The Big Man Cometh
Rock 'n' roll great Clarence Clemons on youth, longevity and Bruce Springsteen
By Barry Schwartz (Senior staff writer)

  
"A sound came out of his horn that seemed to rattle the glasses behind the bar, and threatened to blow out the back wall. The door literally blew off the club in a storm that night, and I knew I'd found my sax player."
- Bruce Springsteen, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, 1999
  

That buzzing forceful tone - the only saxophone player whose sound can fill an entire football stadium. Clarence Clemons has stood alongside Bruce Springsteen for more than 30 years, blowing that same tenor sax for the Boss as hard as he can.

"I'm 62 years old now," says Clemons during our phone interview. "I'm still inspired and I'm still enjoying it and still having fun. That is the highlight of my whole career - every time I walk on that stage it is as exciting as it was the first time."

Through eight albums, countless marathon stadium tours and unmatched superstardom, the E Street Band has been behind Bruce Springsteen - from the Stone Pony to Giants Stadium, from Born to Run to Born in the U.S.A. Before the Boss was The Boss, Bruce Springsteen was your average skinny Dylan-obsessed romantic lugging his six-string across the boardwalks of the Jersey shore.

But then "the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band" as Bruce sings on "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out." Thirty years after that fateful day, Bruce spoke about at the Stone Pony, Clemons, "The Big Man," is still playing those songs, and it's made all the difference. Meanwhile, Springsteen is still making great music, it's still relevant, still the Boss. Clarence Clemons has been there nearly every step of the way.

"It's really great to know you affected such a broad scope of people," says Clemons. "We grew up and we grew up together. We grew up emotionally, musically. It reflects in Bruce's music because he has grown so much, and the band has grown with him. That's been the key to our success."

Though the E Street Band regrouped toward the end of the '90s following a decade-long hiatus, it wasn't until 2002 that Bruce and the boys came back full force, recording their first studio album in over a decade, The Rising. The album, which was greatly inspired by the events of Sept. 11, has taken the band across the country. For Clemons, the tour proved to be as joyful as much as it was emotionally taxing.

"It's been pretty exciting and it's been pretty exhausting," says Clemons. "It was a great tour and it was a timely tour for what's been happening in our country. All over the world it's been the same, great pleasure and great joy and healing of sorts. Bruce's writing has done a lot to bring us back together and bring closure to what's been happening in all our lives. To play those songs in front of all those people every night, you live it every time you play it. It's been extremely emotional."

The tour was not without its struggles, however. They say the show must go on, but not without the Big Man, who was sidelined due to a detached retina. The band had no choice but to postpone its performance in Austin, Texas, marking the first time in his entire career Clemons was forced to miss a gig.

"We're a band," says Clemons. "If one person is not there it's not the band anymore. It might be just as good, but it's not the same. It was devastating to me. I've been this and I've been that but I've always managed to get the show done. This was the first time in 33 years I missed a show. But everyone rallied around me."

While the mammoth tour supporting The Rising recently came to its end climaxing with 10 sold-out dates at Giants Stadium over the summer, Clemons has no intention of sitting around waiting for the next one. Clemons is also the leader of his own band, Temple of Soul. The group recently released its second live album, Live in Asbury Park Vol. 2, recorded outside of the legendary Stone Pony club on the Jersey shore. The album even features a guest appearance by you-know-who on the song "Raise Your Hand."

"With Bruce we're all leaders," says Clemons. "We all have our own roles to play that are as important as the other. With my own band it's my deal. I pick the setlists. And if it doesn't work, it's my fault. But it's freedom in my self-expression because I have dreams of my own I would like to fulfill."

Clemons is quick to point out, however, that no matter where his side interests take him, his number one priority will always be the E Street Band.

"This is my job. Always," says Clemons. "This came before. I was in the E Street Band before I formed my own band. [Temple of Soul] was formed to sort of leave my own footprints in the sand. But the E Street Band is a family."

As for the future, you'll have to ask the Boss.

"Whatever Bruce wants," says Clemons quite matter-of-factly. "I do not know, but I will always make myself available to him when he's ready to do this.

"I'm waiting for the phone call like everyone else."
  

Source: www.inform.umd.edu