Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949, and raised in the small town of Freehold, New Jersey. He bought his first guitar in 1963, at the age of 14.
Two years later, he joined his second band, The Castiles (his first band was The Rogues), as vocalist and lead guitarist. In 1966, the band recorded two original songs, both co-written by Springsteen, which were never released. That band broke up in '68, and he formed another group called Earth. In 1969, he joined Steel Mill, and Springsteen soon emerged as the driving force behind the act.
After the demise of Steel Mill in '71, Springsteen formed Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom, and the 10-piece Bruce Springsteen Band, which played to packed houses around the Jersey shore. He decided to take a chance on going the solo route in 1972, and soon came to the attention of producer Mike Appel, who became his manager. Appel brought him to Columbia Records' legendary talent scout John Hammond, who had also signed Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan to the label. Springsteen recorded his debut album with ex-bandmates from his hometown. Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. was released in January 1973, and although it received favorable reviews, it failed to do well commercially. |
