Go deep into the incredible rise of Bruce Springsteen, one of the legendary songwriters and performers of the 20th century, with our guest Peter Ames Carlin, author of the New York Times bestselling book Bruce. In this episode, you'll hear:
- How Bruce grew up poor in a dysfunctional family with significant mental health issues
- The proto-metal music that he played in a previous band
- How the stress of a legal battle with his first manager resulted in one of the top albums of the 1970's
- How a Rolling Stone writer not only changed his destiny but became his manager
- How the characters in his town infused his many poignant songs
- How he played a vital role in both AIDs awareness and New York's 9/11 recovery
Bruce became a touchstone with poignant songs that struck a chord with an audience looking for the meaning of life in the mid-to-late 1970s and early 80s. Ironically, before Bruce, the fans who attended rock concerts and bought albums rarely were the subjects of the day's music.
Guest Bio:
Peter Ames Carlin is a journalist, critic and author of the New York Times best-seller called Bruce and is working on an upcoming book on the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album. His work has been published in the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and the Times in the UK.
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Bonus Content:
- Download the Official Garage to Stadiums Bruce Springsteen playlist on Apple Music or Spotify
- Visit GaragetoStadiums.com for bonus content on Bruce Springsteen, including concert footage, transcripts and other interesting facts.
Written from the everyday person's perspective, Springsteen songs like Born to Run, Thunder Road, Promised Land and Hungry Heart are mini-movies that put you squarely inside the main character's mind as they navigate life. As Bono of U2 said when he inducted Bruce into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, "if John Steinbeck could sing…".
The themes are as familiar as the American fabric: racing cars, highways, run-down factories, failed relationships, hopeful dreams, desperation, and redemption. Bruce helped create the American songbook of the ordinary person facing life milestones and challenges.
As you will hear, his songwriting was driven home with legendary concert performances that leave audiences in awe, lasting at least three hours and sometimes stretching to four. Bruce's philosophy seems to be: if hard-working people are going to spend hard-earned dollars to see me play, I'll make sure they get their money's worth. His work ethic on stage fits his working-class image. Or, as our guest, Peter Ames Carlin calls him, "a blue-collar troubadour".
Peter also describes in detail the impact of Bruce's father's mental health challenges on the family, which affected the family's finances and reputation in the community. He also outlines Bruce's later mental health struggles, as Bruce describes in this interview.
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