Events

456 – Magister militum Ricimer defeats Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire.

1384 – Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.

1590 – Carlo Gesualdo, composer, Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, murders his wife, Donna Maria d'Avalos, and her lover Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples.

1780 – Royalton, Vermont and Tunbridge, Vermont are the last major raids of the American Revolutionary War.

1781 – George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia after the Siege of Yorktown.

1793 – Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, is guillotined at the height of the French Revolution.

1793 – The Battle of Wattignies ends in a French victory.

1813 – The Sixth Coalition attacks Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig.

1834 – Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London is burnt to the ground.

1841 – Queen's University is founded in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

1843 – Sir William Rowan Hamilton comes up with the idea of quaternions, a non-commutative extension of complex numbers.

1846 – William TG Morton first demonstrated ether anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the Ether Dome.

1859 – John Brown leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

1869 – The Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, is "discovered".

1869 – Girton College, Cambridge is founded, becoming England's first residential college for women.

1875 – Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah.

1882 – The Nickel Plate Railroad opens for business.

1905 – The Partition of Bengal in India takes place.

1906 – The Captain of Köpenick fools the city hall of Köpenick and several soldiers by impersonating a Prussian officer.

1916 – Margaret Sanger founds Planned Parenthood by opening the first U.S. birth control clinic.

1923 – The Walt Disney Company is founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.

1934 – Chinese Communists begin the Long March; it ended a year and four days later, by which time Mao Zedong had regained his title as party chairman.

1939 – World War II: First attack on British territory by the German Luftwaffe.

1940 – Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.

1940 – Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto is established.

1945 – The Food and Agriculture Organization is founded in Quebec City, Canada.

1946 – Nuremberg Trials: Execution of the convicted Nazi leaders of the Main Trial.

1949 – Nikolaos Zachariadis, leader of the Communist Party of Greece, announces a "temporary cease-fire", effectively ending the Greek Civil War.

1949 – The diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic are established.

1951 – The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi.

1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and Cuba begins.

1964 – The People's Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon.

1964 – Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin are inaugurated as General Secretary of the CPSU and Premier, respectively and the collective leadership is established.

1968 – United States athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos are kicked off the USA's team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.

1968 – Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney Riots, inspired by the barring of Walter Rodney from the country.

1970 – In response to the October Crisis terrorist kidnapping, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada invokes the War Measures Act.

1973 – Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1975 – The Balibo Five, a group of Australian television journalists based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor (now East Timor), are killed by Indonesian troops.

1975 – Rahima Banu, a 2-year old girl from the village of Kuralia in Bangladesh, is the last known person to be infected with naturally occurring smallpox.

1975 – The Australian Coalition opposition parties using their senate majority, vote to defer the decision to grant supply of funds for the Whitlam Government's annual budget, sparking the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.

1978 – Pope John Paul II is elected after the October 1978 Papal conclave.

1978 – Wanda Rutkiewicz is the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1984 – Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1986 – Reinhold Messner becomes the first person to summit all 14 Eight-thousanders.

1991 – Luby's massacre: George Hennard runs amok in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 and wounding 20 in Luby's Cafeteria.

1993 – Anti-Nazi riot breaks out in Welling in Kent, after police stop protesters approaching the British National Party headquarters.

1995 – The Million Man March occurs in Washington, D.C.

1995 – The Skye Bridge is opened.

1996 – Eighty-four people are killed and more than 180 injured as 47,000 football fans attempt to squeeze into the 36,000-seat ''Estadio Mateo Flores'' in Guatemala City.

1998 – Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition on murder charges.

2002 – Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, is officially inaugurated.

2006 – Hawaii Earthquake: A magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.

Births

1396 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English soldier (d. 1450)

1430 – King James II of Scotland (d. 1460)

1483 – Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (d. 1542)

1535 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (d. 1585)

1663 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (d. 1736)

1710 – Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (d. 1790)

1714 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian geologist (d. 1795)

1726 – Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish painter (d. 1801)

1751 – Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Queen of Prussia (d. 1805)

1752 – Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, German theologian (d. 1827)

1754 – Morgan Lewis, Governor of New York (1804–07) (d. 1844)

1758 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (d. 1843)

1762 – Paul Hamilton, American politician (d. 1816)

1789 – William Burton, American politician (d. 1866)

1795 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author (d. 1876)

1802 – Isaac Murphy, American politician (d. 1882)

1804 – Benjamin Russell, American artist (d. 1885)

1806 – William Pitt Fessenden, 26th United States Secretary of the Treasury (1864–65) (d. 1869)

1815 – Francis Lubbock, American politician (d. 1905)

1819 – Austin F. Pike, American politician (d. 1886)

1840 – Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese politician (d. 1900)

1841 – Hirobumi Ito, Japanese politician (d. 1909)

1854 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-born German theoretician (d. 1938)

1854 – Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (d. 1900)

1855 – Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (d. 1931)

1861 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian (d. 1927)

1863 – Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937)

1876 – Jimmy Sinclair, South African cricketer, rugby union and soccer player (d. 1913)

1878 – Maxie Long, American athlete (d. 1959)

1883 – Vasiliki Maliaros, Greek actress (d. 1973)

1884 – Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (d. 1916)

1886 – David Ben-Gurion, Israeli statesman (d. 1973)

1888 – Eugene O'Neill, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)

1888 – Paul Popenoe, American activist (d. 1979)

1890 – Michael Collins, Irish politician (d. 1922)

1890 – Maria Goretti, Italian saint (d. 1902)

1890 – Paul Strand, American photographer (d. 1975)

1897 – Louis de Cazenave, French supercentenarian (d. 2008)

1898 – William O. Douglas, American jurist (d. 1980)

1900 – Edward Ardizzone, Vietnamese-born British writer and illustrator (d. 1979)

1900 – Primo Conti, Italian painter (d. 1988)

1900 – Goose Goslin, American baseball player (d. 1971)

1903 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (d. 2003)

1906 – León Klimovsky, Argentine film director (d. 1996)

1908 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian dictator (d. 1985)

1912 – Clifford Hansen, American politician (d. 2009)

1914 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, Shah of Afghanistan (d. 2007)

1916 – George Turner, Australian author (d. 1997)

1917 – Alice Pearce, American actress (d. 1966)

1918 – Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher (d. 1990)

1919 – Kathleen Winsor, American writer (d. 2003)

1921 – MacKenzie Miller, American horse trainer and breeder (d. 2010)

1922 – Max Bygraves, English singer/songwriter

1922 – Leon Sullivan, American civil rights leader and pastor (d. 2001)

1923 – Linda Darnell, American film actress (d. 1965)

1923 – Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter (d. 1980)

1923 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby commentator (d. 2010)

1925 – Angela Lansbury, English-born actress

1927 – Günter Grass, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate

1928 – Mary Daly, American feminist philosopher and theologian (d. 2010)

1928 – Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress

1929 – Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian actress

1930 – Carmen Sevilla, Spanish actress

1931 – Charles Colson, American Watergate figure

1931 – Valery Klimov, Russian violinist

1931 – Rosa Rosal, Filipino actress and humanitarian

1932 – John Grant, British politician (d. 2000)

1932 – Henry Lewis, American musician and conductor (d. 1996)

1934 – Peter Ashdown, British racing driver

1936 – Peter Bowles, English actor

1936 – Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (d. 1994)

1936 – Akira Machida, Japanese judge

1938 – Carl Gunter Jr, American state legislator (d. 1999)

1938 – Nico, German musician, fashion model and actress (d. 1988)

1940 – Barry Corbin, American actor

1940 – Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player (d. 2003)

1940 – Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 2009)

1941 – Tim McCarver, American baseball player and commentator

1943 – Fred Turner, Canadian bass player (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)

1946 – Suzanne Somers, American actress

1947 – Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player

1947 – Bob Weir, American musician (Grateful Dead)

1947 – David Zucker, American film director

1948 – Hema Malini, Indian Actress

1948 – Leo Mazzone, American baseball coach

1952 – Boogie Mosson, American musician (P Funk)

1952 – Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)

1953 – Tony Carey, American musician (Rainbow, Planet P Project)

1953 – Paulo Roberto Falcão, Brazilian footballer

1953 – Al Sobotka, American sports facility operations manager

1954 – Serafino Ghizzoni, Italian rugby player

1954 – Stephen Mellor, American actor

1956 – John Chavis, American football coach

1958 – Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Greek singer

1958 – Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and writer

1959 – Marc Collins-Rector, American businessman and sex offender

1959 – Brian Harper, American baseball player

1959 – Gary Kemp, British musician and actor

1959 – Erkki-Sven Tüür, Estonian composer

1960 – Bob Mould, American musician

1961 – Marc Levy, French novelist

1961 – Randy Vasquez, American actor

1962 – Manute Bol, Sudanese basketball player (d. 2010)

1962 – Ken Chinn, American musician (SNFU)

1962 – Flea, Australian-born American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

1962 – Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian baritone

1962 – Nico Lazaridis, German footballer

1963 – Brendan Kibble, Australian musician

1965 – Steve Lamacq, British journalist and disc jockey

1965 – Tom Tolbert, American basketball player

1968 – Randall Batinkoff, American actor

1968 – Mark Lee, Singaporean actor & comedian

1968 – Elsa Zylberstein, French actress

1969 – Roy Hargrove, American jazz trumpeter

1969 – Takao Ōmori, Japanese professional wrestler

1969 – Terri J. Vaughn, American actress

1969 – Wendy Wilson, American pop singer (Wilson Phillips)

1970 – Kazuyuki Fujita, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter

1970 – Mehmet Scholl, German footballer

1971 – Chad Gray, American singer

1972 – Adrianne Frost, American comedian and author

1972 – Darius Kasparaitis, Russian ice hockey player

1972 – Tomas Lindberg, Swedish musician (At the Gates)

1972 – Kordell Stewart, American football player

1973 – María Eugenia Larraín, Chilean model, engineer and socialite

1973 – Peter Polaco, American professional wrestler

1973 – David Unsworth, English professional footballer

1974 – Paul Kariya, Canadian hockey player

1975 – Brynjar Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer

1975 – Jacques Kallis, South African cricketer

1975 – Kellie Martin, American actress

1975 – Ernesto Noel Aquino, Honduran footballer

1976 – Ryan Fitzgerald, Australian footballer and media personality

1977 – John Mayer, American musician

1978 – Ethan Luck, American musician (The O.C. Supertones, Demon Hunter, Relient K)

1979 – Erin Brown, American actress, model, filmmaker, and musician

1980 – Sue Bird, American basketball player

1980 – Jeremy Jackson, American actor

1980 – Timana Tahu, Australian Rugby League player

1981 – Martin Halle, Danish footballer

1981 – Anthony Reyes, American baseball player

1981 – Caterina Scorsone, Canadian actress

1982 – Vincy Chan, Hong Kong singer

1982 – Frédéric Michalak, French rugby player

1982 – Pippa Black, Australian actress

1982 – Cristian Riveros, Paraguayan footballer

1983 – Philipp Kohlschreiber, German tennis player

1984 – Melissa Lauren, French pornographic actress

1984 – Shayne Ward, British singer

1985 – Verena Sailer, German sprinter

1985 – Casey Stoner, Australian motorcycle racer

1986 – Nicky Adams, Welsh footballer

1986 – Inna, Romanian singer

1986 – Craig Pickering, British sprinter

1988 – Zoltán Stieber, Hungarian footballer

1990 – Yohanna, Icelandic singer

1991 – John and Edward Grimes, Irish singers

1992 – Bryce Harper, American baseball player

2003 – Princess Kritika of Nepal, daughter of Crown Prince Paras

Deaths

1355 – Louis, King of Sicily, felled by the Black Death (b.

