After finishing the Xmas shopping, Mr. and Mrs. Springsteen, while putting the candles on the Xmas tree and after a bottle of red wine....

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born in the Monmouth Memorial Hospital in Freehold, New Jersey .

He is the family's first kid. His father, Douglas Spingsteen has Irish, while his mother, Adele Zerilli has Italian roots. His dad holds different jobs during the years: factory worker, gardener, jailer, busdriver. His mom is a secretary.

Bruce spends most of 1971 organizing different new bands, giving concerts with them. These bands are: The Bruce Springsteen Jam, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, Bruce Springsteen Band.

His first sister, Virginia is born.

The 9 years old Bruce sees Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show on TV, and the "King of Rock'n' Roll" makes a huge impression on the little kid. So he asks for a guitar which he gets from his mom.

For all of his 18 dollars he buys a used electric guitar, so he can spend nearly all of his time practicing.

His second little sister, Pamela is born.

Bruce cannot bear the tortures and anguishes of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Elementary School , but at the end he turns the corner.

He starts his high school studies at the Freehold Regional High School .

In Freehold, a band named Castiles is set up. Its members are: George Theiss (lead vocal, guitar), Bart Haynes (drums), Frank Marziotti (bass), Paul Popkin (vocal, guitar). Their manager is Gordon " Tex " Vinyard. Not much after its foundation, the 16 year old Bruce joins the band.

For the first time, Bruce makes some money with music: he gets 35 bucks for a Woodhaven Swim Club gig.

Bruce is in a studio for the first time! On May 16, they record the songs "That's What You Get" and "Baby I" in the local Bricktown Studio. Both of them are composed by Theiss-Springsteen.

The legendary year starts badly for Springsteen. The Castiles breaks up and a draft arrives.

But fortunately the draft board throws him out: he is not suitable for serving in the army.

Bruce enrolls in Ocean County College , and in the meantime he forms the band called Earth with John Graham and Michael Burke. The band's line is powerful with some light R&B inspired by Cream.???

The Earth lives only for a year, but performs a lot in Asbury Park .

Bruce starts to get into the Jersey Shore musical life, appears as a guest in different similar bands, practices and plays the guitar whenever and wherever he can. And it's around this time that he meets his later big buddy, Steve Van Zandt.

Bruce becomes sort of a regular visitor at the Upstage Club in Asbory Park .

The local musical world remembers him as an excellent and fast handed guitar player.

The foundation of the Child with Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez. Vini Roslyn plays the bass, and Danny Federici plays the organ in the four member band.

Bruce practically makes himself kicked out of the college, and with this step his quite hard school life basically ends. But he seems not to regret it too much, and he puts all his eggs in one basket, and that is music, music, and music.

His family - because of his dad's work - moves to California . Bruce had already been sort of living in Asbury and now he lives there more than ever. With Vini and Danny, now they live and practice in the spacious workshop of the surfboard manufacturer Tinker West. Tinker also helps the band as a self-appointed manager. Since there's another band called Child in Long Island , they change their name for Steel Mill .

January-February

The Steel Mill crosses the States to take their chance on the West Coast. They play a few gigs at the Matrix in San Francisco , they are well received by the audience; and they record a couple of songs in a studio. They even get an offer for a record, but at the end it doesn't materialize, so they return to the East Coast.

When the band gets popular enough (the number of steady fans of the Steel Mill is a crowd of several thousand), Bruce dissolves it following a concert at the Upstage Club.

The Bruce Springsteen Band plays some gigs in different forms in New Jersey and Virginia , and then it splits up. At this point, Bruce decides to play solo in various cafeterias and clubs in New York City . And in these days, he meets Mike Appel who becomes his first manager.

Mike Appel gets Bruce into Columbia Records; John Hammond is very enthusiastic about him. Bruce plays a couple of songs in his office, and Hammond organizes immediately a hearing at the Gaslight Club in New York for the evening. The hearing is a big success, Columbia decides to offer him a record contract.

Bruce records the famous Hammond Demo-s at the CBS Studios in New York . He plays, the guitar and the piano solo, and John Hammond himself is at the mixer. Two songs ends up on the "Tracks".

Bruce, Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez, Clarence Clemons and David Sancious record the album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.".

The first concert with the E Street Band. Danny Federici joins the musicians who took part in the recording of "Greetings" (except for David Sancious, who doesn't play music with Bruce until June 1973) as a fully qualified member of the band.

Bruce's debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." is out in the U.S.

Bruce and the E Street Band are on tour on both the East and the West Coast. In May and June, a couple of times they also play as the opening band for the group "Chicago". Because of the influence of these big arena gigs, Bruce decides that - as it doesn't fit his music - he would never play again in front of such a huge crowd. And he keeps his promise for 3 years.

The band records the album called "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle".

"The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" is recorded.

"The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" is published in the USA .

During the second album tour Bruce fires Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez from the band. After a couple of weeks, Ernest "Boom" Carter replaces him.

Jon Landau, a musical reviewer after a Harvard Square Theater (Cambridge, Mass.) show, puts down a sentence which later becomes famous: "I saw the future of rock'n'roll, and it's called Bruce Springsteen." This article is the very first connection between Bruce and his future manager.

"The best pop song ever" (according to a poll of the BBC Radio in 1995) "Born To Run" is born. Or at least some lines of the song get recorded. The recording of the whole song takes several days.

Max Weinberg (drums) and Roy Bittan (piano) join the E Street Band, replacing Ernest Carter and David Sancious.

Bruce is on tour, working hard. For a few concerts, Suki Lahav (violin) joins the group, and stays with the E Street Band until March 1975.

The "Born To Run" era starts at the Record Plant, in New York . While recording, Bruce's new friend, Jon Landau turns out to devote much more to being a producer than Mike Appel did. During the recordings, Steve Van Zandt joins the E Street Band, too.

