Everybody has a hungry heart…and a Bruce story. At times comical, informative, and opinionated, author Greg Miller embarks on a casual jaunt through the timeline of Springsteen’s early career. From the diverse perspectives of unusual encounters and interviews, the author observes the emerging career of rock 'n roll's premier entertainer and explains why he is The Boss. .
Spanning a career of 47 years, Bruce has logged more than 1,750 concerts to date. There are fans and there are superfans. Springsteen A Notion Deep Inside interviews the superfans, one who attended 795 Bruce concerts (including all 113 on The Darkness tour), and explains why his fans know him as The Boss. Meet a fan with a 25-foot Bruce man cave mural and a fan who grew up with the family and reveals the location of Greasy Lake and an educated guess of where The River flows, and another fan who explains the science of getting those impossible-to-obtain Bruce tickets.
While the author shares stories of fans he met in the Caribbean, Peru and Ireland, fans who wanted to share their Springsteen stories, as with nearly all things Bruce, the journey begins and ends in New Jersey.
For the uninitiated, The Shore is explained, top to bottom, Keyport to Cape May, Shoobies and BENNYs, Mt. Mitchell, The Upstairs, The Student Price, and The Stony Pony, Jenks to Jimmy Byrne’s—they’re all in the book.
As a final observation, the author locates Bruce in the all-time rock ’n roll pantheon, and chisels his place on Rock’s Mt. Rushmore.
The companion website lists every Springsteen concert (and shows cancelled), unique memorabilia, rock lists, never-before-seen concert photos, and suggests road trips and further reading to explain the origin of the darkness that seeped into Bruce’s edge of town.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Section 1— Hors d'oeuvre—How to use this book
Section 2―Everybody Has a Hungry Heart
The French West Indies—of all Places
The Boss Almost Played Loyola in 1972
The Best Seats to See Bruce Were Free
Memorabilia- A Piece of the Boss
Intimacy–You Talking To Me?
Section 3—The Performer—New Jersey Finds Its Pride in Springsteen
When The Boss Outranks the Chairman of the Board
The Payoff—I’m On the Cover of Time and Newsweek
Getting tickets – Shut Out of the Meadowlands in 1984
A Hard Act to Follow
Growing Up—Variations on a Theme
The Venues—The Bottom Line
Section 4―His Music – More than Just an E Street Shuffle
Sparks Fly on E Street
Rock ’n roll Fusion
What Rock ’n roll Isn’t
At Its Best Rock is Inspirational
Bruce’s Music—“Lapsed-Catholic” Rock
Why are Bruce’s Songs So Dark—Connecting the Shadows
Jersey Calling—9/11
Section 5—The Fans and the Super Fans —Tramps Like Us
Philip “PJ” Petchers—A Bruce Concert Veteran
The Joe Lamm Interview
The Man Cave of John Norjen
Jim Erdman―In a League of His Own
Will O’Connor—The Professional Fan—A Local Hero
The B Street Band—The Replacements
How Long Can Bruce and the E Street Band Continue?
Section 6—Backstreets
Bruce and his Politics
Making Rock ’n roll Lists
What to Take to the Island—Rock ’n roll Lists
Being In the Conversation
Section 7—Trying to write this book
References—Sources and Suggested Reading Materials
About the Author
Also By The Author
Road Trips to Consider
If eBooks Had a Back Cover—This Would Be It
Endpiece
