Springsteen turns 70, hints at a present for E Street Nation
Billy Joel made Madison Square Garden history when he performed his 100th show in the ‘world’s most famous’ arena. At the show he was surprised by an appearance from Bruce Springsteen.
The Boss turns 70 today and he may have a birthday present for his legion of fans.
“We want the band to get back together,” Bruce Springsteen told a cheering crowd during a Q&A session on Sept. 12th at the Toronto Film Festival screening of his “Western Stars,” his new concert film inspired by his album of the same title.
“I've got some songs written for the band and I'd like to make a really good rock band record with the E Street Band,” said the rock icon known as The Boss. Rarely in Springsteen's world does an album release not include a concert tour -- and Springsteen alluded to such a possibility when asked saying slyly, “We'll be seeing you.”
Springsteen’s last tour with the E Street band -- celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of his landmark double album "The River" in 2016 -- was the number one concert tour of the year and earned $268 million at the box office according to Pollstar. Right behind Bruce and the boys that year was Beyonce who brought in $256 million.
This was on the heels of his 2012-2013 "Wrecking Ball" tour for the album of the same name which lasted almost two years. In 2012 it was the second biggest concert attraction and in 2013 the fifth hottest ticket. In total more than 3.6 million people attended "Wrecking Ball" shows worldwide and according to Pollstar, the tour grossed $340.6 million from 124 shows.
“Bruce can do whatever he wants, looking at his last tour with the E Street Band, you can pretty much guarantee that whatever he does next is going to be bigger. It will probably be more and the ticket price will go up,” Ryan Borba, Managing Editor for Pollster told FOX Business.
The new album would be Springsteen’s 20th studio album. Notably, on this 70th birthday, he has also had 70 singles to go along with 23 live albums, 7 box sets, and 59 music videos. Plus, he may be the most "awarded" rocker ever. Over his five-decade career, Springsteen has won 20 Grammys, an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a special Tony Award and a Kennedy Center honor, plus numerous American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.
Beyond all the glittery mantelpieces, he was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo act in 1999 and again as part of the leader of E Street Band in 2014. Two years later, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
A pretty good run for a musician who has never had a number one single. (His biggest hit, "Dancing in the Dark," peaked at No. 2 in 1984).
His latest album, ‘Western Stars’ opened #1 on Billboard charts and his Broadway run ‘Springsteen on Broadway’, a concert residency, was a box office monster earning more than $106 million before moving from the Great White Way to Netflix.
Long time E Street Band guitarist, Nils Lofgren, took to Twitter to say if the road beckons, he'll heed the Boss' call.
“Every once in a while my lovely wife will say, ‘the world sure needs an @springsteen #estreetband right about now’ couldn’t agree more,” the rocker said in a tweet when he heard the news about a new album. “I’m ready.”
Springsteen has been rumbling about a new album for some time. In front of another crowd at the Netflix Emmy Awards’ “FYSee Experience” in Los Angeles in May Springsteen revealed, “About a month or so ago, I wrote almost an album’s worth of material for the band," according to Asbury Park Press.
"And it came out of just … I mean, I know where it came from, but at the same time, it just came out of almost nowhere,” said the all-American rock star from New Jersey responsible for bringing the world hit songs like “Born to Run,” “My Hometown” and “Born In The USA.”
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“And it was good, you know. I had about two weeks of those little daily visitations, and it was so nice. It makes you so happy,” Springsteen said. “There’ll be another tour!”
Seven decades later, clearly he is still born to run.