Bruce Springsteen Biography

Bruce Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Springsteen has frequently recorded and toured with the E Street Band, in addition to recording and performing as a solo artist and with other musicians. An heir to Elvis Presley, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Eddie Cochran and Bob Dylan, but also influenced by early 1960s rock and R&B, Springsteen is most widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered around his native New Jersey.

His eloquence in expressing ordinary, everyday problems has earned him numerous awards, including several Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with a very large, devoted, and long-lasting fan base. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life.

Springsteen's lyrics often concern men and women struggling to make ends meet. He has gradually become identified with progressive politics. Springsteen is also noted for his support of various relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere and for his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, on which his album The Rising reflects.

Springsteen's recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. Much of Springsteen's iconic status in America as well as his popularity abroad stems from his concert performances—marathon shows, up to four hours in length, in which he and the E Street Band energetically perform intense ballads, rousing anthems, and party rock and roll songs, with Springsteen telling long whimsical or deeply emotional stories in between.

Springsteen has long had the nickname The Boss, a term which he was initially reported to dislike but now seems to have come to terms with — he sometimes jokingly refers to himself as such on stage.

In November 2000, Springsteen filed legal action against Jeff Burgar which accused him of registering the domain brucespringsteen.com (along with several other celebrity domains) in bad faith to funnel web users to his Celebrity 1000 portal site. Once the legal complaint was filed, Burgar pointed the domain to a Springsteen biography and message board. Burgar claims to be running a Springsteen fan club.

In February 2001, Springsteen lost his dispute with Burgar. A WIPO panel ruled 2 to 1 in favor of Burgar.