The Big Man...RIP

[bobfrombob]

Bruce Springsteen said of Clarence: Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life,his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band.

 

 

 

 

I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops. RIP Big Man.

[Vacant Horizon]

As someone who was raised on Bruce and the E street band since birth (20 years ago), this news was absolutely devastating. Couldn't imagine sadder news. I was lucky enough to see the last show of their last tour (Buffalo, where they did Greetings in its entirety) and if only i had known that was the last time i'd see the E street band with Clarence. The band will go on, but will never be the same.

 

I remember, i was at the show in tampa in 2008, the first E street band show after Danny passed away. It was one of the most powerful things i've ever experienced. Lots of mourning, but a strong sense of celebration of Danny's life. Hopefully Clarence will receive similar treatment, because though the band won't be the same, I think they'll somehow find a way to work through it, and find something good out of this horrible occurrence.

 

Rest in peace Big Man.

 

 

didn't know bruce played piano live on this one. very cool. sad news. rest in peace.

 

As someone who was raised on Bruce and the E street band since birth (20 years ago), this news was absolutely devastating. Couldn't imagine sadder news. I was lucky enough to see the last show of their last tour (Buffalo, where they did Greetings in its entirety) and if only i had known that was the last time i'd see the E street band with Clarence. The band will go on, but will never be the same.

 

I remember, i was at the show in tampa in 2008, the first E street band show after Danny passed away. It was one of the most powerful things i've ever experienced. Lots of mourning, but a strong sense of celebration of Danny's life. Hopefully Clarence will receive similar treatment, because though the band won't be the same, I think they'll somehow find a way to work through it, and find something good out of this horrible occurrence.

 

Rest in peace Big Man.

 

 

didn't know bruce played piano live on this one. very cool. sad news. rest in peace.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Here's one of my favs with Clarence:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHJGSGbhFwk&feature=related

 

How fitting and appropriate. Both Clarence and Danny shone on that one. Circle of life.

[froggie]

bruce speaketh:

 

http://www.undercover.fm/news/15132-bruce-springsteen-and-the-e-street-band-release-statement-about-clarence-clemons

 

 

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have released a statement following the death of their founding member and buddy Clarence Clemons, who passed away Saturday after suffering a stroke last Sunday.

 

The statement reads:

 

It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th.

 

Bruce Springsteen said of Clarence: Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band.

 

Clarence’s last work was on Lady Gaga’s album. That’s him you see in the video for ‘The Edge of Glory’, released just days ago.

[LouieB]

When these things occur it reminds everyone of the fragility of life itself. Who would think that two memebers of the E Street band would be gone at this point. None of the members are that old. As corny as it sounds, each day is imporant despite how routine it may be be. Life is just incredibly short really.

 

(Today is Eric Dolphy's birthday, not that this is related.)

 

LouieB

[Vacant Horizon]

When these things occur it reminds everyone of the fragility of life itself. Who would think that two memebers of the E Street band would be gone at this point. None of the members are that old. As corny as it sounds, each day is imporant despite how routine it may be be. Life is just incredibly short really.

 

(Today is Eric Dolphy's birthday, not that this is related.)

 

LouieB

 

i just wonder how long these guys can keep it up. i guess when your live has been the road, that's what you'll do till the end...dylan, willie...

[embiggen]

a huge loss...RIP Clarence

[choo-choo-charlie]

Joe Posnanski, one of my favorite writers -- and primarily a sportswriter for that matter -- wrote a nice piece on Clarence.

 

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/06/big-man.html

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

This morning, I sat down fully intending to listen to The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle and Born to Run.

 

It is still too raw a wound for me.

[howdjadoo]

http://www.clarenceclemons.com/

[Analogman]

I always get into this song at this time of year:

 

 

It's nice that the state of New Jersey is recognizing Clarence.

 

Bruce Springsteen - Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? (1973)

 

This show took place the day before my 7th birthday.

[choo-choo-charlie]

New Jersey flying flags at half-mast.

 

http://pitchfork.com/news/42967-state-of-new-jersey-flies-flags-at-half-mast-today-in-memory-of-clarence-clemons/

[suites]

I think I may have seen his last public performance at Further concert in Boca, he came out a did a few songs. Sounded great but I heard he was not very well because Bobby had said that he was wheeled to the stage and off the stage. Real big loss for music in general.

