Reports of Clarence Clemons' Death

[Mysterion]

Reuters is reporting that long-time E Street Band member Clarence clemons has dired.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Clarence Clemons, the burly saxophone player who played a crucial role in shaping Bruce Springsteen's early sound, died on Saturday, six days after suffering a stroke at his Florida home, media reports said. He was 69.
The New York Times said Clemons' death was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Springsteen. Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports.
Clemons, dubbed the "Big Man," started working with Springsteen in 1971 and was a charter member of the backing group that came to be known as the E Street Band.
His gritty, evocative saxophone solos powered such notable Springsteen songs as "Born to Run," "Jungleland," "Prove It All Night," "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," and "Badlands."
On stage, Clemons proved a worthy foil for Springsteen and his bandmates. In a 1975 concert review, Rolling Stone said Clemons betrayed an "ominous cool" in contrast to guitarist Steven Van Zandt's "strange hipster frenzy."
"Clarence was the big black saxophone player who completely represented the tradition of rock 'n' roll and R&B," Van Zandt told Britain's Mojo magazine in 2006.
Alongside Van Zandt, Clemons personified the E Street Band, and he took it hard when Springsteen broke up the group for a decade in 1989. But by then, Clemons was being used less in the studio. On stage, he was often reduced to playing tambourine or engaging in crowd-pleasing theatrics, like kissing Springsteen during the live staple "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)."
He also dabbled in acting, enjoyed a solo hit single with Jackson Browne, 1985's ""You're a Friend of Mine," toured with Ringo Starr and even played on two tracks on pop singer Lady Gaga's new album.
'PURE HELL'
Clemons' death came three years after organist Danny Federici, Springsteen's longest-serving musical partner, lost a three-year battle with cancer.
Clemons had been in ill health in recent years, suffering back and hip problems. He had double knee-replacement surgery in 2008, and walked for the first time in three months when Springsteen and the E Street Band played the Super Bowl early in 2009. The band's eight-month world tour that year was "pure hell," he told Rolling Stone earlier this year.
Clemons was born January 11, 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia, and played saxophone in high school where he was also a promising football player. A car crash ended his professional sporting dreams, and he went on to become a social worker, family man and barroom rocker.
His first meeting with Springsteen was auspicious. Clemons had heard about a hot young rocker on the Asbury Park, New Jersey, scene, and walked into one of his club shows on a bitterly windy night. A gust of wind ripped the door from his hand, and it flew down the street. All eyes turned to Clemons, and Springsteen readily agreed when he asked to sit in with him.
"When I first walked on that stage and hit the first note, I saw things that are happening today, then," he told Reuters in 2009. "I knew that he (Springsteen) was what I was looking for and I was what he was looking for to take that next step to the big time. It was just love, man, at first sight."
During sessions for Springsteen's 1975 breakthrough "Born to Run," Clemons spent 16 hours recording his solo on "Jungleland," the nine-minute track that closes the album.
"Creating is like religion," Clemons said later of the marathon session. "I was willing to relinquish myself to him (Springsteen). I've had people say to me, 'That sax solo saved my life.' So I did my job."
Clemons was used more sparingly in later years as Springsteen opted to emphasize the guitars (1978's "Darkness on the Edge of Town") or recorded largely solo (1982's "Nebraska" and 1987's "Tunnel of Love."

He still brought fervor to later-era songs like the hit single "Dancing in the Dark" and "Land of Hope and Dreams, but "over time his role in the band has become more symbolic than musical," author Jimmy Guterman wrote in his 2005 Springsteen biography "Runaway American Dream."
In 2009 he published his memoir, "Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales," co-written with his friend Don Reo.(Writing by Dean Goodman; Additional reporting by Christian Wiessner; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

[JiNX-01]

Billboard is also reporting his death.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

RIP Big Man.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/18/clarence.clemons.obit/

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Aww damn. Rest in peace Clarence.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Not great quality, but good stuff. RIP.
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knVbfhmME1g[/YT]

 

[tomalak301]

I really haven't followed the E Street Band or Springsteen as much as I probably should have, so I don't know much about who this person was, Until I saw this video.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zylxfXyTefs&feature=player_embedded#at=275[/yt]

At about 4:20 into it when he plays the solo, I actually got chills (First time watching it this evening). RIP Big Man and thanks for Tearing it up on the Sax for as long as you did, an instrument I played in Middle and High School.

 

[auntiehill]

Yes; they were reporting this on CNN earlier. Very sad news indeed. The Big Man was a true staple of the 80s music scene. He was a great musician and a real character.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Oh jeez...this is terrible.

That's the second death among E Street Band members...but certainly a more 'visible' one. Even non-Springsteen fans know who The Big Man is....

He has been in ill-health for a long time and I saw an article about him the other day which implied that perhaps time was short...but I didn't expect it quite this soon.

RIP

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA&feature=channel_video_title[/yt]

 

[Thestral]

Aww man. RIP.

 

[drychlick]

R.I.P

 

[C.E. Evans]

More than a sax player, Clemons was like a brother to Springsteen (the full Born to Run album cover says it best).

Rest easy, Big Man.

 

[ElBurro]

RIP Big Man. A true legend to us Springsteen fans.

 

[RogerWaters]

R.I.P. Big Man. Thanks for the music, it was fantastic.

 

[J.T.B.]

My uncle once told me, if an act you want to see comes in concert nearby, even if you can barely afford it, have to work the next morning etc, you go! Because you may never get the chance again. I have tried to follow that advice and count myself very lucky to have seen Springsteen with the Big Man and Danny. What a performer Clemons was! In one of the closest bands I've ever seen come to something you might call "transcendence" between stage and audience, some of the highest points were his solos. And a real larger-than-life type character offstage, too. A sad loss.

RIP sir.

Justin

 

[Saxman1]

Clarence made it cool to be a sax player again, which I am (see screen name). Loved him and his huge tone. The more The Boss curtailed the use of the sax in his music, the more I lost interest. When The E-Street Band became The Guitar Army, I was outta there, even though I play guitar, too.

 

[Kirby]

I was out of town this weekend and overheard someone mention this in a restaurant on Saturday night; very sad news.
I saw the Born in the USA tour in Denver in 1985. Awesome show, and I loved the interplay between Bruce and Clarence. That song he did with Jackson Brown was kind of lame, although I remember owning the 45.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

R.I.P.
Big man.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Sad to hear this. I just received "The Making of Darkness On the Edge of Town" in the mail. Watching it will be bittersweet.

 

[Saxman1]

Does anyone remember when Tina Turner made her big comeback in the 1980s and she had a huge, muscular touring tenor sax player in an effort to try to mimic the Clarence/Boss chemistry? I thought that was a hoot!

Pink Floyd had a hot-dog, mullet-headed tenor player on the "Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour in the late 80s who played Clarence style on "Money," "Us and Them" and other Floyd classics, LOL!

Didn't work in either case: there will only be one Big Man! God bless him and here's hoping he's now jamming with his idol King Curtis somewhere.