Clarence Clemons was born January 11, 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia. He currently plays saxophone as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street
Band. He attended Maryland State University on a football scholarship. Injuries derailed his plans for a career in
professional football. He is known as the "Big Man".
Clarence has been playing with the E Street Band since 1972. Clemons was working with a group called Joyful Noise, performing
principally R & B covers, when his path crossed Bruce Springsteen's. Both artists were playing in Asbury Park, New Jersey, at bars about a
city block apart. One rainy night, Clemons strolled down to take in Springsteen's show. The Big Man recounted the event in
People
magazine: "I had my saxophone with me, and when I walked in this club--no lie--a gust of wind just blew the door down the street. Boof!
I say, 'I want to play. Can I sit in?' Bruce says, 'Hey, you can do anything you want. Take a couple of background singers, anything.' I
sat in with him that night. It was phenomenal. We'd never even laid eyes on each other, but after that first song, he looked at me, I
looked at him, and we said, 'This is it.' After that I was stoked."
Though his decision contributed to the demise of his first marriage, Clemons quit his job and joined the E Street Band. "I was making like
$15 a week with Bruce then," he told
People. "Had no place to stay. But I had faith. It was like following Jesus."
From the recording booth to the stage, the Clemons-Springsteen partnership fairly seethed with vitality. Analyzing his place in the band in 1984,
Clemons told Palmer: "The sax adds color to situations, and it has that urgency. Bruce allows me a certain space within which I'm free to do
whatever I want, and we interact so well together that it's no problem backing him. On stage, we can dance around and play off each other,
which gives the crowd a show and generates energy."
In what little free time he could find while working with Springsteen, Clemons formed his own band, the Red Bank Rockers, and signed a recording
contract with Columbia Records. When his schedule allowed, he cut tracks for a debut album,
Rescue, and performed at his own night club,
Big Man's West, in Red Bank, New Jersey. He occasionally offered saxophone backup on the recordings of other noted artists, including Aretha
Franklin's well-received
Freeway of Love album. Always somewhat in the shadow of Springsteen's superstardom, the Big Man nonetheless began
to assert his independence and to search for a sound that would validate his rock and roll calling.
For his part with the E Street Band, his on stage presence is easily recognized and he is often the most adored during the band introductions during
each show. His long famous solo during the song "Jungleland" is legendary.
Bruce Springsteen (vocals/guitar)
Ray Bittan (piano, keyboard synthesizer)
Clarence Clemons (saxophone)
Nils Lofgrens (guitar, accordian)
Patti Scialfa (backing vocalist)
Stevie Van Zandt (mandolin,/guitar)
Max Weinberg (drums)
