Remembering The Big Man a Dozen Years Since He Left Us
#BigManForever
My ability to recall dates has always been a little odd. In high school, my girlfriend was always irritated that I remembered July 3rd as the day Jim Morrison died first and as her birthday second. I make no apologies; I have not seen her for almost 40 years, but I played the Doors first album just a few days ago.
For decades, June 18th meant one thing: it was Paul McCartney’s birthday (he turns 81 tomorrow). That changed on June 18, 2011, however, with the passing of E Street Band saxophonist and force of nature Clarence “Big Man” Clemons. This year marks an unbelievable 12 years since Clarence left us for rock and roll Valhalla following a stroke at the age of 69, and the loss still feels fresh some days.
If you have read more than a few of my stories, you already know Clarence, but just in case you’re reading me for the first time and don’t recognize Clarence’s name, you surely recognize his picture above. The Big Man was ubiquitous, ever-present, like the air we breathe yet never notice. It is his shoulder Bruce leans on in the iconic Born to Run cover photo. And in what was his final video, it is Clarence, sitting on a step and ever the epitome of cool, who is the only person besides Lady Gaga who appears in her “Edge of Glory” video; 204 million of you have seen that on…