1553 – Lucas Cranach the Elder, German painter (b. 1472)

1555 – Hugh Latimer, English Protestant (martyred)

1555 – Nicholas Ridley, English Protestant (martyred)

1591 – Pope Gregory XIV (b. 1535)

1594 – William Allen, English Catholic cardinal (b. 1532)

1621 – Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Dutch composer (b. 1562)

1628 – François de Malherbe, French poet and critic (b. 1555)

1649 – Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (b. 1621)

1655 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian physician, mathematician, and music theorist (b. 1591)

1680 – Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian-Austrian general

1750 – Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German composer and lutenist (b. 1687)

1755 – Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint (b. 1725)

1774 – Robert Fergusson, Scottish poet (b. 1750)

1781 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English naval officer (b. 1705)

1791 – Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin, Russian general and statesman (b. 1739)

1793 – Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (executed) (b. 1755)

1793 – John Hunter, eminent doctor and philosopher (b. 1728)

1796 – Victor Amadeus III of Savoy (b. 1726)

1810 – Nachman of Breslov, founder of Breslov Hasidut (b. 1772)

1822 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian ballet dancer (b. 1724)

1865 – Andrés Bello, Venezuelan poet, lawmaker, philosopher, and sociologist (b. 1781)

1877 – Theodore Barrière, French dramatist (b. 1823)

1888 – John Wentworth, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1815)

1893 – Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta, President of France (b. 1808)

1908 – Joseph Leycester Lyne (Father Ignatius), a restorer of monastic life in the Church of England (b. 1837)

1909 – Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, Sorbian writer (b. 1856)

1937 – Jean de Brunhoff, French writer (b. 1899)

1946 – Nuremberg trial executions of the Main Trial:

:* Hans Frank, German war criminal (b. 1900) :* Wilhelm Frick, German war criminal (b. 1877) :* Alfred Jodl, German military officer (b. 1890) :* Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian SS officer (b. 1903) :* Wilhelm Keitel, German military officer (b. 1882) :* Joachim von Ribbentrop, German politician (b. 1893) :* Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi ideologist (b. 1893) :* Fritz Sauckel, German war criminal (b. 1894) :* Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Austrian Nazi leader (b. 1892) :* Julius Streicher, German propagandist (b. 1887)

1951 – Liaqat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (b 1895)

1952 – Ghulam Bhik Nairang, Indian/Pakistani Muslim leader and poet (b. 1876)

1956 – Jules Rimet, president of FIFA (b. 1873)

1959 – Minor Hall, American jazz musician (b. 1897)

1959 – George Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel laureate (b. 1880)

1962 – Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher and poet (b. 1884)

1964 – Patsy Callighen, Canadian Hockey Player (b. 1906)

1966 – George O'Hara, American actor (b. 1899)

1968 – Ellis Kinder, baseball player (b. 1914)

1971 – Robin Boyd, Australian architect (b.1919)

1972 – Hale Boggs, U.S. Congressman from Louisiana (b. 1914)

1972 – Nick Begich, U.S. Congressman from Alaska (b. 1932)

1972 – Leo G. Carroll, English actor (b. 1886)

1973 – Gene Krupa, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)

1974 – Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Carnatic musician (b. 1895)

1975 – Vittorio Gui, Italian conductor (b. 1885)

1978 – Dan Dailey, American actor (b. 1913)

1979 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (b. 1903)

1981 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)

1982 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (b. 1915)

1983 – Jakov Gotovac, Croatian composer (b. 1895)

1983 – Kelso, American racehorse (b. 1957)

1986 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist (b. 1921)

1989 – Cornel Wilde, American actor (b. 1915)

1990 – Jorge Bolet, Cuban-American classical pianist (b. 1914)

1990 – Art Blakey, American jazz drummer (b. 1919)

1991 – Ole Beich, Guns n Roses bass player (b.1955)

1992 – Shirley Booth, American actress (b. 1898)

1996 – Eric Malpass, English novelist (b. 1910)

1996 – Jason Bernard, American actor (b. 1938)

1997 – James Michener, American writer (b. 1907)

1997 – Audra Lindley, American actress (b. 1918)

1998 – Jon Postel, American Internet pioneer (b. 1943)

1999 – Jean Shepherd, American writer and actor (b. 1921)

2000 – Mel Carnahan, American politician (b. 1934)

2002 – Dawson family, American murder victims

2003 – Avni Arbas, Turkish artist (b. 1919)

2003 – Stu Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1915)

2003 – László Papp, Hungarian boxer (b. 1926)

2004 – Pierre Salinger, John F. Kennedy's White House Press Secretary (b. 1925)

2005 – "Len" Dresslar, American singer and voice actor (b. 1925)

2005 – Eugene "Porky" Lee, American child actor (b. 1933)

2005 – David Reilly, American singer (God Lives Underwater) (b. 1971)

2005 – Ursula Howells, English actress (b. 1922)

2006 – Valentín Paniagua Corazao, Ex President of Peru (b. 1936)

2006 – John Murra, Ukrainian-American anthropologist (b. 1916)

2006 – Ross Davidson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)

2006 – Tommy Johnson, American tubist (b. 1935)

2006 – Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (b. 1921)

2007 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (b. 1921)

2007 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian music star and humanitarian (b. 1981)

2007 – Barbara West, second-to-last living ''Titanic'' survivor (b. 1911)

2010 – Barbara Billingsley, American actress (b. 1915)

2010 – Eyedea, American rapper (Eyedea & Abilities) (b. 1981)

Holidays and observances

Boss's Day (United States and Canada)

Christian Feast Day:

*Fortunatus of Casei

*Gall

*Gerard Majella

*Hedwig of Andechs

*Marie-Marguerite d'Youville

*Silvanus of Ahun

*October 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Day of Pope John Paul II (Poland)

Teacher's Day (Chile)

World Food Day (International)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:October

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name	Jason Derülo
birth name	Jason Joel Desrouleaux
background	solo_singer
birth date	September 21, 1989
origin	Miami, Florida, United States
genre	R&B;, pop, dance
occupation	Singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actor
years active	2007–present
label	Warner Bros.,Beluga Heights
associated acts	The Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa, Birdman, Diddy-Dirty Money, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Kid Cudi
website	}}

Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born , 1989), better known by his stage name Jason Derülo, is an American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer. After producing records for several artists and writing songs for Cash Money Records, co-founder of the label Birdman, Young Money Entertainment owner Lil Wayne and rapper Diddy, Derülo signed to minor recording label Beluga Heights. After Beluga Heights became part of the Warner Music Group, Derülo released his debut single, "Whatcha Say" in May 2009. The song became a huge digital hit, selling over five million digital downloads, gaining an RIAA certification of double platinum, and reaching number 1 in the US and New Zealand. Derülo released his second single, "In My Head", in December 2009. His debut album, ''Jason Derülo'', was released in 2010.

Early life

Derülo was born in Miami, Florida, to Haitian parents. His birth name is Desrouleaux, but he changed the spelling for his stage name to make it easier to pronounce.

Derülo has been performing since the age of five. He wrote his first song, "Crush on You", at age eight and was heard singing part of the song on a Galaxy FM interview. Derülo spent his youth studying opera, theater, and ballet. He attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

At age 12, Derülo met his future manager, Frank Harris, a law school student who was helping him improve his basketball skills.

Music career

2007–2009: songwriting and musical beginnings

Derülo has been writing songs for artists including Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie, Lil Wayne since he was 16, intent on becoming a solo performer. After attending performing arts schools and honing his talents as a singer and dancer (plus acting in theatre productions like ''Ragtime'' and ''Smokey Joe's Cafe''), Derülo won the grand prize on the 2006 season finale of the TV show ''Showtime at the Apollo''. Derülo was discovered by music producer J. R. Rotem, who signed him to his record label Beluga Heights Records and Warner Bros. Records.

In a HitQuarters interview, Rotem highlighted Derülo's dedication to his art by saying, "Jason Derülo has one of the most impressive work ethics I've ever come across – he just keeps knocking out songs in the studio. That's an amazing quality."

Derülo's music career began in 2006, when he was featured on Birdman's song "Bossy", which was featured on his album, ''5 * Stunna''.

2009–2010: ''Jason Derülo''

On August 4, 2009, Jason released his debut single, "Whatcha Say". It was produced by J. R. Rotem with additional production by Fuego. The track samples the Imogen Heap song "Hide and Seek". In late August 2009, the song debuted at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and hit number 1 in November 2009. The single's music video was released in September 2009; after the single became successful, Derülo began work on his debut album. He released the second single from his album, "In My Head", on , 2009. It debuted at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and reached number five.

Derülo's debut album, ''Jason Derülo'', was released on , 2010. He spent six weeks promoting the album in his appearances as one of the opening acts for Lady Gaga's 2009–2010 ''The Monster Ball Tour''. The third single of the album is "Ridin' Solo," which was released worldwide on , 2010. By July, the single had reached number nine in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Derülo has also recently been featured in a song by new artist Will Roush called "Turn it Up," which also features Stat Quo and Young Buck. He also collaborated with UK singer Pixie Lott on a song called "Coming Home" which will be on Lott's new album Turn It Up Louder to be released in the United States in 2011.

''Jason Derülo'' first charted within the top ten of the UK and Irish Albums Charts in early March 2010.

2011-present: ''Future History''

Derülo's second studio album, ''Future History'', will be released on September 27, 2011. Derülo is currently detailing his journey recording the album via a series of webisodes that are posted on his official website every Friday. Its lead single, "Don't Wanna Go Home", was released on May 20, 2011. It landed the number 1 spot in the UK and in the top 5 in Australia.

Tours

2009–2010 The Monster Ball Tour (Opening Act)

2010 The E.N.D. World Tour (Opening Act for Canada dates)

2010–2011 Jason Derülo World Tour (Headlining)

Discography

''Jason Derülo'' (2010)

''Future History'' (2011)

Filmography

Television
Year	Show	Role	! Notes
2011		Himself	Guest Star, 1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Organisation	Award	Result
	rowspan="3"	Choice Breakout Male Artist
rowspan="2"
rowspan="2"
	Most Popular International Artist
	NAACP Image Award
rowspan="2"
50 Most Performed Songs of the Year ("Replay")
	Choice Male Artist
Choice R&B;/Hip-Hop Track ("Don't Wanna Go Home")
Choice Summer: Music Star Male

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American rhythm and blues musicians Category:American male singers Category:American people of Haitian descent Category:American pop singers Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:Warner Bros. Records artists

ca:Jason Derülo cs:Jason Derülo da:Jason DeRulo de:Jason Derulo es:Jason Derülo fa:جیسون درولو fr:Jason Derülo id:Jason Derülo it:Jason Derülo he:ג'ייסון דירולו hu:Jason Derülo nl:Jason Derülo ja:ジェイソン・デルーロ no:Jason Derülo pl:Jason Derülo pt:Jason Derülo ro:Jason Derülo simple:Jason Derulo fi:Jason Derülo sv:Jason Derülo tl:Jason Derülo th:เจสัน เดอรูโล tr:Jason Derülo vi:Jason Derülo zh:杰森·德鲁罗

name	Peggy Lee
background	solo_singer
birth name	Norma Deloris Egstrom
birth date	May 26, 1920
birth place	Jamestown, North Dakota
death date	January 21, 2002
death place	Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
genre	Traditional pop, jazz
occupation	Singer, actress, songwriter
years active	1941–2000
label	Decca Records Capitol Records
notable instruments	}}

Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs.

Early life

Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, the seventh of eight children of Marvin Olof Egstrom, a station agent for the Midland Continental Railroad. Her mother, Selma Amelia (Anderson), died when Lee was four years old. Her father was Swedish American and her mother was Norwegian American.

Lee first sang professionally over KOVC radio in Valley City, North Dakota. She later had her own series on a radio show sponsored by a local restaurant that paid her a "salary" in food. Both during and after her high school years, Lee sang for paltry sums on local radio stations. Radio personality Ken Kennedy, of WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota (the most widely heard station in North Dakota), changed her name from Norma to Peggy Lee. Thereafter, Lee left home and traveled to Los Angeles at the age of 17.

She returned to North Dakota for a tonsillectomy, and later made her way to Chicago for a gig at The Buttery Room, a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel East. There, she was noticed by bandleader Benny Goodman. According to Lee, "Benny's then-fiancée, Lady Alice Duckworth, came into The Buttery, and she was very impressed. So the next evening she brought Benny in, because they were looking for a replacement for Helen Forrest. And although I didn't know, I was it. He was looking at me strangely, I thought, but it was just his preoccupied way of looking. I thought that he didn't like me at first, but it just was that he was preoccupied with what he was hearing." She joined his band in 1941 and stayed for two years.

Recording career

In 1942 Lee had her first #1 hit, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", followed by 1943's "Why Don't You Do Right?" (originally sung by Lil Green), which sold over a million copies and made her famous. She sang with Goodman's orchestra in two 1943 films, ''Stage Door Canteen'' and ''The Powers Girl''.

In March 1943 Lee married Dave Barbour, a guitarist in Goodman's band. Peggy said, "David joined Benny's band and there was a ruling that no one should fraternize with the girl singer. But I fell in love with David the first time I heard him play, and so I married him. Benny then fired David, so I quit, too. Benny and I made up, although David didn't play with him anymore. Benny stuck to his rule. I think that's not too bad a rule, but you can't help falling in love with somebody."

When Lee and Barbour left the band, the idea was that he would work in the studios and she would keep house and raise their daughter, Nicki. But she drifted back to songwriting and occasional recording sessions for the fledgling Capitol Records in 1947, for whom she produced a long string of hits, many of them with lyrics and music by Lee and Barbour, including "I Don't Know Enough About You" and "It's a Good Day" (1948). With the release of the #1-selling record of 1947, "Mañana", her "retirement" was over.

In 1948 Lee joined Perry Como and Jo Stafford as a rotating host of the NBC Radio musical program ''Chesterfield Supper Club''. She was also a regular on NBC's ''Jimmy Durante Show''.

She left Capitol for a few years in the early 1950s, but returned in 1953. She is most famous for her cover version of the Little Willie John hit "Fever" written by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport, to which she added her own, uncopyrighted lyrics ("Romeo loved Juliet," "Captain Smith and Pocahontas") and her rendition of Leiber and Stoller's "Is That All There Is?". Her relationship with the Capitol label spanned almost three decades, aside from her brief but artistically rich detour (1952–1956) at Decca Records, where in 1956 she recorded one of her most acclaimed albums, ''Black Coffee''. While recording for Decca, Lee had hit singles with the songs ''Lover'' and ''Mister Wonderful''.

