Anybody got any memories of this great musician?
Here's me and Clarence over 30 years ago:
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f296/ycartrob/scan_imagea.jpg)
The big man's left the band :'(. Very sad I never got to see him play live.
I am so sad tonight. :(
When I heard the news I immediately thought of my good friend here, Eric - we only saw one show with Bruce and the E Street Band together, but the band is near and dear to both our hearts. RIP "Big Man" - you are a legend and shall never be forgotten!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHJGSGbhFwk&feature=player_embedded#at=201 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHJGSGbhFwk&feature=player_embedded#at=201)
And one more for any other fans out there, I think Carl could pull this sax solo off! ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTJHhUeAfc&feature=player_embedded#at=369 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTJHhUeAfc&feature=player_embedded#at=369)
Very sad. R.I.P. Big Man.
He was just on Howard Stern not that long ago. Seemed like a great guy. Of course he was an awesome player. The E Street Band will never be the same. No one can replace the big man.
An irreplaceable loss. I've seen Bruce and the E Street Band close to 100 times and never ever walked away disappointed. Clarence was, well, he was the Big Man. He was always a special part of the band and a special part of all shows. My words can't come close to describing what Bruce & the East Street brought live if you haven't seen them. The comradery that Bruce and Clarence shared on stage was special and Clarence was so much more than just a sax player, more than just the Big Man. A loss that cannot be replaced. Very sad.
My only real exposure to Clarence was when I saw him play with the GD a few times. Guy did a beautiful job. Clean, solid, professional. Seemed like he could sit in with anyone and blend. Really sad to hear of his passing.
(((((RIP Clarence)))))
Grateful Dead :-: Estimated Prophet :-:1989 :-: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtbL26BW-Ac#)
phish covered thunder road tonight in honor of clarence
the view @ the stone pony in asbury park, nj today
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/254137_10150298502468169_545338168_9103924_5635338_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/259888_175000422559246_171015812957707_451837_5611759_n.jpg)
Ed Vedder reacts to Clarence Clemons death..,
http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/sound-check/hc-concert-review-eddie-vedder-bushnell-hartford-20110618,0,4504475.column (http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/sound-check/hc-concert-review-eddie-vedder-bushnell-hartford-20110618,0,4504475.column)
R.I.P. Clarence.
To this day the best concert I ever saw was Springsteen in 81. It was the Jungleland solo that was the high lite.
Quote from: Goose24 on Jun 18, 2011, 11:10 PM
Anybody got any memories of this great musician?
I had the pleasure of riding an elevator with him about 20 years ago in an L.A. hotel. I was about 18, and I could tell he was shocked that I knew who he was. He was as nice as they come.
As a saxophone-playing kid in the 80s, I loved Clarence. So sad to see the Big Man go.
Quote from: Goose24 on Jun 18, 2011, 11:10 PM
Anybody got any memories of this great musician?
I'm so bummed and sad I don't know where to begin. I have a few that bring a smile to my face every time, so I'm hoping they do now too.
The first was sitting front row at his club "Big Man's West" in Red Bank N.J. way, way, back when and Clarence was on stage having a blast and literally blowing us away. He looks down at me and my kid's mom dancing, smiling and just having a blast. C gives us that big ole' smile of his and a wink.
At the end of the set he steps down and comes up to us and gives us a big hug. One of us under each arm. I thought he might squeeze the hell out of us, but it was the opposite, just a real warm and tender embrace. He looks at me, thanks me for coming and said he dug watching us have such a good time and make sure we come back.
The next memory was from a Philly show. I always tried to get seats on CC's side and have gotten many a huge smile or thumbs up from him, but this night he came over to the rail as he was leaving the stage and handed me a bottle of Perrier, and said "here ya go". I'm not a huge Perrier fan, but that bottle went down fast and easy. I like to think he recognized me,and that's why he did what he did, but I think he really just saw a guy who was spent after the show, and wanted to give me a drink. Either way, it was a gesture I'll never forget. Pretty ironic that this show was on Dec. 8th 1980. I went from such a high, to an incredible low, about 10 minutes later walking to the car.
My last memory of Clarence is hearing him play what might be his last time on stage. My daughter and I went to see Furthur in Orlando in April. We had such a blast that we decided to drive to Boca Raton for the show the next night. We get there and there's not a ticket to be found anywhere. It was an open air venue in a park, so even though we couldn't see the stage, we could hang in the park with hundreds of others and hear it beautifully.
My daughter and I were having fun, but a bit bummed we didn't get in. We were thinking of leaving but figured we made the long drive, lets hang and just enjoy what we can. Right before the end of the first set, Bobby and Phil welcome the Big Man on stage to jam with them and do a fantastic "Lil Red Rooster". At first I was even more bummed not to be able to see Clarence, but hearing him up there sounding so good, made me instantly happy, wiped any of my blues away, and made the trip worth every second. This night will be forever etched in my memory, and so thankful something told me we had to go to Boca. I never imagined it would be my last time hearing Clarence play, but so glad we went, and really thankful that Furthur had him sit in. I knew I always loved those guys too, and this night is just another reason why.
I was down in Florida this past week when we got word of the stroke and then Clarence's passing. I'm still so so sad, but thankful for all the great times Bruce, Clarence, and The E Street Band have given me. They've been one of the true soundtracks of my life,shared many shows in many cities, and Clarence was a very big part of every one of those memories.
As Jeff said above " a loss that cannot be replaced".
RIP Big Man :beer:
Sorry for the long reply. This one hit pretty hard, but sharing these memories has made me smile a bit.
As Eric put it so well
" I'm still so so sad, but thankful for all the great times Bruce, Clarence, and The E Street Band have given me. They've been one of the true soundtracks of my life,shared many shows in many cities, and Clarence was a very big part of every one of those memories."
MMJ is where I am now, but I grew up on Bruce Juice. Since i first heard Born To Run some 35 years ago, Clarence was a major part of the soundtrack of my life.
Great to hear your stories, Eric, and share in the sadness and some comfort.
Never really got into Springsteen, but I did get my first guitar by kicking ass on the Baritone Saxomophone. Still think the Breakdown in Born to Run is one of the greatest in music, and it's carried by the sax punching the high notes and getting you all pumped up, then dropping down into that low hold that takes you to the breaking point as Bruce comes back in with the highway line.
/and yes I grew up in NJ
Best saxophonist I've seen live by a mile. RIP.
Quote from: ericm on Jun 20, 2011, 02:05 PM
They've been one of the true soundtracks of my life
yep
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. :thumbsup:
awesome. best part of that: "rock and roll is our religion"
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."
Quote from: ericm on Jun 29, 2011, 05:53 PM
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. :)
Quote from: ericm on Jun 29, 2011, 05:53 PM
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.
truly saddened and its never easy when u lose such a great talent.