RIP – The one and only Big Man…

“When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band. From the coast line to the city all the little pretties raised their hands.” Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Springsteen 1975

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Clarence Clemons, the legendary sax player in the E Street Band who played with Bruce Springsteen for the past 40 years, died on June 18th. Clemons had suffered a massive stroke on June 12th.

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The last time I saw Clarence was when Bruce and The E Street Band came to Hyde Park last summer… brilliant as always, Clarence spent a lot of his time sitting down, but the biggest cheers of the night were always reserved for him whenever he stepped forward to do his thing.  I remember being deeply upset though when he struggled through his Jungleland solo and was visably struggling to stand afterwards.  As Nils Lofgren helped him back to his seat and checked to see if he was okay, I remember a great sadness washing over me.  A selfish thought I know, but I had a bad feeling I would never get the chance to see my favourite band of all time in all its glory again.  I know Daniel Federici had recently departed (and his influence was a significant one) but this was the Big Man… The Minister Of Soul, Secretary of The Brotherhood, King Of The World, MASTER Of The Universe, , Clarence, Clarence Clarence….

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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band always felt like an extended family.  Their songs, their personalities were something that never let you down, something that would brighten up your day first thing in the morning and something that would keep you company when you got in late at night. Clarence at times seemed bigger than life itself… I remember going through a phase in my early twenties when I purchased as many Bruce 75-85 bootleg DVDs as I could afford… It seemed like a diferent time, one of great change and barriers being broken down.  Side by side he stood like a giant lighthouse beaming across the stage, in all manner of outlandish attire… like he needed crazy coloured clothes to make him any more noticeable!  But I suppose that was the point,  he was in on it himself, the magic, the passion the sheer significance of it all!  But above all, he made it look fun. He made it look like there was nothing else you’d rather be doing, like he had all the keys to the kingdom and all the answers to every question in the universe!

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I remember writing songs at this time and I started to look at putting a band together.  I didn’t look at getting a solid rhythm section, a piano player or another guitar player to carry my burden. No… I wanted to find myself a saxophone player, that’s how much I valued his importance at the time… ‘I need to find my Big Man’, I kept telling myself.  Hs onstage presence was legendary and any footage you are lucky enough to see of him will tell you that he brought that same energy night after night after night.

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All this significance would mean very little if the man couldn’t play… and boy could he play!  Just put on the album ‘Born To Run’ and listen to the breaks, the solos, the grandeur everytime Clarence has his say!  For years I thought this was what every sax player would sound like… the chops, the feel, the bluster and the fire that crashed out of that man!  I never realized just how unique he was, “when they built you brother, they broke the mould”. The highlights are too many to list but the Jungleland solo, She’s The One break (it makes the song), Born To Run solo, The Promised Land Solo… there are just too many personal favourtites to mention.  But for me, the Big Mans, significance and sound is epitomized in Rosalita.  He’s all over it, verse after verse, firing the song off into the stratosphere.  The song breaks down and he faces down bruce’s guitar breaks with wild abandon.  (To see this trade off live is to witness something akin to live perfection.)  Then as it builds up again you have what is one of my favourite moments in music fullstop!  “Cause the record company Rosie, just gave me a big advance… And my tyres were slashed and I almost crashed but the lord had mercy!”  Musical Nirvana and Clarence is right there in the middle of it with you, bringing you along for the ride.

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When I heard the news today, like so many other people I guess, I was more upset than I imagined I would be.  This man wasn’t devisive like many poeple who entertain us can be… he was a guarantee, one of the few. A giant, saxophone playing beacon of hope and fun and someone you could always rely on to bring a smile to your face, on record and on stage…

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RIP Clarence Clemons, at times bigger than life itself and the one and only Big Man.