4 Becoming a Star

CHAPTER 4 Becoming a Star Now Bruce had a record label behind him. Why was that a big deal? First of all, a record label helped musicians create albums. They had studios where musicians recorded songs. Audio engineers helped make the music sound as good as it could be. Designers created the album covers. A publicity department helped get songs played on the radio stations. And salespeople got the music stores to keep the album in stock. Back in the 1970s, there were lots of music stores. People weren't able to buy music online or on their iPods. But then as now, the record label and the musician worked together to make the best album and sell as many copies as possible.

Bruce asked a few of his bandmates from Steel Mill to record the album with him. In time, this new band would be known as the E Street Band. The band got their name because they sometimes practiced on E Street in a New Jersey beach town called Belmar. Members of the E Street Band came and went. Some played with the band for years. Others joined only for special tours. Over the years there were more than a dozen members of the E Street Band. The most well-known players were Clarence Clemons on the saxophone, Steve Van Zandt on the guitar, and Max Weinberg on the drums.

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Most-Famous E Street Band Members Clarence Clemons Clarence Clemons was born in 1942 in Virginia. He received his first saxophone when he was nine years old. Bruce and Clarence met one rainy night in Asbury Park and immediately liked each other. Clarence was known for his solo saxophone performances—some that lasted several minutes. He was also known as the "Big Man" because he was well over six feet tall!

Steve Van Zandt was born in 1950 in Massachusetts, but moved to New Jersey as a boy. He mostly played the guitar for the E Street Band but also sang backup with Bruce and played the mandolin. Many people know Steve from his role as an actor. He played a mobster in a popular television series, The Sopranos, from 1999 to 2007. Steve had never acted before he joined the show!

Max Weinberg was born in 1951 in Newark, New Jersey. He started to play the drums when he was six years old. Max planned on becoming a lawyer but he dropped out of college when he was offered a job with the E Street Band. In the early 1990s, Max became the leader of the "house band" for late-night television host Conan O'Brien. He and his band played for the show almost every weeknight for nearly seventeen years. Bruce's first album came out in 1973. It was called Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Bruce spent hours recording with the band to make each of the nine songs perfect. "Growin' Up" was a fast-paced tune about a teenage boy breaking all the rules. Bruce sang the lyrics "When they said 'sit down,' I stood up!" It was easy to see he was singing about his own teenage years. Many people at Columbia Records were very excited for the album release. Some of the publicists and salespeople had become fans of Bruce themselves. They loved the way Bruce told stories in his music. Bruce sang about regular people who had good times and bad