Lee is today internationally recognized for her signature song "Fever". She had a string of successful albums and top 10 hits in three consecutive decades. She is regarded as one of the most influential jazz vocalists of all time, being cited as a mentor to diverse artists such as Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Madonna, and Dusty Springfield. Lee was also an accomplished actress,.

In her 60-year-long career, Peggy was the recipient of three Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, an Academy Award nomination, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Award; the President's Award, the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Living Legacy Award from the Women's International Center. In 1999 Lee was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Songwriting

Lee was a successful songwriter, with songs from the Disney movie ''Lady and the Tramp'', for which she also supplied the singing and speaking voices of four characters. Her collaborators included Laurindo Almeida, Harold Arlen, Sonny Burke, Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, Francis Lai, Jack Marshall, Johnny Mandel, Marian McPartland, Willard Robison, Lalo Schifrin and Victor Young.

She wrote the lyrics for:

"I Don't Know Enough About You"

"It's A Good Day", composed by Dave Barbour

"I'm Gonna Go Fishin'", composed with Duke Ellington

"The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter"

"Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)"

"Bless You (For The Good That's In You)", composed with Mel Tormé

"What More Can a Woman Do?"

"Don't Be Mean to Baby"

"New York City Ghost", composed with Victor Young

"You Was Right, Baby"

"Just an Old Love of Mine"

"Everything's Movin' Too Fast"

"The Shining Sea"

"He's A Tramp"

"The Siamese Cat Song"

"There Will Be Another Spring"

"Johnny Guitar", composed with Victor Young

"Sans Souci", composed with Sonny Burke

"So What's New?"

"Don't Smoke in Bed"

"I Love Being Here With You"

"Happy With the Blues" with Harold Arlen

"Where Can I Go Without You?"

"Things Are Swingin'"

"Then Was Then" with Cy Coleman

Her first published song was in 1941, "Little Fool". "What More Can a Woman Do?" was recorded by Sarah Vaughan with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" was no.1 for 9 weeks on the Billboard singles chart in 1948, from the week of 13 March to 8 May.

Lee was a mainstay of Capitol Records when rock'n'roll came onto the American music scene. She was among the first of the "old guard" to recognize this new genre, as seen by her recording music from the Beatles, Randy Newman, Carole King, James Taylor and other up-and-coming songwriters. From 1957 until her final disc for the company in 1972, she produced a steady stream of two or three albums per year which usually included standards (often arranged quite different from the original), her own compositions, and material from young artists.

Acting career

Lee starred and sang in the hit films ''The Jazz Singer,'' Disney's ''Lady and the Tramp'', and ''Pete Kelly's Blues'', for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1952 Lee played opposite Danny Thomas in a remake of the early Al Jolson film, ''The Jazz Singer''. In 1955 she played an alcoholic blues singer in ''Pete Kelly's Blues'', for which she received an Academy Awards nomination. After years of poor health, Lee died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack at age 81. Her body was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles' Westwood, Los Angeles, California neighborhood. On her marker in a garden setting is inscribed, "Music is my life's breath."

Legacy

Academy Awards memoriam omission

She was not featured in Memoriam Tribute during the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony. When her family requested she be featured in the following year's ceremony, the Academy stated they did not honor requests and Lee was omitted because her contribution to film and her legacy were not deemed significant enough, although she had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''Pete Kelly's Blues''. Her family pointed out that, although she had been omitted, R&B; singer/actress Aaliyah, who died a few months earlier, was included though having been in only one moderately successful film, ''Romeo Must Die'' (''Queen of the Damned'' had yet to be released). The Academy provided no comment on the oversight.

Awards

Lee was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit "Is That All There Is?" In 1995 she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lee is a recipient of North Dakota's Roughrider Award; the Pied Piper Award from The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); the Presidents Award, from the Songwriters Guild of America; the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement, from the Society of Singers; and the Living Legacy Award, from the Women's International Center. In 1999 she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Carnegie Hall tribute

In 2003, "There'll Be Another Spring: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee" was held at Carnegie Hall. Produced by recording artist Richard Barone, the sold-out event included performances by Cy Coleman, Debbie Harry, Nancy Sinatra, Rita Moreno, Marian McPartland, Chris Connor, Petula Clark, and others. In 2004 Barone brought the event to the Hollywood Bowl and to Chicago's Ravinia Festival, with expanded casts including Maureen McGovern, Jack Jones and Bea Arthur. The Carnegie Hall concert was broadcast on NPR's "Jazz Set".

Bibliography

;Autobiography

Peggy Lee, ''Miss Peggy Lee: An Autobiography'', 2002, Bloomsbury (UK), ISBN 0-7475-5907-4

;Biography

Peter Richmond, ''Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee'', 2006, Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 0-8050-7383-3

Robert Strom, ''Miss Peggy Lee: A Career Chronicle'', 2005, McFarland Publishing, ISBN 0-7864-1936-9

;Album liner notes

Will Friedwald, Album liner notes ''The Best of Peggy Lee, The Capitol Years''

Discography

Capitol Records

1948 ''Rendezvous with Peggy Lee'' (set of 78s: 6 songs)

1952 ''Rendezvous with Peggy Lee'' (10-inch LP: 8 songs; 12-inch LP: 12 songs)

Decca Records

1953 ''Black Coffee'' (10-inch version)

1954 ''Songs in an Intimate Style''

1954 ''Selections from Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas''' (w/ Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye)

1955 ''Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues'' (w/ Ella Fitzgerald)

1956 ''Black Coffee'' (12-inch version)

1957 ''Dream Street''

1957 ''Songs from Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp"''

1958 ''Sea Shells'' (recorded 1955)

1959 ''Miss Wonderful'' (recorded 1956)

1964 ''Lover'' (recorded 1952)

1964 ''The Fabulous Peggy Lee'' (recorded 1953-56)

Capitol Records

1957 ''The Man I Love''

1959 ''Jump for Joy''

1959 ''Things Are Swingin'''

1959 ''I Like Men!''

1959 ''Beauty and the Beat!''

1960 ''Latin ala Lee!''

1960 ''All Aglow Again!''

1960 ''Pretty Eyes''

1960 ''Christmas Carousel''

1960 ''Olé ala Lee''

1961 ''Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee''

1961 ''If You Go''

1962 ''Blues Cross Country''

1962 ''Bewitching-Lee''

1962 ''Sugar 'N' Spice''

1963 ''Mink Jazz''

1963 ''I'm a Woman''

1964 ''In Love Again!''

1964 ''In the Name of Love''

1965 ''Pass Me By''

1965 ''Then Was Then - Now Is Now!''

1966 ''Guitars A là Lee''

1966 ''Big $pender''

1967 ''Extra Special!''

1967 ''Somethin' Groovy!''

1968 ''2 Shows Nightly''

1969 ''A Natural Woman''

1969 ''Is That All There Is?''

1970 ''Bridge Over Troubled Water''

1970 ''Make It With You''

1971 ''Where Did They Go''

1972 ''Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota''

Post-Capitol albums

1974 ''Let's Love''

1975 ''Mirrors''

1977 ''Live in London''

1977 ''Peggy''

1979 ''Close Enough for Love''

1988 ''Miss Peggy Lee Sings the Blues''

1990 ''The Peggy Lee Songbook: There'll Be Another Spring''

1993 ''Love Held Lightly: Rare Songs by Harold Arlen'' (rec. 1988)

1993 ''Moments Like This''

Chart singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions
		! width="60"	! width="60"
	"I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"
"Winter Weather" (w/ Art Lund)
"Blues in the Night"
"Somebody Else is Taking My Place"
"My Little Cousin"
"We'll Meet Again"
"Full Moon"
"The Way You Look Tonight"
1943	"Why Don't You Do Right"
1945	"Waitin' for the Train to Come in"
	"I'm Glad I Waited for You"
"I Don't Know Enough About You"
"Linger in My Arms a Little Longer, Baby"
"It's All Over Now"
	"It's a Good Day"
"Everything's Moving too Fast"
"Chi-baba, Chi-baba (My Bambino, Go to Sleep)"
"Golden Earrings"
	"Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)"
"All Dressed up with a Broken Heart"
"For Every Man, There's a Woman"
"Laroo, Laroo, Lili Bolero"
"Talking to Myself About You"
"Don't Smoke in Bed"
"Caramba! It's the Samba"
"Baby, Don't Be Mad at Me"
"Somebody Else is Taking My Place" (re-issue)
"Bubble Loo, Bubble Loo"
	"Blum Blum, I Wonder Who I Am"
"Similau (See-Me-Lo)"
"Bali Ha'i"
"Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)"
	"The Old Master Painter" (w/ Mel Torme)
"Show Me the Way to Get out of This World"
1951	"(When I Dance with You) I Get Ideas"
	"Be Anything (But Be Mine)"
"Lover"
"Watermelon Weather" (w/ Bing Crosby)
"River, River"
	"Who's Gonna Pay the Check"
"Baubles, Bangles, & Beads"
	"Where can I go Without You"
	"Mr. Wonderful"
"Joey, Joey, Joey"
"Light of Love"
"Sweetheart"
	"Alright, Okay, You Win"
"My Man"
"Hallelujah, I Love Him So"
1963	"I'm a Woman"
1964	"In the Name of Love"
	"Pass Me By"
"Free Spirits"
	"Big Spender"
"That Man"
"You've Got Possibilities"
"So, What's New"
"Walking Happy"
1967	"I Feel it"
"Is That All There Is?"
"Whistle for Happiness"
	"(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story"
"You'll Remember Me"
"One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round"
1972	"Love Song"
1974	"Let's Love"

Film and television

;Film

''The Powers Girl'' (1943)

''Stage Door Canteen'' (1943)

''Banquet of Melody'' (1946) (short subject)

''Jasper in a Jam'' (1946) (short subject) (voice)

''Midnight Serenade'' (1947) (short subject)

''Peggy Lee and the Dave Barbour Quartet'' (1950) (short subject)

''Mr. Music'' (1950)

''The Jazz Singer'' (1952)

''Lady and the Tramp'' (1955) (voice)

''Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955)

''Celebrity Art'' (1973) (short subject)

;Television

Mystery guest on ''What's My Line? (28 February 1960)

''The World of Peggy Lee'' - documentary film produced for National Educational Television (16 October 1969)

References

;Notes

External links

Official website: PeggyLee.com

Peggy Lee Discography

Songwriters Hall of Fame's Peggy Lee exhibit

Review of a Peggy Lee biography by Mark Steyn

Category:1920 births Category:2002 deaths Category:American actors Category:American contraltos Category:American female singers Category:American jazz singers Category:Songwriters from North Dakota Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Decca Records artists Category:Disease-related deaths in California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Musicians from North Dakota Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American musicians of Norwegian descent Category:People from Stutsman County, North Dakota Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American musicians of Swedish descent Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Women in jazz

cy:Peggy Lee de:Peggy Lee (Sängerin) es:Peggy Lee fr:Peggy Lee ko:페기 리 id:Peggy Lee it:Peggy Lee he:פגי לי ka:პეგი ლი la:Peggy Lee nl:Peggy Lee ja:ペギー・リー pl:Peggy Lee pt:Peggy Lee ru:Пегги Ли simple:Peggy Lee fi:Peggy Lee sv:Peggy Lee tl:Peggy Lee th:เพกกี ลี

background	solo_singer
alias	The Boss
born	September 23, 1949Long Branch, New Jersey,United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano
genre	Rock, folk rock, heartland rock, hard rock, roots rock
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
years active	1972–present
label	Columbia
associated acts	E Street Band, Steel Mill, Miami Horns, The Sessions Band, U2
website	www.BruceSpringsteen.net
notable instruments	Fender TelecasterFender EsquireTakamine GuitarsHohner Marine Band Harmonica }}

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, ''Born in the U.S.A.'' and ''Born to Run'', showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the twentieth century, and in 2004, ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' ranked him as the 23rd greatest artist of all time in its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

Early life

Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver; his surname is Dutch for ''jump stone''. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zirilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. Overall, his heritage is 50% Italian, 37% Irish and 13% Dutch. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the ''Human Touch'' and ''Lucky Town'' albums.

Raised a Roman Catholic, Springsteen attended the St. Rose of Lima Catholic school in Freehold Borough, where he was at odds with the nuns and rejected the strictures imposed upon him, even though some of his later music reflects a Catholic ethos and included a few rock-influenced, traditional Irish-Catholic hymns.

In ninth grade, he transferred to the public Freehold Regional High School, but did not fit in there, either. Old teachers have said he was a "loner, who wanted nothing more than to play his guitar." He completed high school, but felt so uncomfortable that he skipped his own graduation ceremony. He briefly attended Ocean County College, but dropped out.

