“He was born one day in the County of Clay And he came from a solitary race.”
On today’s date in 1847, Jesse James was born in Clay County Missouri. Within two years, his father, the Rev. Robert James, ran off and left his family behind to go to look for gold in California, never to return. Their mother Zerelda soon remarried a stepfather who was abusive to Jesse and his brother Frank, and she would later marry another stepfather.
As a teenager in the border state of Missouri, Jesse learned to kill for the South during the Civil War, as did his brother Frank. Then the brothers went on to a life of crime. By most accounts, Jesse was not the Robin Hood hero as portrayed in the traditional “Ballad of Jesse James,” made famous by Woody Guthrie and others. But sometimes we need outlaw heroes to inspire us to fight authority. Below is a version of the song by Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band, starting with a long banjo introduction.
While recently talking to my mom on the phone, she blurted out, “I really like that Lady Gaga.” After recovering from the surprise that my mom even had heard of Lady Gaga, I listened to my mom’s explanation. My mom had seen Lady Gaga on several talk shows and was impressed with her as a person and her devotion to her fans, i.e., Little Monsters.
Regular readers of Chimesfreedom have probably already figured out that we are fans of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Considering some of the music featured in this blog so far, one might think we turn up our nose at current popular music. But while E Street Band member Clarence Clemons has been in the news, we also have been listening to some of Clemons’s recent work on Lady Gaga’s new album, Born This Way.
Last week, Lady Gaga released a new video for “Edge of Glory,” and it is great to see Clemons playing in the video. We are excited that Lady Gaga gave Clemons a new fan base, and we are touched that Lady Gaga and her Little Monsters made a sincere video for the ailing Big Man before he passed away.
I recently suggested “Edge of Glory” to a musician friend who is a Springsteen fan, but he immediately rejected the song without listening to it because it was by Lady Gaga. A number of people have written nasty comments under the video on YouTube too. But sometimes popular music is popular for a reason. Ever since I first heard Lady Gaga and Clarence Clemons perform “Edge of Glory” on American Idol, I have had the song on repeat play on my iPod. It is an excellent song, reminding us how much we will miss Clemons. While I have enjoyed Lady Gaga’s music in the past, her work with Clarence Clemons and the thoughtfulness of the get-well video increased my respect for her. I guess sometimes one’s 70+ year-old mom knows more than one’s hip young friends.
Last night, I was working late when the news broke about Clarence Clemons passing away. I already had a Clemons-related post about his most recent work ready to run but instead pushed that post back to pay tribute to the Big Man with the video of “Paradise by the C,” one of the rare instrumental songs in the Springsteen canon. I was going to leave it at that, as there are several excellent articles out there about Clemons, but I will share one memory. (The other Clemons-related post will run in a few days).
After I left work last night, I flipped around the New York radio stations to hear some songs by the E Street Band, finally hitting on one playing a block of songs that featured Clemons. When I got home and parked my car, I sat in the car with the engine off, listening to the radio play “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Backstreets.” But when the radio station began playing “Jungleland,” I had to turn it off because I could not hear that song so close to the news of the Big Man’s passing.
Like many people, “Jungleland” is one of the first things I think of when I think of Clemons. It is off Born to Run, my favorite album. The Born to Run LP is one of the few physical albums from my youth that I still own due to space limitations as I converted to CDs and then MP3s. Hopefully, my sister is not reading this post, as I obtained the album pictured at the top when I borrowed it from her more than three decades ago. The album has great music and that iconic cover of Bruce and Clarence that is a photo of human connection. As Springsteen once noted, “When you open [the album cover] up and see Clarence and me together, the album begins to work its magic.”
Parody is flattery.
The album has been there for me through many periods of my life. While I was in school, I listened to “Born to Run” right before every exam to psych myself up. There were times when I was angry and played “Thunder Road” just to sing along to the line, “it’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win.” If you cut me open and look at my soul, you will see every song from Born to Run embedded in there somewhere.
But the reason “Jungleland” stands out for me is because of a concert at Richfield Coliseum outside Cleveland in the early 1980s. It was the first large concert I ever attended, and it would ruin all future non-Springsteen concerts because nothing would ever come close. That night, I was in a transition period of my life from school to a new job, and I was unsure what lay ahead for me. Inside the coliseum, though, I was blown away by the E Street Band, and the moment that capped it all was the sax solo during “Jungleland.” As Clemons blew his horn, the lights hit the crowd and thousands of people stood in unison pumping their fists in time with the music. I know it is cliche and corny, but that one moment signifies the power of rock and roll to me, with a community of people bonding at once, feeling hope, resignation, fear, and defiance all together in our lives. My words cannot capture what I felt then or what I still feel thinking about those minutes. But that is the reason we need music — to capture those feelings we cannot describe in words.
And so, last night, I could not listen to “Jungleland,” knowing that the man who played the saxophone that night was now dead. Unfortunately, I have lost track of the close friends who were with me at the concert that night. Yet, Clemons and the band have stayed with me through the years. I had never met Clemons and did not know him personally, so it may be foolish to mourn someone others would label “a stranger” when there are so many good people who die every day. But my connection to Clemons is a bond with the human community where even in our differences, we remain connected. At least it was for that July night in Ohio, many years ago. And I still felt that connection with the man who died last night. Thank you Clarence.
Rest in peace, Clarence Clemons, and thanks for being a part of many of the best music experiences of my life. Somewhere, the Big Man and Danny Federici are playing together again, perhaps working on their joyous solos for “Paradise by the C.”
Chimesfreedom sends out wishes and prayers for Clarence Clemons, who is seriously ill after suffering a stroke. According to reports, although Clemons has had a number of health problems in the past, this time, members of the E Street Band have been asked to go see Clemons in Florida as soon as possible.
You cannot mention Clemons without the modifier “legendary saxophonist,” for all of his great work with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, not to mention his work with other artists, including playing on Lady Gaga’s most recent album. Yet, while others in the E Street Band have larger singing roles, Clemons’s voice is also an important part of the complete package. In 1985, he even had a singing top 20 hit when he released “You’re a Friend of Mine, singing with Jackson Browne (and Daryl Hannah).
The best part of the song is the title, as when we think of Clemons, one of the first things we think about is his lifelong friendship with Bruce Springsteen and the rest of the band. On stage, Clemons, Springsteen, and the rest of the band interact in a way that shows a bunch of friends having fun. Because of that, we audience members feel like we get to share a tiny bit in that friendship. We all hope to maintain friendships like that in our own lives. Big Man, for your music and your friendships, our thoughts are with you.
Update June 13 Evening: Latest reports are that after two brain surgeries, Clemons is in stable condition and making progress. June 18 Update: Clarence Clemons passed away. For our post on his passing, head to this link.
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