Springsteen, Bruce

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Springsteen has frequently recorded and toured with the E Street Band, in addition to recording and performing as a solo artist and with other musicians. more...

An heir to Elvis Presley, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan, but also influenced by early 1960s rock and R & B, Springsteen is most widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered around his native New Jersey. His eloquence in expressing ordinary, everyday problems has earned him numerous awards, including several Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with a very large, devoted, and long-lasting fan base. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life.

Springsteen's lyrics often concern men and women struggling to make ends meet. He has gradually become identified with progressive politics. Springsteen is also noted for his support of various relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere, and for his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on which his album The Rising reflects.

Springsteen's recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. Much of Springsteen's iconic status in America as well as his popularity abroad stems from his concert performances—marathon shows, up to four hours in length, in which he and the E Street Band energetically perform intense ballads, rousing anthems, and party rock and roll songs, with Springsteen telling long whimsical or deeply emotional stories in between.

Read more at Wikipedia.org