Career history

1962–1972: Early years

Springsteen had been inspired to take up music at the age of seven after seeing Elvis Presley on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. At 13, his mother bought him his first guitar for $18; later, she took out a loan to buy the 16-year-old Springsteen a $60 Kent guitar, as he later memorialized in his song "The Wish".

In 1965, he went to the house of Tex and Marion Vinyard, who sponsored young bands in town. They helped him become lead guitarist and subsequently the lead singer of The Castiles. The Castiles recorded two original songs at a public recording studio in Brick Township and played a variety of venues, including Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. Marion Vinyard said that she believed the young Springsteen when he promised he would make it big.

Called for induction when he was 18, Springsteen failed his physical examination and did not serve in Vietnam. In an interview in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 1984, he said, "When I got on the bus to go take my physical, I thought one thing: I ain't goin'." He had suffered a concussion in a motorcycle accident when he was 17, and this together with his "crazy" behaviour at induction and not taking the tests, was enough to get him a 4F.

In the late 1960s, Springsteen performed briefly in a power trio known as Earth, playing in clubs in New Jersey. Springsteen acquired the nickname "The Boss" during this period as when he played club gigs with a band he took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay and distributing it amongst his bandmates. Springsteen is not fond of this nickname, due to his dislike of bosses, but seems to have since given it a tacit acceptance. Previously he had the nickname "Doctor". From 1969 through early 1971, Springsteen performed with Steel Mill, which also featured Danny Federici, Vini Lopez, Vinnie Roslin and later Steve Van Zandt and Robbin Thompson. They went on to play the mid-Atlantic college circuit, and also briefly in California. In January 1970 well-known ''San Francisco Examiner'' music critic Philip Elwood gave Springsteen credibility in his glowing assessment of Steel Mill: "I have never been so overwhelmed by totally unknown talent." Elwood went on to praise their "cohesive musicality" and, in particular, singled out Springsteen as "a most impressive composer." During this time Springsteen also performed regularly at small clubs in Canton, Massachusetts, Richmond, Virginia, Asbury Park and along the Jersey Shore, quickly gathering a cult following. Other acts followed over the next two years, as Springsteen sought to shape a unique and genuine musical and lyrical style: Dr Zoom & the Sonic Boom (early–mid 1971), Sundance Blues Band (mid 1971), and The Bruce Springsteen Band (mid 1971–mid 1972). With the addition of pianist David Sancious, the core of what would later become the E Street Band was formed, with occasional temporary additions such as horn sections, "The Zoomettes" (a group of female backing vocalists for "Dr. Zoom") and Southside Johnny Lyon on harmonica. Musical genres explored included blues, R&B;, jazz, church music, early rock'n'roll, and soul. His prolific songwriting ability, with "More words in some individual songs than other artists had in whole albums", as his future record label would describe it in early publicity campaigns, brought his skill to the attention of several people who were about to change his life: new managers Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, and legendary Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond, who, under Appel's pressure, auditioned Springsteen in May 1972.

Even after Springsteen gained international acclaim, his New Jersey roots showed through in his music, and he often praised "the great state of New Jersey" in his live shows. Drawing on his extensive local appeal, he routinely sold out consecutive nights in major New Jersey and Philadelphia venues. He also made many surprise appearances at The Stone Pony and other shore nightclubs over the years, becoming the foremost exponent of the Jersey Shore sound.

1972–1974: Initial struggle for success

Springsteen signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1972, with the help of John Hammond, who had signed Bob Dylan to the same label a decade earlier. Springsteen brought many of his New Jersey–based colleagues into the studio with him, thus forming the E Street Band (although it would not be formally named as such for several more years). His debut album, ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'', released in January 1973, established him as a critical favorite, though sales were slow. Because of Springsteen's lyrical poeticism and folk rock–rooted music exemplified on tracks like "Blinded by the Light", (which would later be a hit for Manfred Mann and go to number one, making it the only time Springsteen had a number one single as a songwriter), and "For You", as well as the Columbia and Hammond connections, critics initially compared Springsteen to Bob Dylan. "He sings with a freshness and urgency I haven't heard since I was rocked by 'Like a Rolling Stone,'" wrote ''Crawdaddy'' magazine editor Peter Knobler in Springsteen's first interview/profile, in March 1973. ''Crawdaddy'' discovered Springsteen in the rock press and was his earliest champion. (Springsteen and the E Street Band acknowledged by giving a private performance at the ''Crawdaddy'' 10th Anniversary Party in New York City in June 1976.) Music critic Lester Bangs wrote in ''Creem'' in 1975 that when Springsteen's first album was released "... many of us dismissed it: he wrote like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, sang like Van Morrison and Robbie Robertson, and led a band that sounded like Van Morrison's." The track "Spirit in the Night" especially showed Morrison's influence, while "Lost in the Flood" was the first of many portraits of Vietnam veterans and "Growin' Up", his first take on the recurring theme of adolescence.

In September 1973 his second album, ''The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,'' was released, again to critical acclaim but no commercial success. Springsteen's songs became grander in form and scope, with the E Street Band providing a less folky, more R&B; vibe and the lyrics often romanticized teenage street life. "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and "Incident on 57th Street" would become fan favorites, and the long, rousing "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" continues to rank among Springsteen's most beloved concert numbers.

In the May 22, 1974, issue of Boston's ''The Real Paper'', music critic Jon Landau wrote after seeing a performance at the Harvard Square Theater, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau subsequently became Springsteen's manager and producer, helping to finish the epic new album, ''Born to Run''. Given an enormous budget in a last-ditch effort at a commercially viable record, Springsteen became bogged down in the recording process while striving for a wall of sound production. But, fed by the release of an early mix of "Born to Run" to progressive rock radio, anticipation built toward the album's release. All in all the album took more than 14 months to record, with six months alone spent on the song "Born To Run" During this time Springsteen battled with anger and frustration over the album, saying he heard "sounds in [his] head" that he could not explain to the others in the studio. It was during these recording sessions that "Miami" Steve Van Zandt would stumble into the studio just in time to help Springsteen organize the horn section on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (it is his only written contribution to the album), and eventually led to his joining the E Street Band. Van Zandt had been a long-time friend of Springsteen, as well as a collaborator on earlier musical projects, and understood where he was coming from, which helped him to translate some of the sounds Springsteen was hearing. Still, by the end of the grueling recording sessions, Springsteen was not satisfied, and, upon first hearing the finished album, threw the record into the alley and told Jon Landau he would rather just cut the album live at The Bottom Line, a place he often played.

1975–1983: Breakthrough

On August 13, 1975, Springsteen and the E Street Band began a five-night, 10-show stand at New York's Bottom Line club. The engagement attracted major media attention, was broadcast live on WNEW-FM, and convinced many skeptics that Springsteen was for real. (Decades later, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine would name the stand as one of the 50 Moments That Changed Rock and Roll.) With the release of ''Born to Run'' on August 25, 1975, Springsteen finally found success. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, and while there were no hit singles, "Born to Run" (Billboard #23), "Thunder Road", "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (Billboard #83), and "Jungleland" all received massive album-oriented rock airplay and remain perennial favorites on many classic rock stations. The songwriting and recording was more disciplined than before, while still maintaining an epic feel. With its panoramic imagery, thundering production and desperate optimism, ''Born to Run'' is considered by some fans to be among the best rock and roll albums of all time and Springsteen's finest work. It established him as a sincere and dynamic rock and roll personality who spoke for and in the voice of a large part of the rock audience. To cap off the triumph, Springsteen appeared on the covers of both ''Time'' and ''Newsweek'' in the same week, on October 27 of that year. So great did the wave of publicity become that Springsteen eventually rebelled against it during his first venture overseas, tearing down promotional posters before a concert appearance in London.

A legal battle with former manager Mike Appel kept Springsteen out of the studio for nearly a year, during which time he kept the E Street Band together through extensive touring across the U.S. Despite the optimistic fervor with which he often performed, his new songs had taken a more somber tone than much of his previous work. Reaching settlement with Appel in 1977, Springsteen returned to the studio, and the subsequent sessions produced ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' (1978). Musically, this album was a turning point in Springsteen's career. Gone were the raw, rapid-fire lyrics, outsized characters and long, multi-part musical compositions of the first two albums; now the songs were leaner and more carefully drawn and began to reflect Springsteen's growing intellectual and political awareness. The cross-country 1978 tour to promote the album would become legendary for the intensity and length of its shows. By the late 1970s, Springsteen had earned a reputation in the pop world as a songwriter whose material could provide hits for other bands. Manfred Mann's Earth Band had achieved a U.S. number one pop hit with a heavily rearranged version of ''Greetings''' "Blinded by the Light" in early 1977. Patti Smith reached number 13 with her take on Springsteen's unreleased "Because the Night" (with revised lyrics by Smith) in 1978, while The Pointer Sisters hit number two in 1979 with Springsteen's also unreleased "Fire".

In September 1979, Springsteen and the E Street Band joined the Musicians United for Safe Energy anti-nuclear power collective at Madison Square Garden for two nights, playing an abbreviated set while premiering two songs from his upcoming album. The subsequent ''No Nukes'' live album, as well as the following summer's ''No Nukes'' documentary film, represented the first official recordings and footage of Springsteen's fabled live act, as well as Springsteen's first tentative dip into political involvement.

Springsteen continued to consolidate his thematic focus on working-class life with the 20-song double album ''The River'' in 1980, which included an intentionally paradoxical range of material from good-time party rockers to emotionally intense ballads, and finally yielded his first hit Top Ten single as a performer, "Hungry Heart". This album marked a shift in Springsteen's music toward a pop-rock sound that was all but missing from any of his earlier work. This is apparent in the stylistic adoption of certain eighties pop-rock hallmarks like the reverberating-tenor drums, very basic percussion/guitar and repetitive lyrics apparent in many of the tracks. The title song pointed to Springsteen's intellectual direction, while a couple of the lesser-known tracks presaged his musical direction. The album sold well, becoming his first topper on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and a long tour in 1980 and 1981 followed, featuring Springsteen's first extended playing of Europe and ending with a series of multi-night arena stands in major cities in the U.S.

''The River'' was followed in 1982 by the stark solo acoustic ''Nebraska''. Recording sessions had been held to expand on a demo tape Springsteen had made at his home on a simple, low-tech four-track tape deck. However during the recording process Springsteen and producer Landau realized the songs worked better as solo acoustic numbers than full band renditions and the original demo tape was released as the album. Although the recordings of the E Street Band were shelved, other songs from these sessions would later be released, including "Born in the U.S.A." and "Glory Days". According to the Marsh biographies, Springsteen was in a depressed state when he wrote this material, and the result is a brutal depiction of American life. While ''Nebraska'' did not sell as well as Springsteen's two previous albums, it garnered widespread critical praise (including being named "Album of the Year" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's critics) and influenced later significant works by other major artists, including U2's album ''The Joshua Tree''. It helped inspire the musical genre known as lo-fi music, becoming a cult favorite among indie-rockers. Springsteen did not tour in conjunction with ''Nebraska'''s release.

1984–1991: Commercial and popular phenomenon

Springsteen probably is best known for his album ''Born in the U.S.A.'' (1984), which sold 15 million copies in the U.S. and became one of the best-selling albums of all time, with seven singles hitting the Top 10, and the massively successful world tour that followed it. The title track was a bitter commentary on the treatment of Vietnam veterans, some of whom were Springsteen's friends and bandmates. The lyrics in the verses were entirely unambiguous when listened to, but the anthemic music and the title of the song made it hard for many, from politicians to the common person, to get the lyrics—except those in the chorus, which could be read many ways. The song was widely misinterpreted as jingoistic, and in connection with the 1984 presidential campaign became the subject of considerable folklore. Springsteen also turned down several million dollars offered by the Chrysler Corporation to use the song in a car commercial. (In later years, to eliminate the bombast and make the song's original meaning more explicitly clear, Springsteen performed the song accompanied only by acoustic guitar. An acoustic version also appeared on ''Tracks'', a later album.) "Dancing in the Dark" was the biggest of seven hit singles from ''Born in the U.S.A.'', peaking at number 2 on the Billboard music charts. The music video for the song featured a young Courteney Cox dancing on stage with Springsteen, an appearance which helped kickstart the actress's career. The song "Cover Me" was written by Springsteen for Donna Summer, but his record company persuaded him to keep it for the new album. A big fan of Summer's work, Springsteen wrote another song for her, "Protection". Videos for the album were made by noted film directors Brian De Palma and John Sayles. Springsteen was featured on the "We Are the World" song and album in 1985. His live single "Trapped" from that album received moderate airplay on U.S. Top 40 stations as well as reaching #1 on the ''Billboard'' Top Rock Tracks chart.

During the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, Springsteen met actress Julianne Phillips, whom he would marry in 1985.