The "Born To Run" - tour starts, 6 weeks before the publication of the LP.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play probably the most important concerts of their career. The shows take place in the Bottom Line Club in New York , and one of them is broadcasted live on radio. With these appearances, Bruce leaves his card with the music industry and the musical press, and later it's confirmed how important they are for his career.

The "Born To Run" LP is out.

Bruce appears on the cover of both the Time and the Newsweek at the same time.

And it's also at this time that he says:

The "Born To Run" tour finishes with a New Year's Eve show at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia.

Bruce is on the road again with the so-called "Chicken Scratch Tour", playing in small auditoriums. The first stop is Township Auditorium, Columbia , S.C.

After a show in Memphis , Bruce and Steve Van Zandt take a cab and ride to Elvis' house in Graceland . Bruce climbs over the fence because he wants to meet Elvis, but one of the guards turns him out.

Bruce takes his manager, Mike Appel to court, accusing him of fraud and other sins. Two days later, Mike Appel sues Bruce as well, and the whole case drags on until the spring of next year, hindering Bruce from going into studio for new recordings

The band is still on tour, and at some of the shows, the Miami Horns also appears on stage. The tour finishes with three gigs in Boston .

Bruce and Mike Appel come to an agreement out of court, which means that Springsteen can be in control of his own music, albums, concerts.

Recordings for "Darkness on the Edge of Town" are finished, the new album is ready, and it contains songs like "Promised Land", " Badlands ", and "Racing in the Street".

The "Darkness on the Edge of Town" tour starts in Buffalo .

The "Darkness on the Edge of Town" album is out.

Jon Landau officially becomes Bruce's manager.

Bruce is on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine for the first time.

At the Capitol Theater in Passaic , N.J. Bruce and the band give three shows which become among Springsteen's most important and most remarkable appearances. The first gets broadcasted even on radio, and later gets published under the name "Piece de Resistance" or "Passaic Night" as a bootleg.

The "Darkness" tour finishes with a marathon-length concert in Cleveland . In spite of the fact that a petard from the audience explodes right in front of Bruce's face (and Springsteen even comments on this - which can be heard well on the bootleg record of the concert), the show sets a new record with its 31 songs. This record stays alive till the next tour.

Bruce has a motorcycle accident: he hits a tree, breaks his leg and has to stay in bed for three weeks. Following the accident, there are some gossips circulating in the news that Springsteen has been killed.

Bruce has a motorcycle accident: he hits a tree, breaks his leg and has to stay in bed for three weeks. Following the accident, there are some gossips circulating in the news that Springsteen has been killed.

Bruce and the band play with artists like Jackson Browne, Chaka Khan, Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty, they also play at two antinuclear charity concerts called the "No Nukes Show" at Madison Square Garden in New York . Bruce plays 90 minutes both nights, and for the very first time he sings the song "The River". On the second night, which is in fact his 30 th birthday, he throws a cake right to the audience and then pulls his ex-girlfriend, the photographer Lynn Goldsmith up onto the stage to embarrass her in public. A few of the songs performed by Springsteen get on the "No Nukes" album and movie.

The video clip of "The River" to be seen on the Video Anthology has also been shot here.

Fall-Winter

"The River"-era continues. Late fall the album is ready, it would come out under the name "The Ties That Bind", but in the very last moment Bruce changes his mind and continues recording new songs.

The River korszak folytatódik. Késő ősszel kész az album, mely The Ties That Bind címmel jelenne meg, de Bruce az utolsó pillanatban viszakozik és folytatja új dalok felvételét.

'The River"-tour starts in Ann Arbor . Just like at other times - the Tour precedes the record's publication. The Tour is characterized by incredibly long shows; usually more than 30 songs are played during the more than 3, sometimes almost 4-hours long shows.

"The River" is out as a double LP.

"The River" is the first Bruce-album which gets the No. 1. spot on Billboard's Chart.

"Hungry Heart" is Bruce's first Top 10 single on Billboard's Chart, it gets to the 5 th place.

The band closes a three-night concert series-tour with a New Year's Eve show at the Nassau Coliseum in New York , which is the longest Springsteen concert ever with its 38 songs and more than four hours of playing.

The planned European tour is postponed because of Bruce's exhaustion.

The delayed European tour finally kicks off in Hamburg . This is the first tour outside North-America. There are 33 shows in 10 countries, 16 concerts only in England , six of which at the Wembley Arena in London . This time the show is shorter than the previous year, and it remains so during the whole tour.

After returning from Europe , Bruce and the E Street Band continue the tour with a six-night concert-series at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford . The show on July 2 is the opening of the Meadowlands Arena, the very first event that took place there.

Bruce plays a charity show for the Vietnam Veterans. This is one of the best and most famous shows in his career at LA's Sports Arena.

"The River"-tour ends in Cincinnati . This show is the last one - until 1999 - where Steve Van Zandt appears as an official member of the E Street Band. The group plays in full house arenas everywhere, and according to Bruce, this is the first time for him that money doesn't matter anymore.

In his bedroom in Holmdel , New Jersey , Bruce records a few songs with a four track recorder. These songs serve as a basis for the album called " Nebraska ".

Bruce and the E Street Band join Gary U.S. Bonds to help them studio recording their new album. Bruce writes seven songs for the record, and appears with Steve Van Zandt also as producers.

Bruce goes into the studio to record his next LP after "The River". During this period, they use the recordings of January 3 as demos, but only a few of them is rehearsed with the full band. They include "Born in the U.S.A. " and "Downbound Train".

