Bruce Springsteen by Peter Cunningham

My first professional job as a photographer was to make Bruce Springsteen's first pictures at Columbia Records in February of 1973.  It was just before...

My first professional job as a photographer was to make Bruce Springsteen's first pictures at Columbia Records in February of 1973.  It was just before Greetings from Asbury Park was released- I got paid $25.  My job was to cover an interview by Bob Sarlin in the 12th floor conference room in "Black Rock" for an in house magazine, which was formed to introduce new artists to the record company staff.  Bruce was just a kid from New Jersey, he wandered in with his girlfriend Diane; later John Hammond stopped by as he often did in those days.  Bruce was known to some as John's 'latest folly', (Dylan had been an earlier one).  Blinded by the light, some thought the kid was faking it when those stumbling tumbling rambling array of lyrics rolled off his tongue, there was even debate about whether he really was a good guitar player.  But when he sat down to talk with us, there was no pretence or falseness in the room; he was noticeably good at just being himself.  A month later I was lucky to photograph both Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz for Columbia as well as Goddard Leiberson the legendary President of the company; all three in their different ways had a quality that I first spotted in that kid from New Jersey, an unquestionable personal presence, it's just something some people are born with.  In Bruce's case, as I learned over the years, it was combined with the highest levels of loyalty as well as personal and intellectual integrity on top of a damn good sense of humour.  And energy.  As our careers started out together I've always compared my path with his, and despite the fact that for each of my audience members he has a couple of million, I've always felt we were walking parallel paths. <<

AP