The ''Born in the U.S.A.'' period represented the height of Springsteen's visibility in popular culture and the broadest audience demographic he would ever reach (aided by the release of Arthur Baker's dance mixes of three of the singles). ''Live/1975–85'', a five-record box set (also on three cassettes or three CDs), was released near the end of 1986 and became the first box set to debut at number 1 on the U.S. album charts. It is one of the most commercially successful live albums of all time, ultimately selling 13 million units in the U.S. ''Live/1975–85'' summed up Springsteen's career to that point and displayed some of the elements that made his shows so powerful to his fans: the switching from mournful dirges to party rockers and back; the communal sense of purpose between artist and audience; the long, intense spoken passages before songs, including those describing Springsteen's difficult relationship with his father; and the instrumental prowess of the E Street Band, such as in the long coda to "Racing in the Street". Despite its popularity, some fans and critics felt the album's song selection could have been better. Springsteen concerts are the subjects of frequent bootleg recording and trading among fans.

During the 1980s, several Springsteen fanzines were launched, including ''Backstreets'' magazine, which started in Seattle and continues today as a glossy publication, now in communication with Springsteen's management and official website.

After this commercial peak, Springsteen released the much more sedate and contemplative ''Tunnel of Love'' album (1987), a mature reflection on the many faces of love found, lost and squandered, which only selectively used the E Street Band. It presaged the breakup of his marriage to Julianne Phillips and described some of his unhappinesses in the relationship. Reflecting the challenges of love in "Brilliant Disguise", Springsteen sang:

The subsequent Tunnel of Love Express tour shook up fans with changes to the stage layout, favorites dropped from the set list, and horn-based arrangements. During the European leg in 1988, Springsteen's relationship with backup singer Patti Scialfa became public and Phillips and Springsteen filed for divorce in 1988. Later in 1988, Springsteen headlined the worldwide Human Rights Now! tour for Amnesty International. In the fall of 1989 he dissolved the E Street Band, and he and Scialfa relocated to California, marrying in 1991.

1992–2001: Artistic and commercial ups and downs

In 1992, after risking charges of "going Hollywood" by moving to Los Angeles (a radical move for someone so linked to the blue-collar life of the Jersey Shore) and working with session musicians, Springsteen released two albums at once. ''Human Touch'' and ''Lucky Town'' were even more introspective than any of his previous work and displayed a newly revealed confidence. As opposed to his first two albums, which dreamed of happiness, and his next four, which showed him growing to fear it, at points during the ''Lucky Town'' album, Springsteen actually claims happiness for himself.

An electric band appearance on the acoustic ''MTV Unplugged'' television program (later released as ''In Concert/MTV Plugged'') was poorly received and further cemented fan dissatisfaction. Springsteen seemed to realize this a few years hence when he spoke humorously of his late father during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech: }}

A multiple Grammy Award winner, Springsteen also won an Academy Award in 1994 for his song "Streets of Philadelphia", which appeared on the soundtrack to the film ''Philadelphia''. The song, along with the film, was applauded by many for its sympathetic portrayal of a gay man dying of AIDS. The music video for the song shows Springsteen's actual vocal performance, recorded using a hidden microphone, to a prerecorded instrumental track. This technique was developed on the "Brilliant Disguise" video.

In 1995, after temporarily re-organizing the E Street Band for a few new songs recorded for his first ''Greatest Hits'' album (a recording session that was chronicled in the documentary ''Blood Brothers''), he released his second (mostly) solo guitar album, ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'', inspired by John Steinbeck's ''The Grapes of Wrath'' and by ''Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass'', a book by Pulitzer Prize-winners author Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael Williamson. This was generally less well-received than the similar ''Nebraska'', due to the minimal melody, twangy vocals, and political nature of most of the songs, although some praised it for giving voice to immigrants and others who rarely have one in American culture. The lengthy, worldwide, small-venue solo acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad Tour that followed successfully featured many of his older songs in drastically reshaped acoustic form, although Springsteen had to explicitly remind his audiences to be quiet and not to clap during the performances.

Following the tour, Springsteen moved back to New Jersey with his family. In 1998, Springsteen released the sprawling, four-disc box set of out-takes, ''Tracks''. Subsequently, Springsteen would acknowledge that the 1990s were a "lost period" for him: "I didn't do a lot of work. Some people would say I didn't do my best work."

Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 by Bono of U2, a favor he returned in 2005.

In 1999, Springsteen and the E Street Band officially came together again and went on the extensive Reunion Tour, lasting over a year. Highlights included a record sold-out, 15-show run at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey and a ten-night, sold-out engagement at New York City's Madison Square Garden which ended the tour. The final two shows were recorded for an HBO Concert, with corresponding DVD and album releases as ''Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live in New York City''. A new song, "American Skin (41 Shots)", about the police shooting of Amadou Diallo which was played at these shows proved controversial.

In November 2000, Springsteen filed legal action against Jeff Burgar which accused him of registering the domain brucespringsteen.com (along with several other celebrity domains) in bad faith to funnel web users to his Celebrity 1000 portal site. Once the legal complaint was filed, Burgar pointed the domain to a Springsteen biography and message board. In February 2001, Springsteen lost his dispute with Burgar. A WIPO panel ruled 2 to 1 in favor of Burgar.

On Labor day 2001 Bruce Springsteen played at Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright NJ surprising a local cover band named Brian Kirk and the Jerks and performed Rosalita with them showing his support and love.

2002–2007: Return to success

In 2002, Springsteen released his first studio effort with the full band in 18 years, ''The Rising'', produced by Brendan O'Brien. The album, mostly a reflection on the September 11 attacks, was a critical and popular success. (Many of the songs were influenced by phone conversations Springsteen had with family members of victims of the attacks who in their obituaries had mentioned how his music touched their lives.) The title track gained airplay in several radio formats, and the record became Springsteen's best-selling album of new material in 15 years. Kicked off by an early-morning Asbury Park appearance on ''The Today Show'', The Rising Tour commenced, barnstorming through a series of single-night arena stands in the U.S. and Europe to promote the album in 2002, then returning for large-scale, multiple-night stadium shows in 2003. While Springsteen had maintained a loyal hardcore fan base everywhere (and particularly in Europe), his general popularity had dipped over the years in some southern and midwestern regions of the U.S. But it was still strong in Europe and along the U.S. coasts, and he played an unprecedented 10 nights in Giants Stadium in New Jersey, a ticket-selling feat to which no other musical act has come close. During these shows Springsteen thanked those fans who were attending multiple shows and those who were coming from long distances or another country; the advent of robust Bruce-oriented online communities had made such practices more common. The Rising Tour came to a final conclusion with three nights in Shea Stadium, highlighted by renewed controversy over "American Skin" and a guest appearance by Bob Dylan.

During the early 2000s, Springsteen became a visible advocate for the revitalization of Asbury Park, and played an annual series of winter holiday concerts there to benefit various local businesses, organizations, and causes. These shows were explicitly intended for the devoted fans, featuring numbers such as the ''E Street Shuffle'' outtake "Thundercrack", a rollicking group-participation song that would mystify casual Springsteen fans. He also frequently rehearses for tours in Asbury Park; some of his most devoted followers even go so far as to stand outside the building to hear what fragments they can of the upcoming shows. The song "My City of Ruins" was originally written about Asbury Park, in honor of the attempts to revitalize the city. Looking for an appropriate song for a post-Sept. 11 benefit concert honoring New York City, he selected "My City of Ruins", which was immediately recognized as an emotional highlight of the concert, with its gospel themes and its heartfelt exhortations to "Rise up!" The song became associated with post-9/11 New York, and he chose it to close ''The Rising'' album and as an encore on the subsequent tour.

At the Grammy Awards of 2003, Springsteen performed The Clash's "London Calling" along with Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl, and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt and No Doubt's bassist, Tony Kanal, in tribute to Joe Strummer; Springsteen and the Clash had once been considered multiple-album-dueling rivals at the time of the double ''The River'' and the triple ''Sandinista!''. In 2004, Springsteen and the E Street Band participated in the "Vote for Change" tour, along with John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Bright Eyes, the Dave Matthews Band, Jackson Browne, and other musicians. All concerts were to be held in swing states, to benefit the liberalism political organization group America Coming Together and to encourage people to register and vote. A finale was held in Washington, D.C., bringing many of the artists together. Several days later, Springsteen held one more such concert in New Jersey, when polls showed that state surprisingly close. While in past years Springsteen had played benefits for causes in which he believed – against nuclear energy, for Vietnam veterans, Amnesty International, and the Christic Institute – he had always refrained from explicitly endorsing candidates for political office (indeed he had rejected the efforts of Walter Mondale to attract an endorsement during the 1984 Reagan "Born in the U.S.A." flap). This new stance led to criticism and praise from the expected partisan sources. Springsteen's "No Surrender" became the main campaign theme song for John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign; in the last days of the campaign, he performed acoustic versions of the song and some of his other old songs at Kerry rallies.

''Devils & Dust'' was released on April 26, 2005, and was recorded without the E Street Band. It is a low-key, mostly acoustic album, in the same vein as ''Nebraska'' and ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' although with a little more instrumentation. Some of the material was written almost 10 years earlier during, or shortly after, the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, a couple of them being performed then but never released. The title track concerns an ordinary soldier's feelings and fears during the Iraq War. Starbucks rejected a co-branding deal for the album, due in part to some sexually explicit content but also because of Springsteen's anti-corporate politics. The album entered the album charts at No. 1 in 10 countries (United States, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland). Springsteen began the solo Devils & Dust Tour at the same time as the album's release, playing both small and large venues. Attendance was disappointing in a few regions, and everywhere (other than in Europe) tickets were easier to get than in the past. Unlike his mid-1990s solo tour, he performed on piano, electric piano, pump organ, autoharp, ukulele, banjo, electric guitar, and stomping board, as well as acoustic guitar and harmonica, adding variety to the solo sound. (Offstage synthesizer, guitar, and percussion were also used for some songs.) Unearthly renditions of "Reason to Believe", "The Promised Land", and Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" jolted audiences to attention, while rarities, frequent set list changes, and a willingness to keep trying even through audible piano mistakes kept most of his loyal audiences happy.

In November 2005, Sirius Satellite Radio started a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week radio station on Channel 10 called E Street Radio. This channel featured commercial-free Bruce Springsteen music, including rare tracks, interviews, and daily concerts of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band recorded throughout their career.

In April 2006, Springsteen released ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'', an American roots music project focused around a big folk sound treatment of 15 songs popularized by the radical musical activism of Pete Seeger. It was recorded with a large ensemble of musicians including only Patti Scialfa, Soozie Tyrell, and The Miami Horns from past efforts. In contrast to previous albums, this was recorded in only three one-day sessions, and frequently one can hear Springsteen calling out key changes live as the band explores its way through the tracks. The Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour began the same month, featuring the 18-strong ensemble of musicians dubbed The Seeger Sessions Band (and later shortened to The Sessions Band). ''Seeger Sessions'' material was heavily featured, as well as a handful of (usually drastically rearranged) Springsteen numbers. The tour proved very popular in Europe, selling out everywhere and receiving some excellent reviews, but newspapers reported that a number of U.S. shows suffered from sparse attendance. By the end of 2006, the Seeger Sessions tour toured Europe twice and toured America for only a short span. ''Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin'', containing selections from three nights of November 2006 shows at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, was released the following June.

Springsteen's next album, titled ''Magic'', was released on October 2, 2007. Recorded with the E Street Band, it featured 10 new Springsteen songs plus "Long Walk Home", performed once with the Sessions band, and a hidden track (the first included on a Springsteen studio release), "Terry's Song", a tribute to Springsteen's long-time assistant Terry Magovern, who died on July 30, 2007. The first single, "Radio Nowhere", was made available for a free download on August 28. On October 7, ''Magic'' debuted at number 1 in Ireland and the UK. ''Greatest Hits'' reentered the Irish charts at number 57, and ''Live in Dublin'' almost cracked the top 20 in Norway again. Sirius Satellite Radio also restarted E Street Radio on Channel 10 on September 27, 2007, in anticipation of ''Magic''. Radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications was alleged to have sent an edict to its classic rock stations to not play any songs from the new album, while continuing to play older Springsteen material. However, Clear Channel Adult Alternative (or "AAA") station KBCO did play tracks from the album, undermining the allegations of a corporate blackout. The Springsteen and E Street Band Magic Tour began at the Hartford Civic Center with the album's release and was routed through North America and Europe. Springsteen and the band performed live on NBC's ''Today Show'' in advance of the opener. Longtime E Street Band organist Danny Federici left the tour in November 2007 to pursue treatment for melanoma from which he would die in 2008

2008–present: Recent events

Springsteen supported Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, announcing his endorsement in April 2008 and going on to appear at several Obama rallies as well as performing several solo acoustic performances in support of Obama's campaign throughout 2008, culminating with a November 2 rally where he debuted "Working On A Dream" in a duet with Scialfa. At an Ohio rally, Springsteen discussed the importance of "truth, transparency and integrity in government, the right of every American to have a job, a living wage, to be educated in a decent school, and a life filled with the dignity of work, the promise and the sanctity of home...But today those freedoms have been damaged and curtailed by eight years of a thoughtless, reckless and morally-adrift administration."

