Who

Rock 'n roll legend Springsteen is still going strong as he approaches his 60th birthday.

Backstory

After several years playing in bar bands on the Jersey Shore, Springsteen landed his first record deal in 1972 when legendary talent scout John Hammond signed him to Columbia Records. Springsteen's first two albums were only modest successes. His 1975 record, Born To Run, made him a sudden superstar: Within a matter of weeks he was selling out arenas, appearing on the covers of Time and Newsweek (in the same week, no less), and earning comparisons to the likes of Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. After three more acclaimed albums, Springsteen had his biggest hit with 1984's Born in the U.S.A.; the record spawned several hit singles including the title track, and even had presidential candidates Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale unsuccessfully scrambling to appropriate him for their respective campaigns. Springsteen dissolved his E Street Band in 1989 and released several poorly-received albums in the 1990s, but he brought the band back for a successful reunion tour in 1999, and in 2002 had a major critical and commercial success with the 9/11-themed The Rising.

Of note

His epic live performances helped Springsteen inspire a devoted fan base that few artists can match. And although he has increasingly abandoned the high-energy rock that made him famous in favor of stripped-down acoustic folk, his fans have remained loyal and upheld his status as one of the biggest draws in rock music. He shows few signs of slowing down: He released the album Devils & Dust in 2005, We Shall Overcome (a set of covers of Pete Seeger songs) in 2006, and the pop-inflected Magic with the E Street Band in late 2007.

Namedrop

The E Street Band has been a good starting point for musicians looking to make it in television. Guitarist Steve Van Zandt is better known these days for his role as Tony's consigliere Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, and drummer Max Weinberg has been the leader of Conan O'Brien's house band since its debut.

Controversy

Springsteen's music has long had a political slant—"Born in the U.S.A." is often mistakenly viewed as a patriotic anthem when it's in fact a protest song about the plight of Vietnam vets—but his politics have gotten him embroiled in controversy in recent years. His 2000 song, "American Skin (41 Shots)," about the death of Amadou Diallo, got him slammed by Rudy Giuliani and Howard Safir, and led the president of the New York's Fraternal Order of Police to call Springsteen a "fucking dirtbag" and a "floating fag." And his active participation in MoveOn.org's Vote for Change campaign during in 2004 election may have lost him fans in the heartland, where his sales have lagged in recent years.

Drama

In 1988, tabloids printed pictures of Springsteen canoodling with E Street Band backup singer Patti Scialfa, and the two soon acknowledged a relationship—despite the fact that Springsteen was still married to first wife Julianne Phillips at the time. When Springsteen dissolved the E Street Band the next year, saxophonist Clarence Clemons blamed Scialfa for the move, leading many fans to cast her as Springsteen's Yoko Ono. The two have been married since 1991, and Clemons later recanted his comments.

Personal

Springsteen and Scialfa have three children, Evan (born 1990), Jessica (born 1991), and Sam (born 1994). The family lives in Rumson and Colts Neck, New Jersey.

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