saxophonist; rock musician
Personal Information
Born on January 11, 1942, in Norfolk, VA.
Career
Musician. Performed with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, 1971-89, 1999-; performed and recorded with the Red Bank Rockers, 1980s, and the Temple of Soul, 1990s-.
Life's Work
Clarence Clemons, known to his fans as "the Big Man," earned his reputation as a saxophonist extraordinaire during his 20-year stint with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. His urban sound, vivid and bright, connected "the Boss" to 1950s' rock-n-roll and 1960s' soul. But Clemons' artistic touch reached beyond the famed E-Street Band. In the early 1980s he toured and recorded with his own band, and loaned his distinct style to the recordings of Joe Cocker, Janis Ian, and Nils Lofgren. Clemons also began working as an actor during the 1970s, making appearances on television programs like Nash Bridges and in movies like Blues Brothers 2000.
Clemons was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the grandson of a Baptist minister, and moved to northern New Jersey during the mid-1960s. He began playing the saxophone when he was nine and was influenced by R&B artists like King Curtis and Junior Walker. "Those blues chord changes woke me up to something lying dormant inside me," Clemmons told C. Bottomley and Jim Macnie at VH1 Online. "My uncle bought me a King Curtis album and my life changed." Clemons played minor league football with the Newark Bears and was on his way to a professional career with the Cleveland Browns when injuries from an automobile accident put an end to his aspirations. Clemons also worked as a counselor for disturbed boys for eight years.
In 1973 Clemons' life changed when he joined Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. "It was a rainy, windy night," Clemons recalled to the Ottawa Sun, of his first meeting with the Boss. "When I opened the door the whole thing flew off its hinges and blew down the street. The band were [sic] staring at me onstage. I think Bruce was nervous, because when I said 'I want to play with your band,' he just answered, 'Sure, anything you want.'" The band maintained a grueling schedule over the next four years, touring and recording, but made little money. This changed abruptly with the release of Born to Run in 1975. The title track became a hit, and critics praised the band's intense, three-hour concerts.
The E Street Band wasn't just the typical back-up band, but the cornerstone of Springsteen's sound. "The E Street Band was ... part of a package," wrote Seth Rogovoy in the Rogovy Report, "a myth which said that through dint of sheer effort a hard-working, blue-collar bar band from the Jersey shore could become the biggest rock 'n' roll group in the world." It is Clemons' shoulder that Springsteen leans against on the cover of Born to Run, and Clemons' solo on "Born to Run" that drives the song forward. In Peter Gambaccini's book, Bruce Springsteen, the author quoted Springsteen as saying, "Clarence is his sax. Sometimes you can't tell where Clarence ends and his sax begins." Clemons' stature grew as the band reached an even larger audience during the 1980s, following the release of Born in the U.S.A. The tour that followed the album also included a theatrical stage kiss between Springsteen and Clemons after the performance of "Thunder Road."
While Clemons continued to play in the E Street Band during the early 1980s, he recorded his first solo album in 1983. "I love the responsibility of fronting my own band," Clemons told Denis Armstrong in the Ottawa Sun. "Creating my own audience is fun, developing my own ideas and carving out my own space. Everyone likes to leave their own footprints in the sands of time." In 1985 he released Hero, an album that helped establish the saxophonist as an artist in his own right. "It's great to see a musician step from the shadows of a legend and make a mark on his own," wrote Joe Viglione in All Music Guide, "and Clarence Clemons does that remarkably well here." The album also included a vocal by Jackson Browne that reached the Top 20 in 1985. In 1989 Clemons followed with Night with Mr. C, an album that offered a synthesis of new and old styles.
In 1989 Clemons and the other members of the E Street Band received a shock when Springsteen decided to continue recording and touring without the band. "It's like losing a friend," Clemons told Marilyn Beck in the Los Angeles Daily News. "We all just hope he's happy." Clemons, along with other band members, were puzzled by their dismissal. "I felt estranged for some reason, for the fact that things changed," Clemons told Kate Meyers in Entertainment Weekly. Despite disappointment, Clemons nonetheless understood the need for a change. "He's done this before," Clemons told Beck. "Others, like Billy Joel and Tom Petty, have gone solo for a while, and then gone back with their bands. It's very healthy."
Clemons also pursued a number of side projects. He continued to play with his band, Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers, and he toured with Ringo Starr and the Jerry Garcia Band. He also busied himself with session work, loaning his saxophone sound to recordings by Aretha Franklin, Alvin Lee, and Roy Orbison. He continued his acting career, appearing in several television series including Viper and The Sentinel, and playing multiple roles on the big screen in such films as Fatal Instinct and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
In late 1998 rumors spread of an E Street Band reunion. In March of 1999, tour dates were announced, and the reunion kicked off with two surprise shows at Convention Hall in Asbury Park. Critics were quick to note that the band had lost none of its prowess during its ten-year absence. "Clemons' sax work displays nuances and noodlings that were absent from his bombastic style in the '70s and '80s," noted Time. Clemons also continued to work with his new band, the Temple of Soul, releasing Live in Asbury Park in 2002. "My new album could be visualized," Clemons told Daniel Rothbart in NY Arts, "as Park Avenue meets South Beach." Through both his work with Springsteen and his own bands, Clemons gives everything he has to each new performance, living up to his nickname, "the Big Man." "I don't care if there are five people in the audience or 100,000," he told Bottomley and Macnie, "I'll always give 110%."
Works
Selected discography
- Rescue, Columbia, 1983.
- Hero, Columbia, 1985.
- Night with Mr. C, Columbia, 1989.
- Live in Asbury Park, Valley, 2002.
Further Reading
Books
- Gambaccini, Peter, Bruce Springsteen, Perigee Books, 1979, 1985; p. 67.
- Entertainment Weekly, May 15, 1992, p. 14.
- Los Angeles Daily News, November 27, 1989, p. L19.
- Ottawa Sun (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), April 17, 2003.
- Time, July 12, 1999, p. 69.
- "Clarence Clemons," All Music Guide, www.allmusic.com (July 15, 2003).
- "Clarence Clemons," Biography Resource Center, www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC (July 15, 2003).
- "Clarence Clemons: Larger Than Life," VH1, www.vh1.com (July 15, 2003).
- "Clarence Clemons: The Big Man takes the spotlight," Rogovoy Report, www.berkshireweb.com/rogovoy/thebeat/beat0522.html (July 15, 2003).
- "From the Devil's Music to the Temple of Soul," NY Arts, www.nyartsmagazine.com (July 15, 2003).
— Ronnie D. Lankford Jr




