Clarence Clemons Passed Away

[Steven]

The Big Man has passed on. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43452956?gt1=43001

He meant a lot to many, many people, including some of us here.

[Kush]

RIP. He is gonna be making some sweet music with Danny Federici tonight.

He was the calm around which the fire of the E Street band swirled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1wg9jyvfN0&

[stfa]

Read it here first - truly "a Big Man" in so many respects especially musically! Very sad.
Will never forget last time I saw him - Bruce's final show of the tour in Buffalo - a great moment, even more poignant now, when he did Growing Up and revived the monologue in the middle describing how the big man joined the band - ending it with him leaning on Clarence in the classic Born to Run pose - one last time!
You tube link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtF4ATNH ... re=related
Monologue begins at 2:00 mark, main Clarence section - starts around 3:10.
Truly the affection between them shows through all this.

[John Etherington]

Tragic news...there can never be an E Street Band without him. I first saw Clarence at his first London Hammermith concert with Bruce (not the classic second one), and last time at Arsenal, a few years ago. The greatest concert I saw with him was the one at Wembley Stadium in 1985. R.I.P. Clarence.

[Mabeanie1]

He will be much missed.

W

[musicmania]

Tragic news...there can never be an E Street Band without him. I first saw Clarence at his first London Hammermith concert with Bruce (not the classic second one), and last time at Arsenal, a few years ago. The greatest concert I saw with him was the one at Wembley Stadium in 1985. R.I.P. Clarence.

Very saddened to hear of this. He was the soul of The E Street Band and Bruce once said no Clarence, no E Street Band.
Here is the only decent pic I have of Clarence with Bruce from when they played here in 2008.

[B4real]

That is so sad I love his saxophone!

Below is part of a local report here in Australia:

In recent years, Clemons had been slowed by health woes. He endured major spinal surgery in January 2010 and, at the 2009 Super Bowl, he rose from a wheelchair to perform with The Boss after double knee replacement surgery.

But his health seemed to be improving. In May, he performed with Lady Gaga on the season finale of American Idol and performed on two songs on her Born This Way album.

Clemons said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press then that he was winning his battles - including severe, chronic pain and post-surgical depression. His sense of humour helped.

'Of all the surgeries I've had, there's not much left to operate on - I am totally bionic,' he said.

'God will give you no more than you can handle. This is all a test to see if you are really ready for the good things that are going to come in your life. All this pain is going to come back and make me stronger.'

An original member - and the oldest - of the E Street Band, Clemons also performed with the Grateful Dead, the Jerry Garcia Band, and Ringo Starr's All Star Band. He recorded with a wide range of artists including Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbison and Jackson Browne. He also had his own band called the Temple of Soul.

[Diane]

The Wembley 1985 concert was the first time I saw Bruce and the band, and it defined for me, for a lifetime, everything I love about music. I've seen every tour Clarence has done with Bruce since then, Springsteen being the only artist I followed even when my son was young and I attended few gigs. The last time I saw him was two summers ago in Dublin, and a week prior to that at the dvded Hyde Park concert. Memories of both are infused with a strong Big Man vibe - Jungleland, Badlands, Rosalita, (Sherry Darling in Dublin)... The River was my first album, and the sax solo in Drive All Night has carved its own neural pathway in my brain.

Bruce's words can't be separated from the texture of music from the band; a vibrant, dark, grand sound that expresses both the exquisiteness and the bust that life is. This time, things really will never be the same. Rest in Peace Clarence Clemons. Thank you for how you enrich my life.

---------

from a very nice write-up on backstreets.com, http://www.backstreets.com/clarence/, a pic that says it all:

[friscogrl]

Diane, when I first joined the forum almost four years ago I remember reading in The Other Music thread
About how much you loved Bruce Sprintstein. You and Kush would be excitedly anticipating the release of his
Most recent albums. I was very touched by your personal tribute to Clarence Clemons. The picture you chose to
Post is in my mind iconic. This is truly a sad time for Bruce and the fans of The E Street Band.

Marsha

[Diane]

That's a very nice thing to say, thanks Marsha.

I just watched the video you posted, stfa. Very cool. Priceless that you were there.

Apparently Bruce was with Clarence over the past few days, which is good to know. True blood brothers...until the end. What else is there?

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.

“When a great man dies, for years the light he leaves behind him, lies on the paths of men.”---Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Maybe,' I figgered, 'maybe it's all men an' all women we love; maybe that's the Holy Spirit-the human sperit-the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of.' Now I sat there thinkin' it, an' all of a suddent-I knew it. I knew it so deep down that it was true, and I still know it."---John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath

Did you hear it, when sparks flew on E Street that first night Bruce Springsteen touched that hand, touched that heart, touched that mighty soul of Clarence Clemons. The world had never seen nor heard anything like it, nor will it ever be repeated.

In the silence that is now amongst us, take a moment and listen once more. Now do you hear it? Do you hear that sound? That deep rumble of the first notes of that huge saxophone. Keep listening, for that music is starting to cascade as it always has when Clarence plays. Listen very closely. Then you must know that the sound you hear, that glorious saxophone sound that only the Big Man could play, is coming from deep within your own heart. It’s his gift to you. It’s his way of saying he will never leave you, and you are a part of him .... An eternal heart beating to a saxophone playing within all of us.

I remember from when Danny Federici died - you're never too old to rock n roll, not even when you're dead. Yes, there will be some sweet music playing up there tonight. Sad day today, all the same.

[Kush]

Nice tribute by Brian Williams...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 3#43472263

[Diane]

as the news sinks in, the irreplaceable Big Man will be forever (missed).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA

[Steven]

Hi Diane,

This loss felt close to home.

[Diane]

yes.

[geoff+evans]

Clarence is missed.... here is a song/poem that I wrote for him as a tribute to his passing.....


In The Sky
(In memory of Clarence Clemons)

I miss you talking
Your sweet voice talking
Saying words of
Wisdom and love

I miss your singing
Your sweet voice singing
Singing songs that
Touch my deepest soul

In the sky, in the sky
In the sky Lord, in the sky
There’s a brilliant star in the sky lord
In the sky

Lord I’m crying
The whole world’s crying
Crying tears of sadness
Now you’ve gone

Lord I’m praying
Sweet music playing
Swaying softly to
Your melody

I’m still praying
The band is playing
Calling out I know
We’ll meet again

In the sky, in the sky
In the sky Lord, in the sky
There’s a brilliant star in the sky lord
In the sky

In the sky, in the sky
In the sky Lord, in the sky
There’s a brilliant, shining star lord
In the sky