Post by Rob Durkee on Jun 18, 2011 23:02:13 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Clarence Clemons, one of rock and roll music's greatest saxophonists as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E. Street Band, died Saturday, June 18, 2011, in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 69. According to writer Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times, Clemons passed away due to complications of a well-publicized stroke suffered some six days earlier. In recent years, he'd battled other health problems, including major spinal surgery, depression after the operation and difficulties with walking.
He was known as "The Big Man" for his size, which, according to writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody of the Associated Press, was around 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds.
To list every one of Clemons' patented saxophone solos would be next to impossible simply because there were so many of them. However, here's a partial list...
His most famous sax solo was probably the one in Springsteen's 1975 hit, "Born To Run." Next in line is probably the live Christmas classic recording of Springsteen's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Among Clemon's other key sax solos with the E. Street Band are "Spirit In The Night," "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," "Badlands," "Cadillac Ranch," "Cover Me" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out." Outside of the E. Street Band, his patented sax work can be heard on his 1985 duet with Jackson Browne, "You're A Friend Of Mine." Plus, he had saxophone solos on two early 1980's Gary U.S. Bonds' top 40 hits, "This Little Girl" and "Out Of Work"; the 1980 rocker, "He Can't Love You" by the Michael Stanley Band; and 1985's "Freeway Of Love" by Aretha Franklin.
Clarence Clemons was born on January 11, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia. His dad, a fish merchant, once got him a saxophone for Christmas instead of what he wanted, an electric train. His father also got him music lessons. Looking back at that key gift, Clarence told Downbeat magazine, "I'd never seen a saxophone before and didn't really know why my father gave it to me. He made me practice in the backroom of the store while the other kids were out playing baseball, and I hated it."
Clarence changed his tune by the time he was a teenager, when he played baritone sax for the Crestwood High School jazz band. He became hooked on the tenor sax, though, when he heard the legendary King Curtis on a record his uncle bought for him. The exact title of that record isn't specificially known. However, a good guess from this writer would be a Coasters' late 50's record like "Yakety Yak," "Charlie Brown" or "Along Came Jones," all of whom had that unique King Curtis sax solo sound. Later in 1962, King Curtis had his biggest solo hit with "Soul Twist."
Clemons recalled, "He (King Curtis) turned me on. And it was then that I decided that I wanted to play tenor. His sound and tone were so big on those sessions he did and his feeling was right from the heart. Here was a guy who gave me something."
Clarence would later attend what today is known as the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on a combination music-football scholarship. After graduating, he moved to Newark, N.J., to take a day job counseling emotionally troubled kids. His night job, though, would become his meal ticket. One night in Asbury Park, he walked a block from the nightclub he was supposed to perform in to go into another, where he met Springsteen.
"I had my saxophone with me when I walked into this club," Clemons told People Magazine, "And a gust of wind just blew the door down the street. No lie! I told Bruce 'I want to play. Can I sit in?' and he said, "Hey, you can do anything you want. Take a couple of background singers, anything.' I sat in with him that night and it was phenomenal even though we'd never laid eyes on each other. But after that first song, we looked at each other and said, 'This is it.' After that, I was stoked."
Famous music talent scout John Hammond signed Springsteen and his E. Street Band in 1972...and the rest is music history. According to Wikipedia, among the other famous performers Clemons has hooked up with over the years are Ringo Starr, Twisted Sister, Roy Orbison, Ian Hunter, the Four Tops, Todd Rundgren, Joe Cocker, Dave Koz, Luther Vandross, and, most recently, Lady Gaga on her "Born This Way" album. Clemons had his own band called the Temple Of Soul.
In the 1979 book entitled "Bruce Springsteen," the Boss told author Peter Gambaccini, "Clarence is his sax. Sometimes you can't tell where Clarence ends and his sax begins."
Vini Mad Dog" Lopez, the original E. Street Band drummer, told writer Tris McCall of the New Jersey-based Star-Ledger upon learning of Clemons' passing, "It's just a shame. He had a lot more he could give."
