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Happy Birthday to The Big Man, Clarence Clemons
#BigManForever
Today is the 82nd birthday of legendary E Street Band sax man Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons. Though he left us far too soon on June 18, 2011, he lives on through over four decades’ worth of music, most notably as Bruce Springsteen’s most visible (for obvious reasons) on-stage and on-record collaborator. As Bruce said in his eulogy for Clarence: “How big was the Big Man? Too fucking big to die. And that’s just the facts. You can put it on his gravestone, you can tattoo it over your heart. Accept it.”
I wrote a long reflection on Clarence and what he meant to me over the years back on the tenth anniversary of his passing, which you can read here. Today, however, is a time to celebrate The Big Man and the gift his towering presence was for so long. I’m thankful that he got a saxophone for Christmas when he was nine years old rather than the electric train set he wanted. I’m thankful that I got to see him in concert with Bruce three times. And I’m thankful for the music most of all.
Below are a few examples of that music he was such a huge part of (and a playlist at the end); beyond the obvious Springsteen tunes, he played with everyone from Jackson Browne to Aretha Franklin to Ringo Starr to Lady Gaga. And there’s no better way to kick off his birthday than with one of Bruce’s classic…