Summer

Bruce plays with different bands in the Jersey Shore pubs. He plays a lot with local bands at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park , and the group called "Cats on a Smooth Surface" becomes one of his favorites. These club-gigs keep on going throughout the year, and in 1983 as well.

Bruce a legkülönbözőbb együttesekkel lép fel a Jersey Shore bárjaiban. Sokat játszik helyi bandákkal a Stone Pony klubban Asbury Park-ban, és a Cats on a Smooth Surface csapat lesz az egyik kedvence. Ezek a klub-bulik folytatódnak az év hátralévő részében és 1983-ban is.

" Nebraska " is out, in exactly the same form as it was recorded in January.

Bruce's first true video clip appears on MTV. The song chosen is " Atlantic City ". Springsteen himself doesn't appear in the clip.

Bruce stays in California where he makes some recordings by himself. These songs - like "Follow That Dream", "Your Hometown" (an early version of "My Hometown"), and "County Fair" - later become known as the "Hollywood Hills Garage Tapes". Some of these recordings appear as B-side songs for the "Born in the USA " singles.

The E Street Band continues the recordings in May, and they keep on working on them during the rest of 1983. At that time, Steve Van Zandt is not a member of the band anymore, he is working on his solo career.

Springsteen and the band work hard on the new album. By April - when this period finishes - some 100 songs have already been recorded since 1982. Only 12 of them make it to the LP, and some others get on as B-sides of different singles.

"Dancing in the Dark" comes out as the first single, just to give a bit from the new album. This single helps to raise the interest and the expectations, everybody feels the straw in the wind of a big bang.

"Born in the USA " comes out. From a commercial point of view, it is by far the most successful album; the single published earlier brings a lot of new fans who had hardly known Springsteen before.

The "Born in the USA "-tour kicks off in St. Paul . Steve Van Zandt officially leaves the band, Nils Lofgren replaces him. Besides him, vocalist Patti Scialfa joins the group.

"Born in the USA " gets on the top on Billboard's Chart. It stays there for 7 weeks, and it cannot be moved out from the Top 10 for 85 weeks

Ten shows at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey indicate that the "Born in the USA "-tour got home. All the shows are sold out in a couple of hours. The 10th show is a four hour long marathon with 33 songs, and besides the Miami Horns Steve Van Zandt also hits the stage.

President Reagan mentions Bruce in one of his electoral campaign speeches in Hammonton , New Jersey . A few days later Bruce replies toughly from the stage at a Pittsburgh show.

The Tacoma show is the first one since 1974 where "Rosalita" is not played.

For the rest of the year, Bruce and the Band is on tour in the States and in Canada.

"Dancing in the Dark" wins the first Grammy Award for Bruce as "Best Pop/Rock Singer", Springsteen in person does not appear at the ceremony.

Bruce takes part in the recordings of the song "We Are the World".

Bruce wins in most categories at the Rolling Stone Magazine's vote at the end of the year.

Bruce and the band play in Australia for the first time. There are seven more shows afterwards. For the first time he gets negative criticism from journalists, as his bodyguards send away some local reviewers by force at the airport.

The Brisbane show in Australia is Springsteen's very first outdoor concert outside a stadium.

The band plays in Tokyo - for the first time, - and there are seven more shows in Japan , all of them with huge success.

Back in the United States again, Bruce marries actress Julianne Philips at a private party in Oregon .

The European Tour goes on in Slane Castle , in Ireland , where 100 000 fans see the concert in a park. This show is a very good example of the Bruce-mania which sweeps Europe in 1985.

On Independence Day, the band plays in front of 70 000 people at the Wembley Stadium in London . The show kicks off with the acoustic version of "Independence Day", and later Steve Van Zandt also appears. Bruce introduces him as Little Steven.

The last stage of the "Born in the USA "- tour starts in Washington , D.C.

Bruce plays eight gigs in a row in New Jersey's Giants Stadium, all shows are sold out with 80 000 people attending.

Bruce, joined by some other rock singers, sings in Little Steven's anti-apartheid song called " Sun City ".

The "Born in the U.S.A. " tour comes to an end with four shows at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles . The encore of the last show is one hour long, and ends with "Glory Days". During the 15 month long tour, Springsteen becomes one of the world's greatest rock stars.

The last gig is available on the bootleg called "It's too late to stop now".

Bruce is voted again as "Best Artist of the Year" by the magazine Rolling Stone, but he practically wins in every other category, too.

Bruce hits the stage again when he performs with some of the E Streeters at a charity concert held in Freehold, in favor of the plant 3M, "sentenced" to liquidation.

Bruce refuses a 12 million dollar offer from Chrysler's president, Lee Iacocca who would like to use the song "Born in the U.S.A in his campaign."

A live album is under preparations, so Bruce spends his time selecting and remixing some songs.

The first true acoustic show since 1972: Bruce plays at Neil Young's Bridge Benefit concert. Danny Federici and Nils Lofgren play with him. It's this occasion that "Born in the U.S.A. " in its original acoustic blues version is played for the first time.

The Album "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live 75-85" comes out in 5 bakelite discs and in 3 CDs. Its success is incredible, the live version of the songs gains new fans for Bruce.

Bruce is voted "Artist of the Year" for the third time in a row on Rolling Stone's vote.

Bruce performs with Roy Orbison on the occasion of a party at the Rock'n'Roll's Hall of Fame.

Bruce works on his next album after "Born in the U.S.A. ", in his home studio in Rumson , New Jersey . Most of the time he works alone, and sometimes members of the E Street Band join him for the recordings, but the band as a whole doesn't contribute for either of the songs.

