Gordon Lightfoot Forums - Tampa paper-Sept.2014-Springsteen-Lightfoot

Sept.2014 article: "Many of us scoffed at the notion and figured he'd fall by the rock wayside, like Gordon Lightfoot and Steve Forbert before him."

http://tbo.com/arts_music/skippers-s...teen-20140925/

By Ira Kaufman | Tribune Staff
Published: September 25, 2014

BRUUUUUUCE! WMNF Presents A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa

Tickets: $13 advance, $16 day of show; wmnf.org/events, (813) 238-8001, at Skipper's or other WMNF ticket outlets
TAMPA – The Boss is eligible for Medicare.

Bruce Springsteen, dubbed “The Boss'' since his 1975 breakthrough as a rock superstar with the landmark album “Born to Run,'' turned 65 this week (Sept. 23). The pride of the New Jersey shore can file for Medicare while Springsteen finds himself on the brink of full Social Security benefits.

It seems like yesterday when Mary's dress waved and Springsteen, on the cover of both Time and Newsweek during the same week, was being hailed as the next Bob Dylan. Many of us scoffed at the notion and figured he'd fall by the rock wayside, like Gordon Lightfoot and Steve Forbert before him.

But now those comparisons don't seem like such a reach. Springsteen has endured and grown as an artist, never abandoning his blue-collar roots.

On Saturday, starting at 4 p.m. at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa, WMNF will present a tribute to Springsteen, with more than 20 bands offering their interpretations of a majestic songbook.

Other bands performing include: Glad All Over (rock), No Need (reggae), The Hummingbirds (Americana), Troy Youngblood and the Soulfish (roots music) and more.

Why does Bruce still matter?

The Springsteen die-hards will tell you that he never believed the hype. Whether he's standing in front of 100,000 fans at London's Wembley Stadium or 20,000 at the Mid-Florida Amphitheater in Tampa, Springsteen makes an intimate connection with that impressionable fan in the very last row.

He has to be the least affected rock star in history.

Age and illness have taken a toll on some of the original members of the E Street Band, but Springsteen labors on, veering his music into new directions to reflect his personal journey of discovery.

Ultimately, Springsteen's legacy will be forged by his skills as a performer and as a songwriter.

He can certainly carry a tune, but that gravelly voice will never be mistaken for Bono or Sam Cooke. He was once considered a hotshot guitarist back in Asbury Park, yet he has crafted few memorable riffs on that trusted, battered Telecaster.

Yet according to singer-songwriter Steve Earle, Springsteen is the greatest live performer in rock annals. Yes, ahead of Elvis, Michael Jackson and James Brown.

And according to country star Dierks Bentley, Springsteen reigns as rock's most accomplished poet of the common man.

Johnny Cash's daughter, Rosanne, says she has never seen a musical artist exude more power on the stage.

If you've never seen Springsteen live, you owe it to yourself to carve out four hours and correct that mistake.

And if you've never listened to a Springsteen song … well, there's still hope.

Springsteen knows where that fine line is — and he never crosses it.

Springsteen is securely in the pantheon of the best songwriters rock has produced: Chuck Berry, Dylan, John Fogerty, Carole King, Lennon-McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Neil Young.

He gives songs away — “Because the Night,'' “Fire,'' “Pink Cadillac'' — that other artists would hold up as their most cherished work.

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