Following Obama's electoral victory on November 4, Springsteen's song "The Rising" was the first song played over the loudspeakers after Obama's victory speech in Chicago's Grant Park. Springsteen was the musical opener for the Obama Inaugural Celebration on January 18, 2009 which was attended by over 400,000. He performed "The Rising" with an all-female choir. Later he performed Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" with Pete Seeger.

On June 18, 2008, Springsteen appeared live from Europe at the Tim Russert tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to play one of Russert's favorite songs, "Thunder Road". Springsteen dedicated the song to Russert, who was "one of Springsteen's biggest fans."

On January 11, 2009, Springsteen won the Golden Globe Award for Best Song for "The Wrestler", from the Mickey Rourke film by the same name. After receiving a heartfelt letter from Mickey Rourke, Springsteen supplied the song for the film for free.

Springsteen performed at the halftime show at Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, agreeing to do it after many previous offers A few days before the game, Springsteen gave a rare press conference, where he promised a "twelve-minute party." His 12:45 set, with the E Street Band and the Miami Horns, included abbreviated renditions of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"", "Born to Run", "Working on a Dream, and "Glory Days", the latter complete with football references. The set of appearances and promotional activities led Springsteen to say, "This has probably been the busiest month of my life."

Springsteen's ''Working on a Dream'' album was released in late January 2009 and the supporting Working on a Dream Tour ran from April 2009 until November 2009. The tour featured few songs from the new album, with instead set lists dominated by classics and selections reflecting the ongoing late-2000s recession. The tour also featured Springsteen playing songs requested by audience members holding up signs as on the final stages of the Magic Tour. Drummer Max Weinberg was replaced for some shows by his 18-year-old son Jay Weinberg, so that the former could serve his role as bandleader on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''. During this tour, Springsteen and the band made their first real foray in the world of music festivals, headlining nights at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands, Festival des Vieilles Charrues in France, the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the United States and the Glastonbury Festival in the UK and Hard Rock Calling in the UK. Several shows on the tour featured full album presentations of ''Born to Run'', ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'', or ''Born in the U.S.A.'' The band performed a stretch of five final shows at his homestate Giants Stadium, opening with a new song highlighting the historic stadium, and his Jersey roots, named "Wrecking Ball". The tour ended as scheduled in Buffalo, NY in November 2009 amid speculation that it was the last performance ever by the E Street Band, but during the show Springsteen said it was goodbye “for a little while.” A DVD from the Working of a Dream Tour entitled ''London Calling: Live in Hyde Park'' was released in 2010.

In addition to his own touring, Springsteen made a number of appearances at tribute and benefit concerts during 2009, including The Clearwater Concert, a celebration of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary benefit concert, a benefit for the charity Autism Speaks at Carnegie Hall. On January 22, 2010, he joined many well-known artists to perform on ''Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief‎'', organized by George Clooney to raise money to help the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

In 2009, Springsteen performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States".

Springsteen was among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual award to figures from the world of arts for their contribution to American culture, in December 2009. President Obama gave a speech in which he talked about how Springsteen has incorporated the life of regular Americans in his expansive pallette of songs and how his concerts are beyond the typical rock-and-roll concerts, how, apart from being high-energy concerts, they are "communions". He ended the remark "while I am the president, he is The Boss". Tributes were paid by several well-known celebrities including Jon Stewart (who described Springsteen's "unprecedented combination of lyrical eloquence, musical mastery and sheer unbridled, unadulterated joy"). A musical tribute featured John Mellencamp, Ben Harper and Jennifer Nettles, Melissa Etheridge, Eddie Vedder and Sting.

The 2000s ended with Springsteen being named one of eight Artists of the Decade by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and with Springsteen's tours ranking him fourth among artists in total concert grosses for the decade.

In September 2010, a documentary about the making of his 1978 album "Darkness on The Edge of Town" was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, ''The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town'', was included in a box set reissue of the album, entitled ''The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story'', released in November 2010. Also airing on HBO, the documentary explored Springsteen's making of the acclaimed album, and his role in the production and development of the tracks.

Springsteen is working on his next studio album with Ron Aniello, who also co-produced the 2007 album "Play It As It Lays", by Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa. Ron Aniello also produced "Children's Song" early in 2011, a duet with Bruce and Patti, which was done for a charity project.

Musical style

Bruce Springsteen draws on many musical influences from the reservoir of traditional American popular music, folk, blues and country. From the beginning, rock and roll has been the dominant influence. On his debut album, ''Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey'', the folk-influence is clear to hear. An example of the influence of this music genre to Springsteen's music is his song "This Hard Land" which demonstrates a clear influence of the style of Woody Guthrie.

He expanded the range of his musical compositions on his second album, ''The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle''. Elements of Latin American music, jazz, soul, and funk influences can be heard; the song "New York City Serenade" is even reminiscent of the music of George Gershwin. These two records prominently featured pianist David Sancious, who left the band shortly into the recording of Springsteen's third album, ''Born To Run''. This album, however, also emphasized the piano, the responsibility now of Roy Bittan.

Earlier in his career, Springsteen has focused more on the rock elements of his music. He initially compressed the sound and developed ''Darkness On The Edge Of Town'' just as straightforward as concise musical idiom, for the simple riffs and clearly recognizable song structures are dominant. His music has been categorized as heartland rock, a style typified by Springsteen, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp. This music has a lyrical reference to the U.S. everyday and the music is kept rather simple and straightforward. This development culminated with Springsteen's hit album ''Born in the U.S.A.'', the title song of which has a constantly repeating, fanfare-like keyboard riff and a pounding drum beat. These sounds fit with Springsteen's voice: it cries to the listener the unsentimental story of a disenchanted angry figure. Even songs that can be argued to be album tracks proved to be singles that enjoyed some chart success, such as "My Hometown" and "I'm on Fire", in which the drum line is formed from subtle hi-hat and rim-clicks-shock (shock at the edge of the snare drum).

In recent years, Springsteen has changed his music further. There are more folk elements up to the gospel to be heard. His last solo album, ''Devils and Dust'', drew rave reviews not only for Springsteen's complex songwriting, but also for his expressive and sensitive singing.

On the album ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'' Springsteen performs folk classics with a folk band, rather than his usual E Street Band. On his ensuing tour he also interpreted some of his own rock songs in a folk style.

The 2007 album ''Magic'' was a reflection on the old stadium rock attitude and with its lush arrangements was almost designed to be performed at large stadiums, which also succeeded on the corresponding tour.

Lyrical themes

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Often described as cinematographic in their scope, Springsteen's lyrics frequently explore highly personal themes such as individual commitment, dissatisfaction and dismay with life in a context of every day situations.

It has been recognized that there was a shift in his lyrical approach starting with the album ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'', in which he focused on the emotional struggles of working class life.

Politics and activism

Springsteen's music has often contained political themes, and he has publicly campaigned for several causes, including his opposition to the Iraq War and support for Democratic presidential campaigns, including Senator John Kerry and President Barack Obama. He 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 attacks in 2001, on which his album ''The Rising'' reflects.

In 1988, Springsteen headlined the worldwide Human Rights Now! tour for Amnesty International.

Springsteen has been associated with various local food banks, particularly with the New Jersey Food bank for many years. During concerts, he usually breaks the routine to announce his support and later matches the total collection during the concert with his own money. During his Charlotte, North Carolina concert on November 3, 2009, he started with a $10,000 donation for the local food bank to start the collections process – which he again matched later.

He has made substantial financial contributions to various workers' unions both in America and in Europe.

Personal life

Springsteen had a short marriage to Julianne Phillips (born May 6, 1960) from May 13, 1985 to May 1988, when they separated. The two were opposites in background and his traveling took its toll on their relationship. The final blow came when Bruce began an affair with Patti Scialfa (born July 29, 1953), whom he had dated briefly in 1984 shortly after she joined the band. Phillips and Springsteen separated in the spring of 1988, and on August 30, 1988, Julianne filed for divorce. The Springsteen/Phillips divorce was finalized on March 1, 1989.

After the separation in 1988 Bruce began living with Scialfa. Springsteen received press criticism for the hastiness in which he and Scialfa took up their relationship. In a 1995 interview with The Advocate, Springsteen spoke about the negative publicity the couple subsequently received. "It's a strange society that assumes it has the right to tell people whom they should love and whom they shouldn't. But the truth is, I basically ignored the entire thing as much as I could. I said, 'Well, all I know is, this feels real, and maybe I have got a mess going here in some fashion, but that's life.'" He also noted that, "I went through a divorce, and it was really difficult and painful and I was very frightened about getting married again. So part of me said, 'Hey, what does it matter?' But it does matter. It's very different than just living together. First of all, stepping up publicly- which is what you do: You get your license, you do all the social rituals- is a part of your place in society and in some way part of society's acceptance of you...Patti and I both found that it did mean something."

On July 25, 1990 Scialfa gave birth to the couple's first child, Evan James Springsteen. On June 8, 1991 Springsteen and Scialfa married at their Beverly Hills home. Their second child, Jessica Rae Springsteen, was born on December 30, 1991; and their third child, Samuel Ryan Springsteen, was born on January 5, 1994. The family owns and lives on a horse farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey. They also own homes in Wellington, Florida, a wealthy horse community near West Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Rumson, New Jersey. Their eldest son, Evan, attends Boston College. Their daughter Jessica is a nationally ranked champion equestrian, and attends Duke University.

Since 1991, Springsteen has led a relatively quiet life for a well-known popular performer and artist. He moved from Los Angeles to New Jersey in the early 1990s specifically to raise a family in a non-paparazzi environment. It has been reported that the press conference regarding the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII half-time show was his first press conference for more than 25 years. However, he has appeared in a few radio interviews, most notably on NPR and BBC. 60 minutes aired his last extensive interview on TV before his tour to support his album, ''Magic''.

Bands

Bruce Springsteen has been a member of, or has been backed by, several bands during his career, most notably The E Street Band.

His earliest known band is The Castiles.

Prior to signing his first record deal in 1972, Springsteen was a member of several bands including Steel Mill. In October 1972 he formed a new band for the recording of his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., which became known as The E Street Band, although the name was not officially introduced until September 1974. The E Street Band performed on all of Springsteen's recorded works from his debut until 1982's ''Nebraska'', a solo album on which Springsteen himself played all the instruments. The full band returned for the next album ''Born in the USA'', but there then followed a period from 1988 to 1999 in which albums were recorded with session musicians. The E Street band were briefly reunited in 1995 for new contributions to the ''Greatest Hits'' compilation, and on a more permanent basis from 1999, since which time they have recorded 3 albums together (''The Rising'', ''Magic'' and ''Working on a Dream'') and performed a number of high profile tours.

The 2005 album ''Devils & Dust'' was largely a solo recording, with some contribution from session musicians and the 2006 folk rock ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'' album was recorded and toured with another band, known as The Sessions Band.

Earlier Bands: The Castiles, Earth, Child, Steel Mill, Sundance Blues Band, Dr Zoom and the Sonic Boom, Bruce Springsteen Band.

E Street Band

Current members:

Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, harmonica, piano

Patti Scialfa – backing and duet vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion

Max Weinberg – drums, percussion

Garry Tallent – bass guitar, tuba

Roy Bittan – piano, keyboards

Steven Van Zandt – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, mandolin

Nils Lofgren – lead and rhythm guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals

With: Soozie Tyrell – violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals Charles Giordano – organ, accordion, glockenspiel

Former Members:

1973–2011 Clarence Clemons (deceased) – tenor, baritone and soprano saxophones, backing vocals, percussion

1973–2008 Danny Federici (deceased) – organ, accordion, backing vocals

Film

Music used in films

Springsteen's music has been used in many films and he has also written and performed several works specifically for films, examples include ''Philadelphia'', ''Dead Man Walking'', Jerry Maguire, and ''The Wrestler''.