"Tunnel of Love" comes out. Everyone is expecting the second part of "Born in the U.S.A.", in order to benefit the most of the situation, but Bruce instead - according to his wont -publishes a record with sad mood, restrained in its sounding, all about love, loneliness, and relationships. Many arises the question whether Springsteen's private life is in crisis. Sellings of the new album don't even come close to Born in the U.S.A.'s, but still it qualifies as a double platinum album on the day it comes out, and after 3 weeks it takes the lead on the top lists.

No tour for the moment, but there are already some news circulating about possible concerts to come. It also comes up that Bruce will go to a solo acoustic tour, without the E Street Band.

Bruce takes part in Bob Dylan's Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame party.

After being announced at the beginning of the month, the "Tunnel of Love Express Tour" kicks off in Worchester. Besides the members of the E Street Band, there is a horn section on the stage as well.

The tour crosses the United States , the stadiums are full, tickets are sold out everywhere.

The "Express Tour" goes on in Europe , in Turin , Italy . Two days later even the beautiful Spanish Steps, in the center of Rome , hosts a concert.

During the stadium concerts in Rome , a paparazzi shoots a photo of Bruce, in underwear, holding Patti in his arms. The photo confirms rumors that are in the air since the beginning of the tour: Bruce and Patti have a love affair.

Bruce performs four acoustic songs at an anti-racism charity concert in Paris . Only Clarence Clemons joins him on stage from the E Street Band.

A radio station broadcasts a Bruce show for the first time since 1978: the Stockholm gig can be heard live all over the world. During the concert, Springsteen announces his participation in the "Amnesty International Human Rights Now!" tour in the second part of the year.

For the first time in his career, Bruce plays behind the iron curtain: 180 000 people see his concert in East-Berlin. This is the biggest crowd he has ever performed for. Most of the show is broadcasted live on the East-German TV.

Bruce plays three songs with a street musician on the streets of Copenhagen . A lucky passer-by records the scene with a video camera.

The "Tunnel of Love Express Tour" ends in Barcelona . The planned gig in New Jersey cannot be realized: this is the first tour when Bruce doesn't play in his home state. And this is the last tour with the E Street Band until 1999. He plays a quite stable setlist which was not typical of him before. Though step by step, more and more old hits replace the less known songs from Tunnel of Love .

The "Human Rights Now! Tour" hits the road at the Wembley Arena, in London . Besides Bruce, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman are the performers. Bruce and the E Street Band close the show with their 80 minute set.

The "Human Rights Now! Tour" arrives at Budapest !!! The sold out show at the Népstadion has a great success, and Bruce tells some sentences in Hungarian as well. The setlist is the following:

01 Born in the USA
02 The promised land
03 Cover me
04 Working on the highway
05 The river
06 Cadillac ranch
07 War
08 My hometown
09 Thunder road
10 Hungry heart
11 Glory days
12 Born to run
13 Raise your hand
14 Chimes of Freedom
15 Get up, stand up

He performs "The River" with Sting, "Chimes of Freedom" with Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman, and for "Get Up Stand Up", Hobo from Hungary also joins them.

You can find more articles about this show under Archives; the bootleg CD named "A Little Bit of Heaven Here in Budapest " features the 15 songs played, and you can download its cover from the "Hungarian Hearts" link on the Menu.

Besides Europe , the tour reaches Africa , Asia , North- and South-America.

The Tour finishes with the huge show in Buenos Aires , broadcasted later on radio and on TV as well. The E Street Band plays next together again only in 1999.

Bruce and Julianne are officially divorced.

Another club-performance summer for Bruce: he performs several times mostly in Jersey Shore bars.

Bruce celebrates his 40th birthday at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park , where his mother and several members of the E Street Band hits the stage.

Bruce gives a phone call to all members of the E Street Band to tell them that he is going to record his next album with other musicians, and that they can set up their own single career if they want to. In fact, this means the break-up of the band.

The work on the new album gets started in Los Angeles . Bruce records music with musicians other than the E Street Band for the first time since 1973. In December, they record songs like "Trouble in Paradise " and "Viva Las Vegas" (which is later gets on an Elvis tribute album). Among the musicians, there is also Jeff Porcaro, who is going to work with Springsteen on his next album as well.

Bruce works on his new album.

Springsteen works on a new album. Besides the new musicians, there is only one "E Streeter" left in the new group, Roy Bittan, in order to help Bruce get out of his artistic crisis.

Bruce and Patti move to Beverly Hills ; in the next years they commute between New Jersey and Los Angeles .

Their first son, Evan James Springsteen is born.

An acoustic performance in Los Angeles with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt is a great success, on the occasion of the charity concert organized for the Christic Institute. Besides the old hits among the songs performed, there are some new compositions as well.

Bruce works on his new albums.

Bruce and Patti get married.

The "Human Touch" album is basically ready to be released in December, but in those days Bruce writes the song "Living Proof" which inspires a co-album.

At the Stone Pony in New Jersey, Bruce meets Little Steven, Jon Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny in order to record a live video called "It's Been a Long Time" for Southside's new album.

The second baby, Jessica Rae is born.

On the same day, the two albums "Human Touch" and " Lucky Town " come out.

Bruce starts the rehearsals for the new tour with the following musicians: Roy Bittan (keyboards), Shane Fontayne (guitar), Tommy Sims (bass), Zachary Alford (drums), and later Bobby King, Crystal Taliefero, Carol Dennis, Angel Rogers, Cleo Kennedy, Gia Ciambotti and Patti Scalfa join them on vocals.

For the first time, the new band performs at an exclusive concert organized for Sony's employees at the Bottom Line in New York .

The first public performance of the new formation in the Saturday Night Live studio in New York, which is in turn Bruce's very first live TV performance as well.

Through a "warm-up show" in California , the whole world can taste the atmosphere of the new tour. The setlist is based mainly on the new material, but they play a lot of old hits, too.

Bruce is a little bit more consolidated than before, and the mood of the show is quite happy even though it is already obvious that the new albums are not very successful on the toplists.

