RIP Clarence Clemons

[Tracy 2112]

They've been one of the true soundtracks of my life

yep

[ericm]

A few words from Steve published in yesterday's N.J. Newark Star Ledger.

Steven Van Zandt: 'We will continue to make music and perform'
Published: Sunday, June 26, 2011, 11:05 PM Updated: Sunday, June 26, 2011, 11:35 PM
By Jay Lustig/The Star-Ledger



For those wondering if the death of Clarence Clemons will mean the end of the E Street Band: Steven Van Zandt doesn't seem to think so. In a moving and eloquent tribute to Clemons on his syndicated radio show, Underground Garage, Van Zandt, after talking about the bond that the musicians of any great band have with each other, said: "We will continue to make music and perform. Let's face it, that's all we really know how to do. But it will be very different without him."




Here is some of what he said:

"Rock 'n' roll has lost an irreplaceable performer. The E Street Band has lost its second member. And, personally, I have lost a lifelong friend and brother. Rock 'n' roll historians will discuss in great detail and lengthy discourse the profound racial implications and effect of a white rock band in the early '70s having a black man with such a strong featured presence as well as the unmistakeable and dangerously unfashionable ... more than just a nod, but marriage to tradition, by the inclusion of, to many, the embarrassingly and hopelessly anachronistic saxophone. It was a time of reaching for the future. Glam had started. And yet Bruce Springsteen decided to keep a firm grasp of the past, as he looked ahead. Commercial suicide for anyone less talented than he.

"Band members have a special bond. A great band is more than just some people working together. It's like a highly specialized army unit, or a winning sports team. A unique combination of elements that becomes stronger together than apart. We become a part of each other and experience marvelous, miraculous moments in life that only we truly share. We will continue to make music and perform. Let's face it, that's all we really know how to do. But it will be very different without him. Just as it's been different without Danny (Federici), our first lost comrade.

"The quality of our lives is diminished every time we lose a great artist. It's a different world without Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Curtis Mayfield, Brian Jones and the rest. But like all of them, Clarence leaves us his work, which will continue to inspire us and motivate us, and future generations, forever. Rock 'n' roll is our religion, and we will continue to lose disciples as we go, but we pick up the fallen flag and keep moving forward, bringing forth the good news that our heroes have helped create, their bodies lost, but their spirits and their good work everlasting.

"And for the E Street Band, the heart of us, Clarence and Danny, will always be there, stage right. So thank you, Clarence. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. But I'll see you again, soon enough. Thank you for blowing life-changing energy and hope into this miserable world with your big, beautiful lungs. And thank you for sharing a piece of that big heart nightly with the world. It needs it. You and that magnificent saxophone, celebrating, confessing, seeking redemption and providing salvation all at once. Speaking wordlessly, but so eloquently, with that pure sound you made. The sound of life itself."

Well done Steve.

[sittingcow]

awesome. best part of that: "rock and roll is our religion"

[ericm]

A great line from Bruce during his eulogy for Clarence:

"Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die."

[Penny Lane]

A great line from Bruce during his eulogy for Clarence:

"Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die."

Love that.  :)

[Jon T.]

A great line from Bruce during his eulogy for Clarence:

"Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die."

Wow!  That is incredible.

[Eweezy]

truly saddened and its never easy when u lose such a great talent.