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Previous Friends News Stories

Steetfighting Man
Did You Know?
For You: A New Bruce Springsteen Book
Born To Run Reviewers: In Their Own Words
Third Rare Pre-E Street Band Document Enters the Collection
Making News in Canada
Devils & Dust Wows
Recommended Reading
Fanzines From 3 Corners of the World

Streetfighting Man

Cover of 'Streetfighting' by David Donaghy Daniel Donaghy grew up wild and restless in inner-city Philadelphia, lying awake night after night watching the El clack past his window and wondering what was going to become of him. The answers he didn't find in his family, neighborhood or teachers, he looked for in art -- especially music and literature. "The first words that ever truly shook my world were lyrics to rock songs, and most of those songs were by Bruce Springsteen. ... The world suddenly got bigger. That's the only way I can say it. His was the first of many voices that made me think of the place I grew up in as only one of many places, as a place I was going to live in only for a little while. Springsteen's music, more than anything else at that time, gave me permission to have big dreams. His music led me to start thinking that some day I was going to be somebody."

Now an Assistant Professor of English at Eastern Connecticut State University, Donaghy recently published "Streetfighting," a collection of poems recreating his Philly adolescence. Included among the poems are several in which Springsteen plays a key role, and others in which Donaghy refers to his music. "Streetfighting" is available through Amazon.com, through BkMk Press at http://web1.umkc.edu/bkmk/catalogue.html, and, soon, for reading at the Asbury Park Public Library.

Did You Know?

Question: who first saw the future of rock and roll and named it Bruce Springsteen? Yes, yes, Jon Landau shared his famous epiphany in the May 22, 1974 issue of The Real Paper, but on March 31, 1973, more than a year before Landau saw the light, Richard Williams, associate editor of Melody Maker in the UK, ended his review of Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ with these words: "[W]hatever happens next in music, I have a strong suspicion that Bruce Springsteen will be a big part of it. He may even be it."

For You: A New Bruce Springsteen Book

Have a Bruce story you've always wanted to tell? That chance encounter with Bruce. An amazing trip to Asbury. The time you took your children (or maybe your parents) to their first Springsteen concert. Strangers you've met at shows who have become lifelong friends. The editors of "For You," a book scheduled for publication in 2006, are inviting you to share those feelings, vignettes and experiences in written commentaries for possible inclusion in the book. Emotionally, politically or from a humanitarian perspective -- anything goes. Editors Lawrence Kirsch and Howard Bloom are also looking for original photography of Bruce to publish in the book, especially from the early years. Visit http://www.foryoubruce.com for more details.

Born To Run Reviewers: In Their Own Words

You have to wonder if some of the critics who reviewed Born To Run when it was released 30 years ago ever had an "oops" moment – as in, "oops, I got that one wrong." Over in the UK, Sounds reviewer Jerry Gilbert described Born To Run as "not an essential album to have in the way that the previous two were." New Musical Express reviewer Roy Carr described Bruce Springsteen’s performance as "moderately-talented" and said the E Street Band’s performance "gets less profound with each successive play."

In contrast, the great gonzo journalist Lester Bangs, who by reputation was able to figure things out five years before anyone else, loved Born To Run. This time, he was far from alone. In the weeks after the official release, Philadelphia’s famed DJ Ed Sciaky, Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone ("Springsteen’s Thousand & One American Nights"), and critics in France, Germany and Spain, among others, overrode the objections from the UK and helped propel Born To Run to its current stature as a timeless classic. To read excerpts from the reviewers in their own words, 30 years ago, click here.

Third Rare Pre-E Street Band Document Enters the Collection

Forty-one years ago, the 15-year-old Bruce Springsteen sat down at a desk in Freehold Regional High School and posed for a photograph that would become one of the most eagerly sought by Springsteen collectors. Now, the high school's 1964 yearbook containing the photograph has been acquired for the Springsteen Special Collection.

Bruce Springsteen, 15 years old, in Freehold Regional High School's 1964 yearbook

Christopher Phillips, president of The Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, said the acquisition was made possible by the support of Friends members and represents "one of the rarest documents from Springsteen's early life to enter the Collection. We thank all members of the Friends for helping us acquire this book."

Making News in Canada

First, there was WORD, the British music magazine which profiled the Springsteen Special Collection in August 2003. Now, Toronto Globe and Mail music columnist Alan Niester makes mention of the Collection in the July 8 issue. Niester's review of the books "Meeting Across the River" and "4th of July, Asbury Park: A History of the Promised Land," includes this paragraph:

The world's largest collection of Springsteen-related books and periodicals (more than 3,800 publications from 35 different countries) is found at the Asbury Park Public Library in the New Jersey town that influenced and shaped much of [Springsteen's] early writing (indeed, Springsteen's debut album was entitled Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.).

The Globe is read by 275,000 readers daily.

Devils & Dust Wows

May issue of the Italian 'Rolling Stone' The instant success of Devils & Dust – No. 1 in 10 countries, with first week U.S. sales doubling those of The Ghost of Tom Joad – set off an avalanche of coverage in major publications around the globe. Rolling Stone Italy and Rolling Stone Germany put Bruce on the cover, as did the Japanese edition of Record Collection. Extensive reviews and tour previews appeared in Italian magazines including Rockstar and JAM, and in MOJO, Q, Uncut, Classic Rock and NME, the staples of UK music publishing. With more expected as the tour rolls on, we invite your help as we add Devils & Dust coverage to the Collection. Please contact us to discuss donations.

Fanzines From 3 Corners of the World

One of the strongest parts of the Springsteen Special Collection is an indispensable selection of fanzines, dating back to Thunder Road, the original Springsteen 'zine which first appeared in 1978. The Collection contains complete runs of Thunder Road, Backstreets and No Surrender from the U.S., Bruceness: The E Street Press and Rosie from Canada; For True Rockers Only, The Ties That Bind, Candy's Room, Jackson Cage, Point Blank, Ragamuffin Gunner, Rendezvous and The Fever from the UK; I'm a Rocker and Thundercrack from Spain; Open All Night from Italy; Reason to Believe and South Side from France; and Rocksy from Norway.

We're searching for numerous other issues, which you can check out on the "want" list. One of our dreams is to finish the runs of Be Street (Japan), Breakout (Canada), Cadillac Ranch (Hungary), Drive All Night (Switzerland), Factory (Finland), Follow That Dream (Italy), For You (Italy), Murder Inc. (US), Pink Cadillac (France), Point Blank (Spain), Springsteen Club Jersey (Germany), The Fever: Bruce Monthly (US), The River (US), The River (Italy), The River (Japan), The Stone Pony (Spain), The Wish (Germany), Thunder Road (Belgium) and Wild & Innocent (Italy).