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1949: Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is born to Adele and Douglas Springsteen at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey.
1952: Bruce’s parents throw their three-year-old son a Western-themed birthday party. Bruce’s fascination with the American west will last a lifetime.
1973: On his 24th birthday, Bruce records two of his greatest songs: “Incident on 57th Street” and “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight).” With these songs in the can, Bruce’s second album is complete.
1975: Bruce plays his first known birthday show, turning in a great performance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on the day he turns 26. In the encores, Bruce and the E Street Band play “Detroit Medley” for the very first time.
1978: Bruce spends his 29th birthday in Asbury Park with interviewer Mike Greenblatt and photographer Bob Sorce forThe Aquarian.
1985: Bruce spends his 36th birthday on stage at Denver’s Mile High Stadium. The night is unseasonably cold, with temperatures dropping into the 30s. The result is a relatively quiet crowd–they’re clapping with gloves on!
1986: A group of teenage fans gather in Bruce’s driveway late at night to wish him a happy 37th birthday. Bruce is not amused.
1988: A special Human Rights Now! show in Oakland on the occasion of Bruce’s 39th birthday: Roy Orbison surprises Bruce backstage and leads the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday,” as does Joan Baez, who also performs “Blowin’ in the Wind” with Bruce. During Bruce’s set, he tour premieres “Tunnel of Love” and plays his very first “I Ain’t Got No Home.”
1989: Bruce celebrates his 40th birthday with the E Street Band (including Steve Van Zandt, who sings lead on “Stand By Me” so Bruce can have a dance with his mom) at McLoone’s Rum Runner in Sea Bright. This is the last E Street Band performance before Bruce disbands them.
1997: Bruce celebrates his 48th birthday with friends and family at his house in Colts Neck. The entertainment for the evening is a local band called The Gotham Playboys that Soozie Tyrell clued Bruce into, and Bruce is so taken with them that he will shortly hire several of the group’s members to play on the first of what would become known as The Seeger Sessions.
2014: At a special event at Monmouth University, Thom Zimny screens never-before-seen (and never-again-seen) archival clips from Bruce’s vault.
2016: On the occasion of Bruce’s 67th birthday, he releases his Chapter and Verse retrospective companion CD to his autobiography, Born to Run.
2021: Bruce announces a new concert film, The 1979 Legendary No Nukes Concerts.
