Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", he has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, a genre combining mainstream rock music with poetic and socially conscious lyrics that feature narratives primarily concerning working class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, which sometimes last over four hours.
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies (1985) and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number-one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. In 1989, Lauper saw success with "I Drove All Night" and in 1993, had her first dance club hit with "That's What I Think".
The U.S. state of New Jersey is located in the Northeastern United States and is part of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Vivienne Patricia Scialfa is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.
The Stone Pony is a music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The club opened in 1973.
John Lyon, known professionally as Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
Vincent Lopez, nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974 Lopez backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. Both during and after his time with the E Street Band, Lopez played drums with numerous Jersey Shore bands.
Ernest Carter is an American drummer. He has toured and recorded with, among others, Bruce Springsteen, David Sancious, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes and Paul Butterfield. During his time with Springsteen, he played the drums on the song "Born to Run". Able to play all forms of rock as well as rhythm and blues, soul and jazz, Carter was formally trained and blends a variety of styles into his drumming. His successor as the drummer with the E Street Band, Max Weinberg later said that Carter devised a jazz fusion part for "Born to Run" that he could never reproduce in concert, and eventually stopped attempting. Although best known as a drummer, Carter is also a guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist and in 2001 he released a solo album, Temple of Boom, singing and playing all of the instruments.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recorded or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" and "Fade Away". Springsteen has also performed with the band on numerous occasions and in 1991 guested on their Better Days album. During the band's formative years Steven Van Zandt acted as the band's co-leader, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer while other E Streeters including Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent, Ernest Carter, Patti Scialfa, and Soozie Tyrell have all performed, toured or recorded with the Jukes.
Patrick Michael DiNizio was the lead singer, songwriter and founding member of the band The Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros from Carteret, New Jersey.
Jeff Kazee is an American pianist, vocalist, songwriter and Hammond B3 organist for the Rock/Soul band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. He has also worked extensively with Bon Jovi and with Jon Bon Jovi in his solo career.
Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. Her influences include 1950s crooner music, 1960s psychedelia, soul music, and the Brill Building style of writing. Atkins has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from the Brill Building era.
William Chinnock, also referred to as Bill Chinnock or Billy Chinnock, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Chinnock grew up in the nearby Essex County communities of East Orange and Millburn. He was a prominent member of the Jersey Shore music scene during the late 1960s, leading bands that included future members of the E Street Band.
The Saint is a music venue located in Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States. It is reminiscent of places like The Cellar Door in Washington, DC, CBGB, CB's 313 Gallery, and The Living Room in New York City, and features live, original music. The Saint was founded by Adam Jon Weisberg along with business partner Scott Stamper, and opened its doors on November 18, 1994. Stamper bought out Weisberg in 2013 and became the sole owner. He is also a co-founder of the Wave Gathering Music Festival.
The Obvious is an American independent alternative/punk rock band that was formed in Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States, in mid-2005. The band currently consists of frontwoman Surojanie "Angie" Sugrim, Dan Astorri, and Biff Swenson (bass). The band has shared a similar style to other punk/alt-rock bands such as early Nirvana, Hole, and the Afghan Whigs. The Obvious has developed itself to be one of the most prominent punk rock acts to come out of the mid-2000s revival of the Asbury Park music scene.
Quincy Mumford is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He has released several solo albums since his debut in 2008, and is also rhythm guitarist and frontman of the band Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why, a five-person group based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Mumford's style has been described as "funk, soul and surf music, with a dash of reggae thrown in." After the release of his second album South Edgemere, he won three Asbury Music Awards in 2009, including Best Male Acoustic Act. That year MSNBC also named Mumford one of their "1 of 10 up and coming young artists."
John Micco, aka Micco, is an American bass player, back-up vocalist, and songwriter based in New York City.
Jeff Raspe is Music Director at NPR-affiliated, non-commercial, triple-A station WBJB-FM in Lincroft, New Jersey. WBJB-FM, Brookdale Public Radio, is also known as 90.5 The Night. Jeff Raspe, who began his career in radio on Halloween in 1988, is an avid music enthusiast who has received the Asbury Park Music Award for Top Radio Personality several years running.
Scott Stamper is an American club owner, booking agent, and talent scout. He is the owner of The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ and founder of the Golden T-Bird Awards, currently known as The Asbury Music Awards. Stamper also founded the Wave Gathering.
The Upstage Club was a legendary coffee shop, music venue, and afterhours club in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The club is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Influential musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Bill Chinnock, Southside Johnny, David Sancious, Little Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez, and Danny Federici first honed their live performance skills at the club. It was where the Asbury Jukes, Steel Mill and the Blackberry Blues Band were formed.
