Bruce Springsteen delivered a thrilling finale to the Born to Run 50th anniversary symposium at Monmouth University’s Pollack Theatre, performing with a unique combination of original and current E Street Band members that had never shared a stage together before.
As per Rolling Stone, the rare performance brought together musicians from different eras of the E Street Band, creating what Springsteen called “the full E Street Band right here!” to the 700-capacity audience. Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, David Sancious, Roy Bittan, Ernest Carter, Max Weinberg, and longtime saxophonist Ed Manion formed this exceptional lineup, merging the pre-1975 jazz-leaning incarnation with the version that has existed since the mid-seventies.
The two-song set opened with “Thunder Road”, followed by “Born to Run”, during which Carter executed the complex drum fill that Weinberg has previously admitted gave him trouble. The college auditorium transformed into a stadium atmosphere as fans crowded the aisles and enthusiastically shouted “tramps like us” when prompted.
This performance capped off a day-long symposium hosted by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Centre for American Music, featuring panels with key figures from the album’s creation.
Participants included E Street Band members, engineer Jimmy Iovine, former and current managers Mike Appel and Jon Landau, photographer Eric Meola who shot the iconic album cover, and various Columbia Records employees involved in the record’s promotion.
During three separate panel appearances before taking the stage, Springsteen shared numerous anecdotes and insights. When asked how “Born to Run” sounds to him five decades later, he responded bluntly: “It sounds like I fucking sound!” He revealed stealing the opening of “Born to Run” from “The Locomotion” and explained how a Peter Pan poster in his bedroom circa 1974 inspired naming the character “Wendy” in the song.
The symposium provided fascinating behind-the-scenes stories from those present during the album’s creation. Former manager Appel recounted his aggressive negotiations with Time and Newsweek editors, implementing a “no interview without the cover” policy. Iovine shared Springsteen’s recent comment after listening to Born to Run during a rainy New Jersey drive: “You peaked!”
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Photographer Meola described the exhaustion visible during the album cover shoot, noting how Clemons and Springsteen were “yawning in half the shots, exhausted. Yet in the other half, they’re exuberant.” Former Columbia Records employees detailed their uphill battle advocating for an artist who wasn’t gaining traction in his earliest years.
The symposium comes during a period of heightened legacy-building for Springsteen, coinciding with the upcoming Bruce biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere and following this year’s Tracks II box set release.
