Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature the E Street Band, his backing band since 1972. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, combining commercially successful rock with poetic, socially conscious lyrics that reflect working class American life. He is known for his energetic concerts, some of which last more than four hours.

Springsteen released his first two albums, ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' and ''The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle'', in 1973. Although both were well-received by critics, neither earned him a large audience. He changed his style and achieved worldwide popularity with ''Born to Run'' (1975). Springsteen followed with ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' (1978) and ''The River'' (1980), Springsteen's first album to top the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. After the solo acoustic album ''Nebraska'' (1982), he recorded ''Born in the U.S.A.'' (1984) with the E Street Band, which became his most commercially successful album and the 23rd-best selling album of all time as of 2024. All seven singles from ''Born in the U.S.A.'' reached the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the title track. Springsteen mostly hired session musicians for the recording of his next three albums, ''Tunnel of Love'' (1987), ''Human Touch'' (1992), and ''Lucky Town'' (1992). He reassembled the E Street Band for ''Greatest Hits'' (1995), and recorded the acoustic album ''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' (1995) and the EP ''Blood Brothers'' (1996) solo.

Springsteen then released ''The Rising'' (2002), which was dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks. He released two more folk albums, ''Devils & Dust'' (2005) and ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'' (2006), his first cover album. Springsteen followed with two more albums with the E Street Band, ''Magic'' (2007) and ''Working on a Dream'' (2009). His next albums, ''Wrecking Ball'' (2012) and ''High Hopes'' (2014), topped album charts worldwide. In 2017, 2018 and 2021, Springsteen performed the critically acclaimed show ''Springsteen on Broadway'', in which he performed songs and told stories from his 2016 autobiography; an album version from the Broadway performances was released in 2018. He released the solo album ''Western Stars'' in 2019, ''Letter to You'' with the E Street Band in 2020, and a solo covers album entitled ''Only the Strong Survive'' in 2022. ''Letter to You'' reached No. 2 in the US, making Springsteen the first artist to release a top-five album in six consecutive decades.

One of the album era's most prominent musicians, Springsteen has sold more than 71 million albums in the U.S. and over 140 million worldwide, making him the 27th-best-selling music artist of all time as of 2024. His accolades include 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, was named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Springsteen 23rd on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", describing him as "the embodiment of rock and roll". Provided by Wikipedia