Bruce Springsteen. The Boss. A name synonymous with gritty rock anthems and blue-collar anthems. For decades, his music has been the soundtrack to countless lives. Millions have been enthralled by his lyrics, his energy, and his raw storytelling. But the weight of such adoration can be a double-edged sword, even for The Boss himself.
As Springsteen digs into in his 2016 autobiography, there are aspects of his public image that chafe at him. He felt a disconnect between the persona fans built up and the real person beneath the bandana and leather jacket.
This very disconnect is what spurred him to take a pen to paper and challenge some of the perceptions surrounding the Bruce Springsteen we all think we know.
Bruce Springsteen Shatters His Saintly Image
In 2016, Bruce gifted the world with his autobiography, Born to Run. The book chronicles his journey from a small-town upbringing to the electrifying heights of rock stardom. While fans devoured the stories of his rise to fame, Springsteen also included some surprising revelations about himself.
It turns out, The Boss wasn’t entirely comfortable with the almost mythical status bestowed upon him. He felt burdened by the image of a flawless hero. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted this perception was a source of irritation.
“Yeah, that part of my thing has always annoyed me,” he said. “It’s just too much, you know. So any dent I can make in it, I’m happy to do.”
“I Didn’t Write All About Myself”
While some saw his revelations as attempts to tarnish his image, Springsteen clarifies his purpose. “It wasn’t something I was intent on doing,” he explains. “It was just writing about a life, and all of its many aspects.”
He envisioned Born to Run not just as a memoir, but as an exploration of his creative wellspring. “But I also decided that it was a book about my music first, and about my life kind of secondarily,” he says. He maintained creative control, choosing what to share based on its relevance to his music. “I didn’t have any rules,” he explains, “except I wanted what was in the book to relate back to my music.”
This approach led to honest reflections on his family and inner struggles. “So the revelations I made about my family or my own inner workings,” he states, “I felt that could be central to understanding where some of my music came from. I didn’t write all about myself. Plenty of things, I held back.”
The Boss Hated Being ‘The Boss’
For years, fans have affectionately called him “The Boss”. Ironically, the nickname originated from a practical task – Springsteen once paid the salaries for those around him. While fans embraced the term, it grates on him deeply.
In Eric Alterman’s book about him, It Ain’t No Sin to Be Glad You’re Alive, Springsteen is quite clear about his feelings. “I hate bosses,” he states. The very idea of being called one goes against his grain.
This aversion even extends to his granddaughter. He joked on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he welcomes any nickname she bestows upon him, as long as it’s not the despised moniker. “She can’t speak yet,” he said, “so we don’t know what she’ll call us. I’m going for anything except, ‘The Boss’.”
The Accidental Author
Bruce’s foray into autobiography wasn’t exactly planned. “It kind of happened by accident,” he admits. “I didn’t think of it initially as a book. I was writing to pass the time”
He envisioned the project as a personal exercise, a way to document his experiences. “I felt if I didn’t do anything with it, maybe my kids would like to have it,” he says. For a few weeks, he wrote diligently, filling pages with his story.
Then came the turning point. Taking a step back to reread his work, he was struck by a realization. “This feels pretty good,” he thought. This unplanned exercise had blossomed into something more substantial, the seeds of a future memoir.