[LouisvilleGreg]

Bruce just released the full text of the eulogy he read at the funeral and it is as touching and eloquent as you would imagine. Worth the time to read:

 

 

This is a slightly revised version of the eulogy I delivered for Clarence at his memorial. I'd like to thank all our fans and friends who have comforted us over the past difficult weeks.FOR THE BIG MAN

 

I've been sitting here listening to everyone talk about Clarence and staring at that photo of the two of us right there. It's a picture of Scooter and The Big Man, people who we were sometimes. As you can see in this particular photo, Clarence is admiring his muscles and I'm pretending to be nonchalant while leaning upon him. I leaned on Clarence a lot; I made a career out of it in some ways.

 

Those of us who shared Clarence's life, shared with him his love and his confusion. Though "C" mellowed with age, he was always a wild and unpredictable ride. Today I see his sons Nicky, Chuck, Christopher and Jarod sitting here and I see in them the reflection of a lot of C's qualities. I see his light, his darkness, his sweetness, his roughness, his gentleness, his anger, his brilliance, his handsomeness, and his goodness. But, as you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach. "C" lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess. This was just the nature of your daddy and my beautiful friend. Clarence's unconditional love, which was very real, came with a lot of conditions. Your pop was a major project and always a work in progress. "C" never approached anything linearly, life never proceeded in a straight line. He never went A... B.... C.... D. It was always A... J.... C.... Z... Q... I....! That was the way Clarence lived and made his way through the world. I know that can lead to a lot of confusion and hurt, but your father also carried a lot of love with him, and I know he loved each of you very very dearly.

 

It took a village to take care of Clarence Clemons. Tina, I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for taking care of my friend, for loving him. Victoria, you've been a loving, kind and caring wife to Clarence and you made a huge difference in his life at a time when the going was not always easy. To all of "C's" vast support network, names too numerous to mention, you know who you are and we thank you. Your rewards await you at the pearly gates. My pal was a tough act but he brought things into your life that were unique and when he turned on that love light, it illuminated your world. I was lucky enough to stand in that light for almost 40 years, near Clarence's heart, in the Temple of Soul.

 

So a little bit of history: from the early days when Clarence and I traveled together, we'd pull up to the evening's lodgings and within minutes "C" would transform his room into a world of his own. Out came the colored scarves to be draped over the lamps, the scented candles, the incense, the patchouli oil, the herbs, the music, the day would be banished, entertainment would come and go, and Clarence the Shaman would reign and work his magic, night after night. Clarence's ability to enjoy Clarence was incredible. By 69, he'd had a good run, because he'd already lived about 10 lives, 690 years in the life of an average man. Every night, in every place, the magic came flying out of C's suitcase. As soon as success allowed, his dressing room would take on the same trappings as his hotel room until a visit there was like a trip to a sovereign nation that had just struck huge oil reserves. "C" always knew how to live. Long before Prince was out of his diapers, an air of raunchy mysticism ruled in the Big Man's world. I'd wander in from my dressing room, which contained several fine couches and some athletic lockers, and wonder what I was doing wrong! Somewhere along the way all of this was christened the Temple of Soul; and "C" presided smilingly over its secrets, and its pleasures. Being allowed admittance to the Temple's wonders was a lovely thing.

 

As a young child my son Sam became enchanted with the Big Man... no surprise. To a child Clarence was a towering fairy tale figure, out of some very exotic storybook. He was a dreadlocked giant, with great hands and a deep mellifluous voice sugared with kindness and regard. And... to Sammy, who was just a little white boy, he was deeply and mysteriously black. In Sammy's eyes, "C" must have appeared as all of the African continent, shot through with American cool, rolled into one welcoming and loving figure. So... Sammy decided to pass on my work shirts and became fascinated by Clarence's suits and his royal robes. He declined a seat in dad's van and opted for "C's" stretch limousine, sitting by his side on the slow cruise to the show. He decided dinner in front of the hometown locker just wouldn't do, and he'd saunter up the hall and disappear into the Temple of Soul.

