Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is both a solo artist and the leader of the E Street Band. He received critical acclaim for his early 1970s albums and attained worldwide fame upon the release of Born to Run in 1975. During a career that has spanned six decades, Springsteen has become known for his poetic and socially conscious lyrics and lengthy, energetic stage performances, earning the nickname "The Boss". He has recorded both rock albums and folk-oriented works, and his lyrics often address the experiences and struggles of working-class Americans.

Born in the U.S.A. (1984) is Springsteen's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album, proving him to be one of the most successful rock figures of the 1980s. It was certified 15-times platinum in the US and has sold 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Seven of its singles reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart including the title track, which was a bitter commentary on the treatment of Vietnam veterans — some of whom were Springsteen's friends. Advocating for the rights of the common working-class man, the song made a huge political impact. Springsteen's other best-known songs include "Born to Run" (1975), "Thunder Road" (1975), "Badlands" (1978), "Hungry Heart" (1980), "Dancing in the Dark" (1984), "Glory Days" (1985), "Brilliant Disguise" (1987), "Human Touch" (1992), "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994), and "The Rising" (2002).

From 2017 to 2018, and again in 2021, Springsteen performed the critically acclaimed show Springsteen on Broadway in which he performed some of his songs and told stories from his 2016 autobiography; an album version from the Broadway performances was also released. He then issued the solo album Western Stars in 2019, Letter to You with the E Street Band in 2020 and a solo covers album Only the Strong Survive two years later. Letter to You reached No. 2 in the U.S., making Springsteen the first artist to release a Top 5 album across six consecutive decades. A documentary film titled “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” chronicling the band’s 2023-2024 world tour will debut on Disney+ and Hulu in the fall of 2024.

Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 70 million records in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award. Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, was named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016 and the National Medal of Arts by President Joe Biden in 2023.