Clarence Clemons, one of rock and roll music's greatest saxophonists as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E. Street Band, died Saturday, June 18, 2011, in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 69. According to writer Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times, Clemons passed away due to complications of a well-publicized stroke suffered some six days earlier. In recent years, he'd battled other health problems, including major spinal surgery, depression after the operation and difficulties with walking.
He was known as "The Big Man" for his size, which, according to writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody of the Associated Press, was around 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds.
To list every one of Clemons' patented saxophone solos would be next to impossible simply because there were so many of them. However, here's a partial list...
His most famous sax solo was probably the one in Springsteen's 1975 hit, "Born To Run." Next in line is probably the live Christmas classic recording of Springsteen's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Among Clemon's other key sax solos with the E. Street Band are "Spirit In The Night," "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," "Badlands," "Cadillac Ranch," "Cover Me" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out." Outside of the E. Street Band, his patented sax work can be heard on his 1985 duet with Jackson Browne, "You're A Friend Of Mine." Plus, he had saxophone solos on two early 1980's Gary U.S. Bonds' top 40 hits, "This Little Girl" and "Out Of Work"; the 1980 rocker, "He Can't Love You" by the Michael Stanley Band; and 1985's "Freeway Of Love" by Aretha Franklin.
Clarence Clemons was born on January 11, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia. His dad, a fish merchant, once got him a saxophone for Christmas instead of what he wanted, an electric train. His father also got him music lessons. Looking back at that key gift, Clarence told Downbeat magazine, "I'd never seen a saxophone before and didn't really know why my father gave it to me. He made me practice in the backroom of the store while the other kids were out playing baseball, and I hated it."
Clarence changed his tune by the time he was a teenager, when he played baritone sax for the Crestwood High School jazz band. He became hooked on the tenor sax, though, when he heard the legendary King Curtis on a record his uncle bought for him. The exact title of that record isn't specificially known. However, a good guess from this writer would be a Coasters' late 50's record like "Yakety Yak," "Charlie Brown" or "Along Came Jones," all of whom had that unique King Curtis sax solo sound. Later in 1962, King Curtis had his biggest solo hit with "Soul Twist."
Clemons recalled, "He (King Curtis) turned me on. And it was then that I decided that I wanted to play tenor. His sound and tone were so big on those sessions he did and his feeling was right from the heart. Here was a guy who gave me something."
Clarence would later attend what today is known as the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on a combination music-football scholarship. After graduating, he moved to Newark, N.J., to take a day job counseling emotionally troubled kids. His night job, though, would become his meal ticket. One night in Asbury Park, he walked a block from the nightclub he was supposed to perform in to go into another, where he met Springsteen.
"I had my saxophone with me when I walked into this club," Clemons told People Magazine, "And a gust of wind just blew the door down the street. No lie! I told Bruce 'I want to play. Can I sit in?' and he said, "Hey, you can do anything you want. Take a couple of background singers, anything.' I sat in with him that night and it was phenomenal even though we'd never laid eyes on each other. But after that first song, we looked at each other and said, 'This is it.' After that, I was stoked."
Famous music talent scout John Hammond signed Springsteen and his E. Street Band in 1972...and the rest is music history. According to Wikipedia, among the other famous performers Clemons has hooked up with over the years are Ringo Starr, Twisted Sister, Roy Orbison, Ian Hunter, the Four Tops, Todd Rundgren, Joe Cocker, Dave Koz, Luther Vandross, and, most recently, Lady Gaga on her "Born This Way" album. Clemons had his own band called the Temple Of Soul.
In the 1979 book entitled "Bruce Springsteen," the Boss told author Peter Gambaccini, "Clarence is his sax. Sometimes you can't tell where Clarence ends and his sax begins."
Vini Mad Dog" Lopez, the original E. Street Band drummer, told writer Tris McCall of the New Jersey-based Star-Ledger upon learning of Clemons' passing, "It's just a shame. He had a lot more he could give."