After four years, Springsteen is on tour again: the series start in Stockholm , Sweden . The show lasts three hours again, but the fans' reception is mixed: many of them would have preferred to hear more old songs. One of the great missing hits is "Born to Run", for the first time since 1975, but it gets back to the setlist again on the 20th, in Milan .

At the end of the European leg of the tour, Bruce returns to perform in New Jersey again, for the first time since 1985. Eleven shows follow in the Meadowlands Arena, and more and more old songs turn up in each show.

Bruce gives a concert for the MTV. Originally it was intended to be a part of MTV's Unplugged series, but right after the first song - "Red Headed Woman" - Bruce "plugges in" and plays one of his usual rock concerts.

Bruce's MTV Plugged show is on the air for the first time.

The North-American leg of the tour is finished is Lexington .

Bruce gives a speech on the occasion of Creedence Clearwater Revival's introduction into the Rock 'n' Roll's Hall of Fame, and he also performs with John Fogerty.

A "warm-up show" for the new European tour with the band in Red Bank, New Jersey brings a lot of unexpected changes in Bruce's live performance. Besides that he starts to play again songs that he hasn't performed since the 70ies, he presents some unreleased songs, too. Most of the show is solo and acoustic, foretelling the direction where Bruce intends to move in the future.

The European tour starts in Glasgow , Scotland . The song " Lucky Town " is broadcasted live on MTV. This time the show starts with three acoustic songs, and in its entirety, there are a lot of changes compared with the '92 tour.

The "In Concert - MTV (Un)Plugged" is in the stores, but only in Europe , and in limited edition.

The European tour finishes in Osly , Norway .

Two charity shows in New Jersey and in New York City . The one at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey is called "Concert to Fight Hunger", and it turns out to be a four hour long party with a lot of great stars and a surprising setlist. Among the guests, there are Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg and Little Steven. With Roy Bittan, we could see more than half of the E Street Band together again, showing us a little ray of hope (not unfoundedly).

Bruce appears in David Letterman's TV show for the first time, and he performs "Glory Days" with Paul Schafer's band.

The second charity show is at the same the last performance with that period's band.

Bruce spends the rest of the year "withdrawn", but dedicates his time in his little home studio to a new composition. He writes this song at the request of the film director, Jonathan Demme: he asks Bruce to write a song for his new movie " Philadelphia ". The song is called "Streets of Philadelphia", and it turns out to be the decade's most successful Springsteen song.

The third baby, Sam Ryan is born.

Bruce sings "Come Together" with Axl Rose at a Rock 'n' Roll's Hall of Fame party.

Bruce wins the Golden Globe Award for "Streets of Philadelphia".

Bruce wins the Oscar for "Streets of Philadelphia," and he performs the song with his '92-93 tour band live at the Oscar Ceremony.

Bruce works on a new album which will eventually never be released. Together with his old friend, Joe Grushecky he works on Grushecky's new album "American Babylon" in the studios.

The "Streets of Philadelphia" wins the category of best motion picture song at the MTV Music Awards, and Springsteen performs the song live again. He announces that his new album is practically ready, but this is the one that will eventually never ever be released.

Instead of Bruce's unfinished 1994 album, a record called "Greatest Hits" comes out. Bruce with a sudden decision contacts the members of the E Street Band, and also Little Steven, asking them to record a couple of new songs. The band gathers in the Hit Factory in New York , for the first time since 1984, to work together again. These recordings will appear on the video called "Blood Brothers" as well.

The "Greatest Hits" period is over.

Bruce and the reunited band perform at the Tramps in New York in front of an invited audience, in order to record the video of the song "Murder Incorporated". The recording session turns into a two hour long concert where they play a lot of old songs.

"Greatest Hits" comes out.

"Greatest Hits" debuts on the first place of the Billboard Chart.

In the afternoon, Bruce and the band appear in David Letterman's Late Night Show which is broadcast on the same night, and in the evening they give a two hour long show for the employees of Sony in the Sony Studios in New York . During this period, Bruce gives several TV interviews.

Bruce starts to record an acoustic folk album which he finishes in August.

Bruce performs at the Cafe Eckstein in Berlin , Germany , where they record the video for "Hungry Heart". Wolfgang Niedecken and other German musicians form the background band, and the recording session turns to be an hour long concert. During the summer, Bruce and his family spend their holiday on the Canaries with Tom Hanks and his family.

The E Street Band reunites again for the opening concert of the Rock 'n'Roll's Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland . Although there are some rumors about a planned Greatest Hits tour, this is the E Street Band's last performance together until 1999.

For a week, Bruce becomes the member of Joe Grushecky's group, the Houserockers under the name "October Assault". They play six gigs in small clubs; Bruce helps his friend promote his new album "American Babylon".

Bruce is on stage again at Neil Young's acoustic Bridge Benefit concert. This is the first time he plays two new songs from his soon to be released new album "The Ghost of Tom Joad".

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" comes out. On the same day, Bruce starts his acoustic tour where he plays in small theaters and congress centers. The tour hits the road in New Brunswick , and the first American shows present a quite sad and dark mood.

The tour continues in the U.S. and in Canada . In this month, two movies come out in the theatres with Bruce's songs: in Sean Penn's "The Crossing Guard" a 1994 song called "Missing" can be heard, while for Tim Robbins' "Dead Man Walking," Bruce writes the title song.

The solo acoustic tour continues in Europe , its first stop is in Frankfurt , Germany .

March 3

The video "Blood Brother" - from the "Greatest Hits" period - is shown for the first time on American TV channels.

Bruce interrupts his European tour to get back to the United States to perform "Dead Man Walking" at the Oscar Ceremony. The song - despite its nomination - doesn't win the award.

