Timeline Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run

From the Jersey Shore to Born in the U.S.A. and Broadway — fifty years of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

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Dashed left edge = started before this timeline · Dashed right edge = still ongoing

Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run 21

1949 Bruce Springsteen born in Long Branch, New Jersey Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen Grows up in Freehold, New Jersey.
1965 Bruce Springsteen joins the Castiles First band Joins a Freehold garage band after seeing Elvis and the Beatles on TV.
1972 Bruce Springsteen signs with Columbia Records John Hammond again The same talent scout who signed Bob Dylan signs him.
1973 Bruce Springsteen releases Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Debut album A wordy debut that sells poorly.
1975 Bruce Springsteen releases Born to Run Breakthrough A last-chance album that makes him a star.
1975 Bruce Springsteen on the covers of Time and Newsweek Same week Both news magazines put him on the cover in the same week.
1978 Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness on the Edge of Town After the lawsuit Released after a long legal fight with his former manager.
1980 Bruce Springsteen releases The River First number one A double album, his first to top the US charts.
1982 Bruce Springsteen releases Nebraska Home recordings Dark songs recorded alone on a four-track cassette recorder.
1984 Bruce Springsteen releases Born in the U.S.A. Seven top-ten singles One of the best-selling albums ever — the title track is widely misread as patriotic.
1985 Bruce Springsteen sings on We Are the World USA for Africa One of the lead voices on the charity single.
1988 Bruce Springsteen plays East Berlin Weissensee A huge concert in East Berlin, a year before the Wall falls.
1989 Bruce Springsteen breaks up the E Street Band Ten years apart He tells the band he is going on without them.
1994 Bruce Springsteen wins an Oscar Streets of Philadelphia Best Original Song for the film Philadelphia.
1999 Bruce Springsteen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Inducted the year he reunites with the E Street Band.
2002 Bruce Springsteen releases The Rising After 9/11 His response to the September 11 attacks, with the E Street Band.
2009 Bruce Springsteen plays the Super Bowl halftime show Super Bowl XLIII Twelve minutes with the E Street Band in Tampa.
2011 Bruce Springsteen's saxophonist Clarence Clemons dies The Big Man The E Street Band saxophonist dies after a stroke.
2016 Bruce Springsteen receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom From Barack Obama Awarded the highest US civilian honour.
2017 Bruce Springsteen opens Springsteen on Broadway Walter Kerr Theatre A solo show of songs and stories, running more than 230 performances.
2021 Bruce Springsteen sells his catalogue to Sony Music rights Sells his recordings and songs to Sony.