1983 1983 1987 1989 1992 1992 1993 1995 1995 1996 1997 1998 1998 1999 1999 2000 2000 2002 2003 2004 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2009

Film !! Year of film release !! Song(s) !! Notes
''Dead End Street''	1982	"Point Blank", "Hungry Heart" and "Jungleland"
''Risky Business''	|	Hungry Heart
''Baby, It's You (film)	Baby, It's You''	|	"It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City", "The E Street Shuffle", "She's The One" and "Adam Raised A Cain"	Film directed by John Sayles who later directed music videos for songs from ''Born in the U.S.A.'' and ''Tunnel of Love''.
''Light of Day''	|	"(Just Around the Corner to the) Light of Day"	Song written for the film.
''In Country''	|	"I'm On Fire"	Film also contained many Springsteen references.
''Thunderheart''	|	"Badlands" (instrumental version)
''Honeymoon in Vegas''	|	Viva Las Vegas (song)>Viva Las Vegas"	A 1964 song recorded by Elvis Presley.
Philadelphia (film)	Philadelphia	|	"Streets of Philadelphia"	Song written for film. Won an Oscar.
''Dead Man Walking (film)	Dead Man Walking''	|	"Dead Man Walkin'"	Song written for film. Nominated for a Oscar.
''The Crossing Guard''	|	"Missing"	Song was later released in 2003 on ''The Essential Bruce Springsteen''.
''Jerry Maguire''	|	Secret Garden (Bruce Springsteen song)>Secret Garden"
''Cop Land''	|	Stolen Car (Bruce Springsteen song)>Stolen Car"	Sylvester Stallone's character plays the songs on his turntable.
''The Wedding Singer''	|	"Hungry Heart"
''A Night at the Roxbury''	|	"Secret Garden"
''Big Daddy (film)	Big Daddy''	|	"Growin' Up"	Played over a montage near the end of the film.
''Limbo (film)	Limbo''	|	"Lift Me Up"	Another John Sayles film.
''High Fidelity (film)	High Fidelity''	|	"The River" and Blues Guitar Riff	Blues riff played by Springsteen, on-screen during his cameo appearance. "The River" played from vinyl on turntable.
''The Perfect Storm (film)	The Perfect Storm''	|	"Hungry Heart"
''25th Hour''	|	"The Fuse"
''Grand Theft Parsons''	|	"Blood Brothers"
''Jersey Girl''	|	"Jersey Girl"	Cover of the Tom Waits version
''Reign Over Me''	|	"Drive All Night" and "Out In The Street"	The River (album)>The River'' was also well mentioned in the movie.
''In the Land of Women''	|	"Iceman"
''The Heartbreak Kid (2007 film)	The Heartbreak Kid''	|	"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
''Lucky You (film)	Lucky You''	|	"Lucky Town"
''The Wrestler (2008 film)	The Wrestler''	|	The Wrestler (song)>The Wrestler"	Written for the film. The song was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and nominated for the MTV Movie Award as "Best Song From a Movie".
''Food, Inc.''	|	"This Land Is Your Land"	Live version, Bruce Springsteen's performance of the Woody Guthrie song.

Films inspired by music

In turn, films have been inspired by his music, including ''The Indian Runner'', written and directed by Sean Penn, which Penn has specifically noted as being inspired by Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman".

In September 2010, a documentary about the making of his 1978 album "Darkness on The Edge of Town" was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Kevin Smith is an admitted "big fan" of fellow New Jersey native Springsteen and named his film ''Jersey Girl'' after the Tom Waits song which Springsteen made famous. The song was also used on the soundtrack.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant said Springsteen's "Thunder Road" to have been a heavy influence on their 2010 film "Cemetery Junction," employing the song's themes of escape and optimism into their story of 1970s England.

In 2011, Springsteen appears in an independent film made by a local musician Chris Vaughn from New Jersey entitled "Jerseyboy Hero" where the songwriter/filmmaker documents his journey to get his music out to the world by attempting to reach one of his two local New Jersey legends, Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi.

Acting

Springsteen made his first on-screen appearance in a brief cameo as himself in ''High Fidelity'' in 2000 and it was voted "Best Cameo in a Movie" at the MTV Movie Awards.

Discography

Major studio albums (along with their chart positions in the U.S. Billboard 200 at the time of release):

1973: ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' (#60)

1973: ''The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle'' (#59)

1975: ''Born to Run'' (#3)

1978: ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' (#5)

1980: ''The River'' (#1)

1982: ''Nebraska'' (#3)

1984: ''Born in the U.S.A.'' (#1)

1987: ''Tunnel of Love'' (#1)

1992: ''Human Touch'' (#2)

1992: ''Lucky Town'' (#3)

1995: ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' (#11)

1998: ''Tracks'' (#64)

2002: ''The Rising'' (#1)

2005: ''Devils & Dust'' (#1)

2006: ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'' (#3)

2007: ''Magic'' (#1)

2009: ''Working on a Dream'' (#1)

2010: ''The Promise'' (#16)

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

:Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards, as follows (years shown are the year the award was given ''for'', not the year in which the ceremony was held):

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1984, "Dancing in the Dark"

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, 1987, "Tunnel of Love"

Song of the Year, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

Best Rock Song, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, 1994, "Streets of Philadelphia"

Best Contemporary Folk Album, 1996, ''The Ghost of Tom Joad''

Best Rock Album, 2002, ''The Rising''

Best Rock Song, 2002, "The Rising"

Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, 2002, "The Rising"

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, 2003, "Disorder in the House" (with Warren Zevon)

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2004, "Code of Silence"

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2005, "Devils & Dust"

Best Traditional Folk Album, 2006, ''The Seeger Sessions: We Shall Overcome''

Best Long Form Music Video, 2006, ''Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born to Run''

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2007, "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Song, 2007, "Radio Nowhere"

Best Rock Instrumental Performance, 2007, "Once Upon a Time in the West"

Best Rock Song, 2008, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, 2009, "Working on a Dream"

Only one of these awards has been one of the cross-genre "major" ones (Song, Record, or Album of the Year); he has been nominated a number of other times for the majors, but failed to win.

Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Streets of Philadelphia" in 1994. Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "The Wrestler" in 2009.

Academy Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Song, 1993, "Streets of Philadelphia" from ''Philadelphia''.

Emmy Awards

The ''Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City'' HBO special won two technical Emmy Awards in 2001.

Other recognition

October 27, 1975: Bruce Springsteen appears simultaneously on the covers of 'Newsweek' and 'Time'

Polar Music Prize in 1997. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1999. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1999. Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, 2007. "Born to Run" named "The unofficial youth anthem of New Jersey" by the New Jersey state legislature; something Springsteen always found to be ironic, considering that the song "is about leaving New Jersey". The minor planet 23990, discovered Sept. 4, 1999, by I. P. Griffin at Auckland, New Zealand, was officially named in his honor. Ranked #23 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazines 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Ranked #36 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazines 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time. Made ''Time'' magazine's 100 Most Influential People Of The Year 2008 list. Won Critic's Choice Award for Best Song with "The Wrestler" in 2009.

Performed at the Super Bowl XLIII half time show.

Kennedy Center Honors, 2009.

Rolling Stone magazine also ranked 8 out of 16 Springsteen's studio albums in their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Born to Run and Thunder Road in its 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list, in 21st and 86th, respectively.

Forbes ranked him 6th in The Celebrity 100 in 2009

John Steinbeck Award

Influence

In addition to his noted influence on music in his native New Jersey, Springsteen is also cited as an influence by , Bon Jovi, Arcade Fire, The Gaslight Anthem, The Constantines, The Hold Steady, The National, Kings of Leon, The Killers, U2, Willy DeVille, Johnny Cash',Lady Gaga in his later recordings, and countless others. His songs have been covered by diverse artists such as David Bowie, The Pointer Sisters, John Mayer, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Automatic 7, Vampire Weekend, McFly, Tegan and Sara, Damien Jurado, Free Energy, Aimee Mann, Dropkick Murphys, Social Distortion, Rage Against The Machine, Ben Harper, Eric Bachmann, Josh Ritter, Frank Turner, Hank Williams III, Roger_Meddows-Taylor (covered "Racing In The Streets" on Strange Frontier), Madrugada. For Springsteen's influence on academic writers, see "Library of Hope and Dreams":a comprehensive annotated bibliography of published Springsteen scholarship in English. Note, bibliography is indexed by song, album, author and subject keywords.

See also

List of best selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

Notes

References

Sources

Alterman, Eric. ''It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive : The Promise of Bruce Springsteen''. Little Brown, 1999. ISBN 0-316-03885-7.

Coles, Robert. ''Bruce Springsteen's America: The People Listening, a Poet Singing''. Random House, 2005. ISBN 0-375-50559-8.

Cross, Charles R. ''Backstreets: Springsteen – the man and his music'' Harmony Books, New York 1989/1992. ISBN 0-517-58929-X. Contains 15+ interviews and a complete list of all Springsteen songs including unreleased compositions. Complete lising of all concerts 1965–1990 – most of them with tracklists. Hundreds of previously unreleased high quality color pictures.

Cullen, Jim. ''Born in the U.S.A.: Bruce Springsteen and the American Tradition''. 1997; Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2005. New edition of 1997 study book places Springsteen's work in the broader context of American history and culture. ISBN 0-8195-6761-2

Eliot, Marc with Appel, Mike. ''Down Thunder Road''. Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-671-86898-5.

Graff, Gary. ''The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen A to E to Z''. Visible Ink, 2005. ISBN 1-57859-151-1.

Guterman, Jimmy. ''Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen''. Da Capo, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81397-1.

Hilburn, Robert. ''Springsteen''. Rolling Stone Press, 1985. ISBN 0-684-18456-7.

Knobler, Peter with special assistance from Greg Mitchell. "Who Is Bruce Springsteen and Why Are We Saying All These Wonderful Things About Him?", ''Crawdaddy'', March 1973.

Marsh, Dave. ''Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts : The Definitive Biography, 1972–2003''. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-96928-X. (Consolidation of two previous Marsh biographies, ''Born to Run'' (1981) and ''Glory Days'' (1987).)

Wolff, Daniel. ''July 4, Asbury Park: A History of the Promised Land''. Bloomsbury, 2005. ISBN 1-58234-509-0.

Further reading

''Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band''. Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8118-5348-9.

''Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen''. Billboard Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8230-8387-X.

''Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader''. Penguin, 2004. ISBN 0-14-200354-9.

''Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen''. Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81397-1.

''The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen A to E to Z''. Visible Ink Press, 2005. ISBN 1-57859-157-0.

''Bruce Springsteen: "Talking"''. Omnibus Press, 2004. ISBN 1-84449-403-9.

''The Songs of Bruce Springsteen : 1965-2010"''. by Steve Rowland. printondemand.co.uk, 2011.

''For You: Original Stories and Photographs by Bruce Springsteen's Legendary Fans''. LKC Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9784156-0-0.

''Bruce Springsteen on Tour: 1968–2005''. by Dave Marsh Bloomsbury USA, 2006. ISBN 978-1-59691-282-3.

''The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption from Asbury Park to Magic''. by Jeffrey B. Symynkywicz. Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-664-23169-9.

''Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen'' by Rob Kirkpatrick. St. Martin's Griffin, 2009. ISBN 0-312-53380-2.

''Land of Hope and Dreams: Celebrating 25 Years of Bruce Springsteen In Ireland'' by Greg Lewis and Moira Sharkey. Magic Rat Books. ISBN 978-0-9562722-0-1

External links

Bruce Springsteen – official website

Bruce Springsteen at ''Idiomag'' 21 12 10

in 2005

Highlights of Springsteen at Glastonbury 2009.

Bruce Springsteen at NPR Music

"Library of Hope and Dreams":bibliography of published Springsteen scholarship in English.

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American baritones Category:American folk singers Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Jersey Shore musicians Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey Category:People from Rumson, New Jersey Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:The E Street Band members Category:Songwriters from New Jersey

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Name	Velvet Sky
Names	Velvet SkyTalia MadisonMiss TaliaTalia DollTalia
Height
Weight
Birth date	June 02, 1981
Birth place	New Britain, Connecticut
Resides	Waterbury, Connecticut
Billed	The Big Apple
Trainer	Jason KnightKevin Landry
Debut	2003
Retired	}}

Jamie Szantyr (born June 2, 1981) is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Knockout Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. She also works outside of TNA as Talia Madison.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Prior to debuting, Szantyr was trained by Jason Knight and Kevin Landry at the ''House of Pain Pro Wrestling Dojo''. After completing her training, she began working as a valet and wrestler on the independent circuit using the ring names Miss Talia, Talia Doll, and Talia Madison. On the independent circuit, she formed a tag team known as T&A; with April Hunter. She was booked to her first wrestling championship during her time in World Xtreme Wrestling, getting the WXW Women's Championship after winning a battle royal on May 29, 2004.

Szantyr made a few appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005 and 2006. On the February 24, 2005 edition of ''WWE SmackDown!'', she appeared as an extra during the JBL "Celebration of Excellence" party. She was then defeated by Victoria on July 11 in a match taped for ''WWE Heat''. On January 2, 2006, she and Trinity were planted in the front row of the audience to be selected to dance with The Heart Throbs after their match in another ''Heat'' segment. She also auditioned for the 2007 Diva Search, but did not make the final eight.

As Talia Madison, she held Defiant Pro Wrestling Women's title, which she got on April 8, 2006 after defeating Alere Little Feather and Nikki Roxx in a three-way match. Later that year, she debuted in MXW Pro Wrestling and defeated Alere Little Feather at Brass City Battle. She also wrestled in Women's Extreme Wrestling both as Talia Doll and Talia Madison, where she mainly worked in tag team matches. She found championship success here as half of The Simple Girls/The Madison Sisters with her (kayfabe) sister Nikki Madison, and as the "T" half of the T&A; tag team with April Hunter, defeating Team Blondage's Amber O'Neal and Lollipop to get the title on WEW's April 6, 2006 pay-per-view. She also held the WEW World Women's title (as Talia Madison), defeating Angel Orsini on May 5, 2007.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007–present)

When Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) announced the creation of their women's division in 2007, Szantyr, using her Talia Madison ring name, was announced as one of the ten wrestlers in a 10-woman Gauntlet match to crown the first TNA Women's World Champion at Bound for Glory pay-per-view. Before the show she made non-wrestling appearances on the October 5 episode of ''TNA Today'' and the October 11 ''Impact!'', standing at ringside for the debut match of Amazing Kong along with the other gauntlet match participants. In the weeks following the gauntlet match, her ring name was changed to Velvet Sky.

