blank-faced if someone mentioned a song title of mine.”

Springsteen doubled down on this in 2022, saying that his children “have virtually no interest in music or in that part of my life. … But as I always say, ‘They don’t need a hero, they need a father.'”

Related: Bruce Springsteen To Perform In Asbury Park For First Time In 14 Years – Reliving ‘Glory Days’

Springsteen has an estimated net worth of $650 million. In a year in which he tours, Springsteen’s annual earnings can easily top $80 million.

Throughout his career, Springsteen has sold more than 140 million albums worldwide. This makes him one of 35 best-selling musical artists in history. 

In 2021, Springsteen sold his entire music catalog to Sony Music Group for $500 – 600 million.

“I am one artist who can truly say that when I signed with Columbia Records in 1972, I came to the right place,” he said at the time. “During the last 50 years, the men and women of Sony Music have treated me with the greatest respect as an artist and as a person.”

“I’m thrilled that my legacy will continue to be cared for by the company and people I know and trust,” he added.

Springsteen made his Broadway debut in 2017 in Springsteen on Broadway. The show featured him performing some of his hits and sharing stories of his influences and childhood.

Springsteen received a special Tony Award in June of 2018, and he closed out the show later that year.

“It’s a pretty basic show,” Springsteen told Broadway World of the show. “It’s going to feel like a garage workshop basically, and I’m going to play my songs and tell my stories.”

He added that it “wasn’t something that called for a whole lot more than that.”

Hello! Magazine reported that in September of last year, Springsteen had to postpone his tour until this year as he battled peptic ulcer disease. This condition temporarily robbed him of his ability to sing.

“You sing with your diaphragm,” he explained at the time. “My diaphragm was hurting so badly that when I went to make the effort to sing, it was killing me, you know?”

Springsteen added that he “literally couldn’t sing at all, you know, and that lasted for two or three months.”

Now recovered, Springsteen has returned to touring, and he’s currently performing throughout Europe. Should he keep his good health, he plans to continue touring for many years to come!