Some rockers mellow over time. Bruce Springsteen is becoming more of a Boss with age.
The legendary band leader, now 72, is showing no signs of slowing down. Consider, since the world-locked down, Springsteen has cultivating his own purple patch.
The New Jersey-bred artist teamed with former POTUS Barack Obama on the eight-part podcast series Renegades: Born in the U.S.A., which has since spawned a book, due out today (Oct. 26).
And next month, Springsteen and The E Street Band’s vault busts wide open with the multi-format release of The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film, featuring 10 performances and full footage of the entire setlist.
And there’s been a flurry of releases along the way, including 2020’s Letter to You, which delivered a No. 1 in the U.K. and Australia, and No. 2 peak in the U.S., along with the original documentary film; plus the Springsteen on Broadway residency, gigs, interviews, concerts. The lot.
Springsteen was back in Boss mode when he stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday (Oct. 25) for a chat about several of those projects, and a performance of one of his many classic numbers, “The River.”
Springsteen and Obama are, of course, on a first-name basis. Though when asked how he should be referred to, Springsteen quipped, “Mr Boss please.” The podcast and book were the former president’s idea, we learned. “He called me, which of course I thought he had the wrong number,” Springsteen recounted.
Springsteen is an optimist, but he’s not given up the good fight. “I think there’s a great generation coming up who will be interested in protecting American democracy,” he explained, “and things like the fundamental right to vote, all of which has been a sort of endangered species at the moment.”
The Hall of Famer also discussed the tricky art-life balance (“if you fully subsume yourself in it, it’s no way to live”), recalled the story of jumping the fence at Elvis Presley’s house to see if the King was home (he wasn’t), and, for a sweet piece of fan-servicing, he showed off the actual Fender Telecaster that he slings on the cover art for Born to Run. The six-string could tell its own story. Bruce bought it 50 years ago for $185 on Highway 34, perhaps in Belmar. Born to run, indeed.
Springsteen also pointed out a problem with the album cover for the No Nukes concert. Every member of the E Street Band appears on it, with the exception of keyboardist Roy Bittan. It’s a mistake, and Springsteen admits he’s in deep s*** about it. Rather than lose more sleep over it, The Boss looked down the camera and gave a heartfelt apology.
Watch below.
Source
