RIP Clarence Clemons, 1942-2011

No joke, just yesterday I was thinking to myself that I had not interred anyone lately in the GNABB Cemetary. But the Big Man? He can't die! He's supernatural! Take a good look at that picture above (the gatefold album cover photo for Born to Run), and that says it all right there. Clarence Clemons may not have been the most crucial musician in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, but he was the heart and soul. He was the mystique. It was the relationship between Bruce and Clarence that created that whole band of brothers camraderie that made the E Street Band so unique. For decades, Bruce leaned on Clarence as they rocked the world on world tour after world tour. And one thing that he did add musically was a link to rock's past and a link to soul and R&B. The E Street Band is a traditionalist band in many respects, and that sax component is crucial. It made Bruce's E Street Band more than merely a guitar-heavy rock band, from the 70's through to today. It gave Springsteen's music an extra swing (especially in the early to mid-70's) and old school swagger. Here is Clarence's version of the oft-told tale as to how he joined the band...

"One night we were playing in Asbury Park. I'd heard The Bruce Springsteen Band was nearby at a club called The Student Prince and on a break between sets I walked over there. On-stage, Bruce used to tell different versions of this story but I'm a Baptist, remember, so this is the truth. A rainy, windy night it was, and when I opened the door the whole thing flew off its hinges and blew away down the street. The band were on-stage, but staring at me framed in the doorway. And maybe that did make Bruce a little nervous because I just said, "I want to play with your band," and he said, "Sure, you do anything you want." The first song we did was an early version of "Spirit In The Night". Bruce and I looked at each other and didn't say anything, we just knew. We knew we were the missing links in each other's lives."


ABOVE: Here's Bruce and the E Street Band in 1978, playing "The Promised Land." Clarence comes in with his sax solo at about 2:50. The affection between Bruce and Clarence is clear in this clip and was so crucial to the E Street Band shows, just watch their interplay

Clemons was one of the charter members of the E Street Band, joining up with Springsteen in 1972. He was not the most technical of sax players, but he had a monstrous sound that was a force of nature. His sax solos were key parts of many Springsteen classics. "Spirit in the Night," "New York City Serenade," "Thunder Road," "Jungleland," "The Promised Land," "Bobby Jean"...all would have been very different songs without Clarence's solos and parts. Clemons also released several solo records, and was a prolific guest musician playing on music for many others, including Jackson Browne, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker, Luther Vandross, Roy Orbison, Zucchero and even Lady Gaga earlier this year.

Clarence was a good musician who added a distinct sound to Springsteen's music and whoever else he was playing for. But what will be irreplaceable is that stage presence and charisma. The E Street Band will continue without the Big Man, just as it did with the loss of Danny Federici several years ago. But it will never be the same. A era has passed.



RIP The Big Man, Clarence Clemons