The European tour finishes in Madrid .

After the summer break, the Tom Joad tour restarts in the U.S.A.

Bruce takes part in a Woody Guthrie tribute concert, performing some of his own and Woody Guthrie's songs.

Bruce plays at a charity concert in his old high school in Freehold. Only Freehold residents can attend the show, and hear the new song called "Freehold". l

Bruce gives three charity concerts at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park . He plays many of his oldest songs which he hardly ever performed at his earlier shows.

The last show of the Tom Joad Tour in the United States , in Charlotte.

Springsteen plays some acoustic concerts in Japan as well, three of them in Tokyo .

The tour reaches Australia . Ten shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" wins the Grammy Award in the category of "Best Folk Album". Bruce performs the song at the award ceremon

Bruce gets the Polar Music Prize, a Swedish award, which is one of the most important prizes in the world besides the Nobel-prize. The King of Sweden is also present at the prize ceremony, and Bruce performs two songs at the official dinner.

The last leg of the Tom Joad Tour starts in Vienna , Austria .

Bruce plays for the first time in Poland , in two concerts in Warsaw .

Bruce plays in Prague . This is his first appearance in the Czech Republic ,and he also meets President Havel.

After his show in Naples , Springsteen appears on the balcony of the theatre, and he sings " Thunder Road " for the fans waiting for him.

The Tom Joad Tour is over with two concerts in Paris . Since its start in 1995, the show's atmosphere is getting better and better, and towards the end of the tour, several times Bruce is even fouling around.

Bruce plays with the Wallflowers at the MTV Music Awards in Los Angeles .

Bruce is working on a new folk album, which will never be released.

Bruce sings the song "The Times They Are 'a-Changing" with President Clinton in the Kennedy Center Honors for a Bob Dylan tribute record.

Bruce performs on the "Come Together" show in Red Bank, New Jersey , on the occasion of a charity concert organized in favor of a policeman, named Patrick King. Besides Jon Bon Jovi, several artists from New Jersey appear in the show: Southside Johnny, Little Steven, Bobby Bandiera, Clarence Clemons, Max Wienberg, Patti Scialfa.

Bruce's father dies.

Bruce is working on a box set which contains songs never released before. The box is originally planned to be a 6 CD set, but later it is cut back to 4 CDs.

Bruce appears in court in London in the case of the release of his 1972 demos under the name "Before the Fame".

The "Tracks" box set comes out.

At the first stop of the European press tour, Bruce mentions that he is planning a reunion tour with the E Street Band.

News about the E Street Band reunion tour appear in the press.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration, Bruce performs at the Amnesty International Show in Paris . He plays "Born in the U.S.A. ", "No Surrender" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" in acoustic solo. Among the performers we find Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman, too.

Bruce plays "Working on the Highway" in Conan O'Brien's Late Night Show, before luring E-Streeter Max Weinberg back to New Jersey for the upcoming rehearsals for the Reunion Tour.

Warming-up shows at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park , Steve Van Zandt is again an official member of the band.

Bruce is invited to the Rock 'n'Roll's Hall of Fame Ceremony at the Hotel Waldorf Astoria, in New York City . Bono, singer of the band U2 gives the introductory speech for Bruce. Bruce himself calls up the members of the E Street Band on stage to share this precious moment with them. Later they play four songs for those present at the event. This is the band's first public performance together since September 1995.

Bruce and the band play two "warm-up gigs" at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park . Bruce calls these concerts as "the rebirth of the E Street Band".

The tour actually kicks off in Barcelona , Spain .

"18 Tracks", a one CD essential of the 4CD Tracks comes out, with three brand new songs.

The E Street Band crosses Europe with their tour: 36 shows in 26 cities in 13 countries.

A 15 nights concert-series start in New Jersey . Each show is sold out in only one day. In total 308.000 people see Bruce and the band playing in his home state.

The tour runs from New Jersey to some lucky towns on the East Coast.

Bruce turns 50 years old.

The closing part of the 1999 leg of the tour continues on the West Coast and in the Mid-West. After a three night stand in Oakland , Patti Scialfa's eardrum gets hurt during a flight, so she has to skip the remaining weeks of the tour.

The 1999 tour finishes in Minneapolis , but Bruce informs the fans that the tour continues in 2000.

Although Bruce is nominated for the Grammy in two categories with the song "The Promise", at the end it is the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lenny Kravtiz who win the awards.

With the name "Til We Outnumber 'Em", a concert is recorded in Cleveland : it is going to be put on the market on a Woody Guthrie tribute CD. On the CD, there are some Springsteen songs never released before: "Riding in My Car" and "Plane Wreck at los Gatos ".

At an Atlanta gig, Bruce plays two new songs: "Further On Up the Road" and "American Skin (41 Shots)". The latter one is about a transgression committed by the police: some New York City cops kill Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant with 41 shots. Bruce is attacked in public by New York City 's mayor Robert Giuliani and some members of the New York City Police Department. The police announce that they are going to boycott Bruce's concerts. But Bruce keeps on playing "American Skin", it remains on the setlist for all 10 shows at the Madison Square Garden in New York between June 12 and July 1.

The date of the grand-finale of the tour, the last show of the Reunion Tour at the Madison Square Garden . Rarities like "The Promise", "E Street Shuffle" and "Lost in the Flood" are played. Bruce performs the song called "Blood Brothers" with lyrics different from the original, this version is available as the supplementary maxi CD of the Live in New York City DVD.

Some gigs in New Jersey with the old friend Joe Grushecky.

The last official Springsteen concerts of the Millennium at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park , where Bruce appears on stage on the occasion of two Christmas charity shows helping eight different New Jersey charity organizations. At these concerts - where the band Max Weinberg 7 also appeared and several Jersey stars played as well (Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera and the whole E Street Band) - the world premiere of a brand new song "My City of Ruins" takes place, which is dedicated to Asbury Park and New Jersey .