 

Of course, also enchanted was Sam's dad, from the first time I saw my pal striding out of the shadows of a half empty bar in Asbury Park, a path opening up before him; here comes my brother, here comes my sax man, my inspiration, my partner, my lifelong friend. Standing next to Clarence was like standing next to the baddest ass on the planet. You were proud, you were strong, you were excited and laughing with what might happen, with what together, you might be able to do. You felt like no matter what the day or the night brought, nothing was going to touch you. Clarence could be fragile but he also emanated power and safety, and in some funny way we became each other's protectors; I think perhaps I protected "C" from a world where it still wasn't so easy to be big and black. Racism was ever present and over the years together, we saw it. Clarence's celebrity and size did not make him immune. I think perhaps "C" protected me from a world where it wasn't always so easy to be an insecure, weird and skinny white boy either. But, standing together we were badass, on any given night, on our turf, some of the baddest asses on the planet. We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself. And we were coming to your town to shake you and to wake you up. Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I'd written in my songs and in my music. Clarence carried it in his heart. It was a story where the Scooter and the Big Man not only busted the city in half, but we kicked ass and remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship would not be such an anomaly. And that... that's what I'm gonna miss. The chance to renew that vow and double down on that story on a nightly basis, because that is something, that is the thing that we did together... the two of us. Clarence was big, and he made me feel, and think, and love, and dream big. How big was the Big Man? Too fucking big to die. And that's just the facts. You can put it on his grave stone, you can tattoo it over your heart. Accept it... it's the New World.

 

Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die.

 

So, I'll miss my friend, his sax, the force of nature his sound was, his glory, his foolishness, his accomplishments, his face, his hands, his humor, his skin, his noise, his confusion, his power, his peace. But his love and his story, the story that he gave me, that he whispered in my ear, that he allowed me to tell... and that he gave to you... is gonna carry on. I'm no mystic, but the undertow, the mystery and power of Clarence and my friendship leads me to believe we must have stood together in other, older times, along other rivers, in other cities, in other fields, doing our modest version of god's work... work that's still unfinished. So I won't say goodbye to my brother, I'll simply say, see you in the next life, further on up the road, where we will once again pick up that work, and get it done.

 

Big Man, thank you for your kindness, your strength, your dedication, your work, your story. Thanks for the miracle... and for letting a little white boy slip through the side door of the Temple of Soul.

 

SO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN... ALWAYS LAST, BUT NEVER LEAST. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE MASTER OF DISASTER, the BIG KAHUNA, the MAN WITH A PHD IN SAXUAL HEALING, the DUKE OF PADUCAH, the KING OF THE WORLD, LOOK OUT OBAMA! THE NEXT BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES EVEN THOUGH HE'S DEAD... YOU WISH YOU COULD BE LIKE HIM BUT YOU CAN'T! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BIGGEST MAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN!... GIVE ME A C-L-A-R-E-N-C-E. WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! ... amen.

 

I'm gonna leave you today with a quote from the Big Man himself, which he shared on the plane ride home from Buffalo, the last show of the last tour. As we celebrated in the front cabin congratulating one another and telling tales of the many epic shows, rocking nights and good times we'd shared, "C" sat quietly, taking it all in, then he raised his glass, smiled and said to all gathered, "This could be the start of something big."

 

Love you, "C".

[sonicshoulder]

wow

[PopTodd]

What he said.

[choo-choo-charlie]

Second that.

[LouieB]

Really nice.

 

LouieB

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

What a wonderful tribute to a fallen friend

[kidsmoke]

Moved me to tears. God bless ya, Clarence.

[The Inside of Outside]

Some folks just know how to write a eulogy. I guess Bruce is one of them. That is truly moving.

[PopTodd]

Some folks just know how to write a eulogy. I guess Bruce is one of them. That is truly moving.

Yep. Eulogys, too.

[theashtraysays]

I was listening to the Live in NYC disc this weekend, and the long version of Tenth Avenue Freeze Out came on where he introduces the band in that dramatic, over-the-top rock star kind of way. Clarence is "last but not least", and there's that explosion of cheering when he comes in with the sax part. I've seen them do that once (years ago), and it made me really sad to know it won't happen again. Some of those songs will probably never be played live again, or at least not like that.

 

Just kinda hit me. Sometimes these things sink in a little more after a couple months.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I am beginning to wonder if Bruce will record or tour again.

He has suffered three losses to his core group over the last several years. Terry McGovern (an invaluable personal aide), Danny Federici and Clarence. Plus, Max suffered severe heart issues.

It might be late in the game OR it may be too early, but maybe Bruce will be able to gather himself, put together a new band with a mix of some of his older cohorts and some new faces and make some more music.

Either way, Clarence's passing leaves a void that cannot be filled.