An itinerary in search of the history of Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey and beyond. His home, his first steps in music and his successes. Doc was born and where you can still find it, read the itinerary.
If you want to disconnect from the daily routine and immerse yourself in a journey through the history of the symbol of American rock, a journey for those who want to discover the "cult" places of Bruce Springsteen story and not only that, take a week off and book a flight to New York… final destination New Jersey
First step: Asbury park. Mentioned in the
But let's go in order and see in detail the places that feed a continuous flow of travels and real pilgrimages that still today continue to make fans from all over the world dream.
Among the cornerstones of this trip we have the Convention Hall and Paramount Theater, united in a single structure, both habitually frequented by Springsteen from the second half of the sixties, and which today are still used for his performances (the Paramount was used for recording a live DVD with the complete performance of album "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" while the Convention Hall, well known also to Rolling Stones fans, was used for rehearsals for The Rising tour in 1999).
Shortly after the Convention Hall, you arrive at the Casino, now dilapidated structure, but which at the time was the center of life on the boardwalk with its skating rink, arcades and rides. Today the doors are barred, the walls are falling apart, the roof is unsafe and the old carousel - the Carousel - is no longer there and was auctioned at Sotheby's in 1989: despite all this, in the heart of the fans remains an important place of worship, also because the Casino was also used by Springsteen to shoot the video for Tunnel Of Love.
Not far from the Casino, we find the Flamingo, a strategic motel for those who want to attend the concerts of the Stone Pony (the other hotel still in business and which can be useful to enrich this trip is theEmpress Hotel, where in 1980 Springsteen had himself photographed to make the cover of the single Hungry Heart). The Stone Pony, located at 913 Ocean Avenue, is the venue that has hosted the largest number of performances by the American rocker and can be reached by passing the historic hut of Madame Marie.
If you want to continue with total immersion in music, head to Wonder Bar, where one wishes the good fortune to meet Lance Larson, the owner of the restaurant and also owner of the red hat tucked into Bruce Springsteen's jeans pocket and immortalized on the cover of Born In The USA.
Another milestone of our journey is the Asbury Park Public Library at 500 First Avenue, where you can find a section dedicated to Springsteen with books, magazines, newspapers, scores, an archive of more than 3000 pieces.
Going west on 33, you leave Asbury Park and reach it Freehold, Springsteen's hometown: unfortunately the house where he lived in Randolph Street no longer exists, but there survives in front of a large tree with which he played as a child and which the same artist has returned to contemplate even in adulthood.
A few blocks further, at 39 and a half Institute Street, we find the house where the family moved after leaving Randolph Street: this house with sky-blue walls, was used as a photographic set for the cover of the single My Hometown and for the inner sheet of Born In The USA.
The last stop in the town of Freehold is at 68 South Street, at the house where Springsteen lived until 1967 before changing town.
Next stop: Belmar. In this city you cannot avoid crossing the very central Tenth Avenue: walking along it for a few blocks you will cross E Street, where at number 1105 there is a small obelisk, immortalized in many photos by fans. Here, in fact, the first E-Street Band rehearsed in the basement of a house in a sunny residential area.
The last stop on this journey is the town of Red Bank, located a few miles from the sea and Rumson, where Springsteen lives today, on an old farm in Colt's Neck.
I tried to outline a dream, a journey that I will bring to fruition in a few months: in the meantime, for those interested, I recommend the book "Real World" by Ermanno Labianca and Giovanni Canitano - rock journalist the first, photographer the second, who share my same passion for Bruce Springsteen - a book in my opinion fundamental to tackle this pilgrimage, a text that collects many anecdotes related to the life of the American rocker and photographs that can only increase the desire to leave.
