In 1975 a pop loving beach boy made his last-gasp shot at stardom – an album called BORN TO RUN! The rest, as they say, is history.
At a time when other ageing rock stars have yielded to burn-out or self-parody, Bruce Springsteen has held his place as a cultural icon. His earth-shattering albums like BORN IN THE USA (which spent 136 weeks in the British charts) still enjoy raucous airplay. Meanwhile, Springsteen has carved out a second career as a social critic, balladeer and purveyor of soundtracks. His work, which has been covered by artists from Frank Sinatra to Sonic Youth, sells a total of 15 million albums annually. His concerts are instant sell-outs the world over. Springsteen’s distinctive tearaway anthems and foghorn voice are among pop’s most enduring sounds. From cult figure to pin-up (aka ‘The Boss’) to mega-selling guru, Springsteen is the last true rock star. Christopher Sandford’s is the first full-length biography in ten years.
At a time when other ageing rock stars have yielded to burn-out or self-parody, Bruce Springsteen has held his place as a cultural icon. His earth-shattering albums like BORN IN THE USA (which spent 136 weeks in the British charts) still enjoy raucous airplay. Meanwhile, Springsteen has carved out a second career as a social critic, balladeer and purveyor of soundtracks. His work, which has been covered by artists from Frank Sinatra to Sonic Youth, sells a total of 15 million albums annually. His concerts are instant sell-outs the world over. Springsteen’s distinctive tearaway anthems and foghorn voice are among pop’s most enduring sounds. From cult figure to pin-up (aka ‘The Boss’) to mega-selling guru, Springsteen is the last true rock star. Christopher Sandford’s is the first full-length biography in ten years.
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Reviews
Sandford provides a convincingly complex portrait.
This is a long-overdue biography of one of rock's most fascinating figures and Christopher Sandford has a deft turn of phrase--Springsteen's bodyguards "made Elvis's look like the Algonquin set"--but it is not up to the mark of Sandford's earlier works on
Not just rigorously researched and readable, the narrative is as powered and polished as one of The Boss
UNCUT