The death of Big Man Clarence Clemons on June 18th is a major blow to music. Best known as Bruce Springsteen’s saxophone player and wing man in the E Street Band, Clarence brought a huge physical presence and charisma. Aged only 69 Clarence is the second member of the E Street Band to pass away; following the death in 2008 of keyboard player Danny Federici aged 58. These were not rock and roll deaths from excessive drugs or alcohol, but the sad and premature toll taken by cancer, stroke and chronic illness. Following Danny’s death the themes of ageing, loss and mortality have been increasingly evident in Springsteen’s writing, and in an interview in 2008 he talked about acknowledging that the band is “a finite proposition”. Despite the interruptions in the 1990s when Springsteen was pursuing solo interests, the E Street Band has a longevity which is rare in the music industry, as he described:
“Forty years working together is a long time. You grew up with these guys. You saw their wrecks, their ruins, their divorces, their kids being born (...) but we were luckier than most. It’s a great source of pride – as late as the end of the last tour, our entire band was all alive and on stage.”
Springsteen will be 62 in September and shows few signs of slowing up or considering retirement, but Clarence’s death will be a great personal loss. His statement at the weekend referred to his “overwhelming sadness” at the death of his “beloved friend and bandmate.” The intensity of his relationship with Clarence was apparent in all their appearances. The now iconic album pictures for Born to Run taken by Eric Meola captured the essence of that relationship, and in a deliberate homage to that history Springsteen recreated the back to back pose with Clemons as they lined up for the half time Super Bowl show in 2009.
Springsteen and E Street are not just musicians; they are story tellers, and entire legends have grown up around particular songs (especially Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out which recounts the tale of the day the “Big Man joined the band”). There are rituals which are a big element of the live shows, not least in the introductions to each band member. Clarence would always be kept until last and Springsteen’s build up became more inflated over the years – “King of the world, master of the universe – do I have to say his name? The Big Man, Clarence Clemons”.
Clarence had been in poor health for some years. Don Reo (the collaborator on Clarence’s 2009 memoir) described him as being “held together with bolts and wires and electrodes” and “filled with plastic and metal in places where bone used to be.” In 2008 he had double knee replacement surgery and despite making it back onto the stage, he was clearly diminished – spending large parts of the shows seated on a huge specially created throne.
Clarence was aware of his failing health, in fact astonishingly so. In his memoir he talked about needing further surgery to deal with back pain, knowing it would mean a lengthy recovery: “But then I’ll be perfect and pain free. Then I’ll probably drop dead.”
The last major tour of the band in 2009 (including a curfew busting extended set at Glastonbury) started out as promotion for the latest album Working on a Dream, but it soon became apparent that this was more about celebrating the back catalogue of material and Springsteen made a feature of taking requests from the crowd – something he had usually spurned. The later shows on the tour became showcases for entire performances of past albums, notably of The River, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born to Run. These shows had an additional emotional intensity and a desperate sense that this was a long farewell. Most people agreed that far from seeming tired or old, the band was playing at its best.
Springsteen has never talked about the band stopping; stating instead that they will keep going “until they open up the ground for us and we march on down the hole.” But Clarence’s death has shifted the point of gravity. Don Reo said in 2009:
“I believe that Bruce will continue to make music until he is simply incapable of doing it anymore. I believe that the E Street Band will continue so long as Bruce and Clarence are able to stand on a stage together.”
They will stand together no more, and there are tear drops on the city.
