This week, I'm proud to present what may be the biggest Friday Bruce Fix ever, if not in content, then certainly in spirit. My inspiration comes from last week's big news that the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined Twitter. The avid Bruce Springsteen community that exists on Twitter has happily welcomed Clarence Clemons, and since many of those fine folks have found their Friday Bruce Fix through my interactions with this community, I thought it would be a great idea to welcome Clarence through this huge blog post.
Clarence, once you find your way here, please post a comment, or say hi on Twitter. And, so long as I'm speaking to you directly, is it "Big Man" or "The Big Man"? Perhaps "Big Man" when addressing you directly, but "The Big Man" when referring to you in the third person?
This week's massive post is the perfect segue from last week's post that featured Bruce on David Letterman's show. The thread that runs from last week to this week is David Letterman, but this week I'm supersizing Your Friday Bruce Fix by featuring the man Bruce has called many things including the King of the World, the Master of Disaster, and two of my personal favorites, the Duke of Paducah and the Mayor of Half of Bayonne. I'll let Bruce handle the introductions.
Bruce frequently opened the second set of the 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' tour with this original composition called 'Paradise By The C' or perhaps 'Paradise By The Sea'. It certainly set the tone for the party that was the second set, and of course, Clarence's playing is brilliant. Bruce, we are still waiting somewhat impatiently for the 'Darkness' box set with re-mastered audio and a full concert DVD. Clarence, I'm hoping you could give Bruce a little nudge and set the whole thing in motion. Much appreciated!
Now, on to the David Letterman thread. Clarence appeared on Dave's daytime show prior to Dave's move to late night television. The timing of this seems to be 1984 near the start of the massive 'Born in the USA' tour. This was Clarence's take on Bruce's composition 'From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)'. Crank up the volume and I defy you to sit still while watching this one.
Since this is Your Friday Bruce Fix, I thought maybe I should give The (?) Big Man's sidekick a little screen time. Here's Bruce's orginal recording of the same song, an outtake from the late 1979 recording sessions for 'The River'. He would eventually release it on the bonus third disc of the 'Essentials' box set.
Perhaps Bruce felt that a song this great needed to be heard. Since it didn't make the cut to be on 'The River', he gave it to Dave Edmunds who, in 1982, released what some say is the definitive version of this song. Of course, I can't actually say that here on Your Friday Bruce Fix, where Bruce is better than everybody else, so I won't say that Dave Edmunds' is the definitive version. What I will say is that I love the arrangement, the horns and how it really cooks.
I also wanted to highlight the fact that Clarence has recently released his new book 'Big Man'. You can read more about it and order your very own copy here: http://www.bigmanthebook.com/ Since the current tour is rapidly coming to a close, the Big Man will need a significant new source of income, so please, buy a copy, in fact buy several, and tell all your friends to buy copies, too. Clarence needs our support in order to continue living the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed.
An enormously Big and Happy Friday to all!
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