"Born to Run" wins at the Rolling Stone magazine's website vote for "Classical Pop Song" category. The "American Skin" gets the second place in the category of "Best Single" voted by the critics. It is an interesting decision since this song hasn't been officially released yet.

The albums "Born to Run" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town" get in "Top 100 Albums of the History of Rock" of the music channel VH1. The first one is the 27th, the second is the 68th on the list.

Bruce's first DVD "Blood Brothers" comes out. Its content is the same as the 1996 VHS release with the same title. "Bruce Springsteen: The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000" is also released, which contains some new songs besides the previous VHS material.

Bruce loses a lawsuit for the domain name "brucespringsteen.com".

According to the decision of the court, the owner of the domain has his legal right to possess this name, and Springsteen is not able to prove the distrustful use of it. So Springsteen's official website starts to work at www.brucespringsteen.net .

The long time awaited live album "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live in New York City " comes out. It debuts on the 5th place in the States, 9th in England and 1st in Italy .

Bruce gets on the schedule of the channel HBO with a two hour long video which was recorded at the last show at the Madison Square Garden in New York . At midnight on the day of the release of the album, Bruce surprises his fans waiting in front of the record store in Red Bank, New Jersey . He spends two hours socializing with them, signing autographs, taking pictures with the fans.

Bruce and the band are nominated for six Emmy Awards, and then Mr. and Mrs. Springsteen show up at the premiere night of the movie called "Greenfingers" whose soundtrack includes the song "If I Should Fall Behind," too.

Bruce appears at the "Clearwater Festival", where he plays an acoustic set at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park .

Terrorist attack against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. This event determines the next years.

On the 21 st , Bruce opens the " America - A Tribute to Heroes" Telethon charity TV transmission. The opening song is "My City of Ruins" with a minor modification in the lyrics compared to the December 2000 version. Springsteen dedicates the song to those dead in the tragedy of the WTC, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania .

Bruce, together with Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, the U2, Dave Matthews, Paul Simon and others, takes part in a charity concert. It comes out on CD and DVD, too. The date is October 19 and 20, the place is the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey , the occasion is to help the families of the local victims of the tragedy of 9/11.

"Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live in New York City " comes out on DVD. Besides the original HBO stuff, it also includes 80 minutes of new material cut from the shows at the Madison Square Garden .

On the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and on the 8th of December, Bruce plays in Asbury Park on his already usual Christmas show.

In comparison with the two concerts in 2000, there are 5 Christmas shows in 2001.

On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll, the "Life Magazine" selects the 100 greatest performers in the history of rock and roll, Bruce is the 15th.

Gossip is spread about a new album and a world tour. Interviews with Steve Van Zandt, Nils and Clarence prove that studio works are under way in Atlanta and New York .

A great event in Bruce's life: the very first Hungarian Bruce Springsteen website starts to work. It is this one.

April 13-14

Springsteen shows up at the Stone Pony, in Asbury Park .

At the Rumson County Day School , Bruce performs " Darlington County ". The lines "Our Pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers / For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you" remain unchanged in the lyrics.

Bruce, at a hearing organized for Sony employees, performs 5 new songs from his new album to be published soon. These are "Mary's Place", "Nothing Man", "The Rising", "Lonesome Day" and "Into the Fire".

Bruce, at a hearing organized for Sony employees, performs 5 new songs from his new album to be published soon. These are "Mary's Place", "Nothing Man", "The Rising", "Lonesome Day" and "Into the Fire".

Springsteen shows up in Freehold, at the opening ceremony of a park accepting the invitation of Gordon " Tex " Vinyard. This gentleman helped financially Springsteen's first band "the Castiles " in the late Sixties.

Springsteen shows up in Freehold, at the opening ceremony of a park accepting the invitation of Gordon " Tex " Vinyard. This gentleman helped financially Springsteen's first band "the Castiles " in the late Sixties.

"The Rising" comes out, and soon reaches the first place on the selling charts.

This is the first studio rock album since 1992 and the first real album made with the E Street Band since 1984. The new producer is Brendan O'Brien.

Bruce and the band performs in "The Today Show" which broadcasts live a mini concert from Asbury Park , New Jersey . They play four songs at the Convention Hall: "The Rising", "Into the Fire", "Lonesome Day" and "Glory Days".

In the next two weeks, a real media-appearance serial is waiting for Bruce and the band.

They show up in the David Letterman Show, in the Night Line on VH-1, on the magazines Time and Rolling Stone.

On August 5, a week after its release "The Rising" is on the top of the LP selling competition in the United States , Canada , Germany , Italy , Spain , Belgium , Finland , Sweden , Norway , Denmark and England .

The 2002-2003 Rising World Tour kicks off at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey . The next two scenes are Washington D.C. and the Madison Square Garden in New York .

Bruce plays a surprisingly long 'mini-concert' at the MTV Video Music Awards Ceremony, in pouring rain, at the Rose Center in New York.

"Springsteen: The Troubador of the Highway" exhibition opens at the " Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum ", at the University of Minnesota . The exhibition later moves to other cities as well. At the opening Springsteen appears in person.

A record called "Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash" is released. Bruce plays the song "Give My Love to Rose" on it.

The tour reaches Europe , on the 14 th , the first stop is the Bercy Arena in Paris .

Bruce plays "Backstreets" for the first time on this tour here.

The two music channels, MTV and VH1 broadcast live and later also a recut version of the first part of the show in Barcelona on the 16th. Many of this gig's songs later end up on different official CDs and DVDs. Particularly remarkable the solo version of "Spirit in the Night", played by Bruce alone in on the piano because at a certain point he forgot the lyrics, but ingeniously he brings the song along causing general laughter.