The Beautiful People (2007–2011)

At the December Turning Point pay-per-view, Sky and Angelina Love were paired together and dubbed "Velvet Love Entertainment", later renamed to "The Beautiful People". After defeating ODB and Roxxi Laveaux early in the show, Love and Sky assisted Gail Kim in her match against Awesome Kong. They assisted Kim again after another match against Kong on the December 6 edition of ''Impact!'' and at Final Resolution pay-per-view, helping to stop a brawl post match.

On the March 13 edition of ''Impact!'', Sky and Love attacked Roxxi Laveaux and later that night Gail Kim, thus becoming heels for the first time in TNA. At Lockdown, Sky and Love participated in the first ever "Queen of the Cage" match, which was won by Laveaux when Laveaux pinned Love inside the cage. Sky and Love participated in the Make Over Battle Royal-Ladder Match at Sacrifice, which was won by Gail Kim. A pre-match stipulation determined that the loser of the ladder match portion of the match would have their head shaved, unless this was Gail Kim, otherwise Love would have her head shave. Sky and Love later added another factor to their gimmicks, placing brown paper bags over opponents heads. Soon after, Moose joined The Beautiful People, but she was quickly removed from the stable and the TNA roster after suffering an injury on the independent circuit. On July 17 episode of ''Impact!'', Sky won a Knockouts Battle Royal for number one contendership to the Women's Knockout Championship, but lost the title match the next week as well as two more title matches immediately following to then champion Taylor Wilde.

The Beautiful People began associating with Cute Kip, who become known as their "fashionist". At Bound for Glory IV, The Beautiful People and Cute Kip were defeated by ODB, Rhaka Khan, and Rhino. In March 2009 the team gained a new member in Madison Rayne, while Kip was "fired" from the stable twice in the following month before finally becoming a road agent for the company. Sky was in Love's corner when she defeated Kong and Wilde to claim the TNA Women's Knockout Championship at Lockdown. Sky was also in Love's corner at Slammiversary where she helped her defeat Tara by spraying hairspray in her eyes. At Hard Justice Sky, along with Angelina Love, competed in a tag match against ODB and Cody Deaner in a losing effort when Deaner pinned Sky causing Love to lose the Championship to ODB.

After this loss, Madison Rayne was kicked out of The Beautiful People, with the pair vowing revenge in the upcoming tournament for the TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship. The last of the four quarter final matches pitted The Beautiful People against Madison Rayne and a mystery partner. This mystery partner was later revealed to be the returning Roxxi. Regardless, The Beautiful People won the match and advanced to the semi-finals.

Since that match was taped, Angelina Love had been released from her TNA Wrestling contract due to work visa issues. On the last episode of ''Impact!'' taped before her release Love and Sky advanced to the finals of the tag team tournament by defeating Tara and Christy Hemme after interference from Madison Rayne. Afterwards Rayne apologized to both Sky and Love, and was then welcomed back into the Beautiful People. At No Surrender Sky and Love's replacement Rayne were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Sarita and Taylor Wilde. On October 1 Love's replacement Lacey Von Erich made her debut and joined the Beautiful People. Love would return to the company on the January 14, 2010, edition of ''Impact!'', but instead of re-joining the Beautiful People, she attacked them, thus turning face. On the March 8 Monday night edition of ''Impact!'' Sky and Rayne defeated the teams of Love and Tara and Sarita and Taylor Wilde in a three-way match to win the vacant TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship, after interference from Daffney. The three members of the Beautiful People will defend the titles under the Freebird rule. On the April 5 edition of ''Impact!'', Sky was one of the four winners of the very first LockBox Showdown Elimination Tag Match. The box she opened contained a contract for Sky to challenge anyone of her choosing at any time, regardless of the stipulation. Sky then announced that she would be using her contract to face the new Knockout Champion Angelina Love in a Leather and Lace match the following week. With Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne scheduled to receive a shot at the Knockout Championship at Lockdown, the Beautiful People turned the Leather and Lace match into a three-on-one beatdown in order to soften Love up for the pay-per-view the following Sunday. At the pay-per-view Rayne and Sky defeated Love and Tara, with Rayne becoming the new Women's Knockout Champion. Sky faced Love once again on the June 24 edition of ''Impact'' and won via disqualification after being dropped with a DDT on a steel chair, just like Von Erich the previous week.

On June 27, 2010, Szantyr announced that she had signed a long–term contract extension with TNA. In the summer of 2010, Sky began showing signs of a face turn, when Rayne began talking down to her and Von Erich, declaring that she did not need either of them and then recruited a mystery woman hiding behind a motorcycle helmet to help her in her feud with Angelina Love. On the July 22 edition of ''Impact!'' Sky refused to go along with Rayne, the mystery woman and Sarita, when they all got done assaulting Love and Taylor Wilde, Von Erich on the other hand chose to leave with the trio. On July 27, at the tapings of the August 5 edition of ''Impact!'', Sky and Von Erich lost the TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship to Hamada and Taylor Wilde, when Rayne's and the mystery woman's interference backfired. The following week Sky turned face by attacking the mystery woman during Rayne's title match with Angelina Love and in doing so caused a distraction, which cost Rayne the Women's Knockout Championship. On the August 19 episode of ''Impact!'', Sky reunited with Angelina Love, accompanying her to the ring and helping her successfully defend the Women's Knockout Championship against Rayne, who was with the mysterious biker woman. After the match Sky and Love were beaten down by Rayne and the mystery woman. Rayne's mysterious ally was finally unmasked as Tara on the September 2 edition of ''Impact!'', when the two of them defeated Sky and Love in their first match together in a year. At No Surrender Sky defeated Rayne in a singles match. Lacey Von Erich would join Sky and Love in the Beautiful People, after being saved by them from Rayne and Tara on the September 16 edition of ''Impact!''. She, however, would leave the promotion two months later on November 11. In October Sky entered a feud with Sarita, who would score back–to–back pinfall victories over her on the October 28 and the November 4 editions of ''Impact!'', first in a six knockout tag team match and then in a singles match. On the December 9 edition of ''Impact!'' Sky and Love defeated Sarita and Daffney in the first round match of a tournament for the vacant Knockout Tag Team Championship, but Sky was still unable to pin Sarita. Two weeks later, Sarita attacked Sky prior to her and Love's tournament final match. As a result, Winter, who had been stalking Love for the past months, stepped up, took Sky's place in the match and teamed with Love to defeat Madison Rayne and Tara for the Knockout Tag Team Championship. The following week Sarita defeated Sky in a Strap match. On the January 27 edition of ''Impact!'', Sky brawled with Winter, claiming she was trying to break up the Beautiful People. Sarita pinned Sky once again on the February 17 edition of ''Impact!'', in a tag team match, where she teamed with Rosita and Sky with Love. After the match Sky challenged Sarita to a one–on–one match, where she agreed to put her career on the line. On the March 3 edition of ''Impact!'' Sky was finally able to defeat Sarita in a singles match, salvaging her career in the process. On March 13 at Victory Road, Sky inadvertently cost Love and Winter the Knockout Tag Team Championship in a match against Sarita and Rosita. On the March 24 edition of ''Impact!'', Winter, seemingly having control over Love's actions, prevented her from saving Sky from a beatdown at the hands of Sarita and Rosita. On the April 7 edition of ''Impact!'', Love, still under Winter's spell, turned on Sky during a Knockout Tag Team Championship match against Sarita and Rosita and left her to be pinned by the champions, effectively ending the Beautiful People.

Singles career (2011–present)

On the April 28 edition of ''Impact!'', Love defeated Sky via submission in a singles match, no-selling all of her opponent's offense during the match. On the May 5 edition of ''Impact!'', Sky pinned Winter in a two–on–three handicap match, where she teamed with Kurt Angle to face Winter, Love and Jeff Jarrett, announcing her intention of becoming the TNA Women's Knockout Champion in the process. On the May 19 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Sky defeated Love and Winter in a two–on–one handicap match, but was afterwards attacked by the returning ODB, who claimed that she had gotten fired from TNA the previous June because of her. Sky and ODB faced each other in a singles match on the June 9 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', with Sky emerging victorious. The following week, Sky and Ms. Tessmacher failed in their attempt to win the Knockout Tag Team Championship from Rosita and Sarita due to outside interference from ODB. Afterwards, Sky was beaten down by ODB and her new tag team partner, Jacqueline. On the June 12 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Sky and Tessmacher were defeated by Jacqueline and ODB in a tag team match. The feud was seemingly ended on the July 7 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', when Sky defeated ODB and Jacqueline in a two–on–one handicap match, forcing both of them out of TNA as per stipulation of the match. On the July 21 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', TNA Women's Knockout Champion Mickie James awarded Sky a shot at her title, but before the match could take place, James was attacked by Angelina Love and Winter. When Sky tried to make the save, she was attacked by the returning ODB and Jacqueline, who were then in turn attacked by the also returning Traci Brooks.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2011)

On June 18, 2011, Sky made her debut for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración at TripleManía XIX, where she teamed with Angelina Love, Mickie James and Sexy Star to defeat Cynthia Moreno, Faby Apache, Lolita and Mari Apache in an eight woman tag team match.

Personal life

In high school, Szantyr competed in cheerleading, softball, cross-country, and track. Szantyr was previously in a relationship with former WWE superstar Gregory Helms, but the two have since broken up. Szantyr is currently dating fellow TNA performer Joshua Harter, better known as Chris Sabin.

Other media

She was featured on MTV's ''Made'' alongside A.J. Styles, Taylor Wilde, and Angelina Love. On January 24, 2009, she appeared as a soccerette on British television program ''Soccer AM'', along with Angelina Love. In November 2010 she was a contestant on an all TNA week of ''Family Feud'', teaming with Angelina Love, Christy Hemme, Lacey Von Erich and Tara against Jay Lethal, Matt Morgan, Mick Foley, Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*As Talia/Talia Madison

*''Blonde Ambition'' / ''Diva Drop'' (Diving neckbreaker)

*''Re-Talia-tion'' (Straight jacket sitout rear mat slam)

*As Velvet Sky

*''Beauty Mark'' (Double knee backbreaker) – 2009

*''Skyliner'' (Straight jacket sitout rear mat slam)

*Snap DDT

Signature moves

Grabs a hold of the wrists of an opponent on their back and then performs multiple stomps on the opponent's chest, driving their back of the head into the mat

Northern Lights suplex

Octopus stretch, while biting the trapped arm, sometimes into a sunset flip

Reverse bulldog

Snapmare followed by a shoot kick to the back of the opponent's head

Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown

Triangle choke

With Angelina Love

*Finishing moves

*''Makeover'' (Russian legsweep (Sky) / Running bicycle kick (Love) combination)

*Simultaneous roundhouse kicks to the abdomen (Sky) and the back of the leg (Love)

*Signature moves

*''Hollering Elbow'' (Double elbow drop, with theatrics)

With Madison Rayne

Double Russian legsweep

Double straight jacket sleeper slam

With Lacey Von Erich

Double DDT

Wrestlers managed

The Brain Surgeons

Simon Diamond

Romeo Roselli

Matt Striker

John Walters

Alere Little Feather

*Jason Knight

Angelina Love

Cute Kip

Madison Rayne

Entrance themes

*"Goodies" by Ciara (WXW)

*"Just a Lil Bit" by 50 Cent (Independent circuit)

"I'm About to Freak" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

"Angel On My Shoulder" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

Championships and accomplishments

Defiant Pro Wrestling

DPW Women's Championship (1 time)

Georgia Wrestling Alliance

GWA Ladies Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked her #21 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2010

TNT Pro Wrestling

TNT Women's Championship (1 time)

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship (1 time)¹ – with Lacey Von Erich and Madison Rayne

Universal Wrestling Association

UWA Women's Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ariel

Women's Extreme Wrestling

WEW World Championship (1 time)

WEW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with April Hunter (1) and Tiffany Madison (1)

World Xtreme Wrestling

WXW Women's Championship (1 time)

¹Sky defended the title with either Von Erich or Rayne under the Freebird Rule.

References

External links

TNA Official Website - Velvet Sky Profile

Glory Wrestling profile

Lethal Women of Wrestling profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Slammin Ladies profile

Slam! Sports profile

Official Website

Spanish Fansite

Category:1981 births Category:American female professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:American people of Polish descent Category:People from New Britain, Connecticut Category:People from Waterbury, Connecticut Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:American cheerleaders Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:WWE Diva Search contestants

ca:Jamie Szantyr de:Velvet Sky es:Jamie Szantyr fr:Velvet Sky it:Velvet Sky nl:Velvet Sky pl:Velvet Sky pt:Velvet Sky simple:Velvet Sky tr:Velvet Sky