Bruce and the E Street Band delay some shows for 2003 because of the eye-operation of Clarence.

Five Grammy nominations for Bruce. Bruce previously won 7 of them.

Bruce gives two charity acoustic concerts at the Theatre in Somerville . They are in favour of the Doubletake Magazine, where the audience is actively involved, in some sort of a conversational form. A new song "The Wall" is performed both nights.

Springsteen wins three Grammies in the following categories: Best Male Rock Voice, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album. In all three cases "The Rising" is awarded. Bruce performs the song at the ceremony, together with the "London Calling" by The Clash. Steven Van Zandt, Elvis Costello, Tony Kanal and David Grohl play with him.

The tour continues on the 28th.

The first concert ever with the E Street Band in Atlantic City , New Jersey . "Jersey Girl", the rarely played "Roll of the Dice" and the Beatles classic "Tell Me Why" are performed.

An interview with Bruce on his farm in New Jersey for the Australian program called "60 Minutes".

Bruce and the band play in Australia and New Zealand.

The tour's next European leg starts in Rotterdam , The Netherlands, the place is the Feyenoord Stadium.

Three days after the Vienna concert, the European leg of the "Rising Tour" finishes at the San Siro Stadium in Milan with a very memorable show: in the second part, a huge downpour and lightning fall on the enthusiastic crowd, so among the songs played, besides "Follow that Dream" and "Growin' Up" there is also "Who'll Stop the Rain".. The show closes with a 10 minute long "Rosalita".

Bruce and the band are in Jersey again, at the Giants Stadium.

Six sold out concerts in a row, followed by three others in August.

Bruce plays at the brand new Eagles football stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. Three sold out shows, in front of more than 150.000 fans. A lot of real "delicacies" on the program: "Night", "Lost In the Flood", "Something in the Night", "Trapped", "For You", "Spirit in the Night", "Tougher Than the Rest", "I'm a Rocker", "Pretty Flamingo", "I'm Going Down", "Incident on the 57th Street", "Saint in the City", "Be True", "From Small Things".

Rumors start about the release of a double Essential Springsteen selection album in November, and according to the news even before Christmas a new DVD will show up in the stores, with the title "Live in Barcelona ".

According to the votes of 10.500 selected fans, the book called Zagat lists the 1000 most popular albums ever. On the top of the list there is no more Beatles, but Bruce Springsteen, with his album "Born to Run". And even "Darkness on the Edge of Town" makes it to the top 10.

The tour finishes with three sold out shows at the Shea Stadium in New York . Several rarities are played, just like in all of the last 10-15 gigs of the more than 100 show long tour which attracted more than 3 million people around the world.

"The Essential Bruce Springsteen Selection" LP is released. It is a double CD with the essence of Bruce's life work, and also a disc with unreleased songs and rarities on it.

"Live In Barcelona" DVD is out. This is the first full-length Springsteen-concert released officially ( October 16, 2002 , Palau St. Jordi, Barcelona ).

Bruce dedicates the first half of the year to recover from the Rising era, and also helps in the works of the second solo album of his wife, Patti Scialfa. On stage he appears first in March, he inaugurates Jackson Browne in the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame, and one day later he takes part at the brand new Fame's concert in New York .

Patti's second album, the 23th Street Lullaby is out, Bruce shows up at a few dedications and a few parties as a guest. Also as a jump-in, he jams with the old friend, Joe Grushecky at Stone Pony.

Things speed up a bit, by the beginning of August the news is confirmed that Springsteen and the E-Street Band also takes part at the Vote for Change tour, the series of 5 concerts at the U.S., the purpose of which is to campaign for the change of the current government. Bruce explains his decision at his official web-site, and is interviewed several times on this topic.

The Vote for Change tour is going in great atmosphere, though - as it later turns out - its effect falls behind, the cream of the American musical life (besides Bruce, Bonnie Raitt, the Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks, the Bright Eyes, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, the Jurassic 5, the Keb' Mo', Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, the Pearl Jam and the R.E.M.) campaigns in vain against Bush, and the president is reelected later that year.

At the tour, Springsteen and the E-Street Band appear in one show with the R.E.M. and the Bright Eyes, and the shows are always finished by Bruce. The Boss also participates in a few R.E.M. songs as a guest.

The final concert of the Vote for Change tour takes place. The whole party is broadcasted live by the American Sundance TV Channel with the title "The National Anthem". Two days later, considering the huge success of the tour, Bruce gets on stage again at a bonus party at the Meadlowands Arena in Jersey with a small band but with constant vigor.

Maybe the most prominent political manifestation of Bruce's career: during Kerry's election campaign in Madison , in front of 80,000 Democratic voters, he plays the songs, The Promised Land and No Surrender - which became the most played song during Kerry's campaign - with acoustic guitar and mouth organ accompaniment, and in a short speech, he also praises the Democratic politician.

Bruce appears - the fifth year in a row - at the Light of Day charity concert, which is organized to help people suffering from Parkinson disease. It was an hour and a half party with Joe Grushecky and his band.

For the first time, Bruce posts his own cover to the internet, the opening song of all the concerts of the Vote for Change tour, the American anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) can be downloaded from his official web-site, the www.brucespringsteen.net.

November 10

The '92 MTV Plugged concert comes out on official DVD.

On the 2nd, again a great atmosphere charity concert, the Flood Aid, in Pittsburgh , together with Grushecky, and the year ends up with the usual Bruce and his Friends Christmas jam. Two great parties on the 19 th afternoon and night with Bobby Bandeira, the Juke wind and the very extra setlists. This time the scene is Harry's Roadhouse in New Jersey .