Location | Red Bank, New Jersey |
---|---|
Owner | Clarence Clemons |
Type | Night club |
Genre(s) | Rock |
Opened | 1981 |
Closed | 1983 |
Big Man's West was a nightclub located at 129 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey. [1] It was owned by Clarence "Big Man" Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and managed by Terry Magovern and George McMorrow. [2] Although the club was short-lived, together with The Fast Lane and The Stone Pony, it played a key role in the revival the Jersey Shore music scene during the early 1980s. [3]
The club opened on July 11, 1981 with a concert given by the house band Clarence Clemons & The Red Bank Rockers. They were joined on stage by Springsteen and Gary U.S. Bonds for a set that included "Ramrod", "Around and Around", "Summertime Blues", "Jole Blon", "You Can't Sit Down" and "Cadillac Ranch". [4] [5] [6] Throughout it short existence, Springsteen would go on to play at the Big Man's West regularly, making at least eighteen guest appearances. During 1982 he performed at the club with the likes of Junior Walker & The Allstars, Beaver Brown, John Eddie & The Front Street Runners, Southside Johnny, Sonny Kenn, Bill Chinnock, Iron City Houserockers and Dave Edmunds. [7] [8] [9] Other acts to perform at the club included Joan Jett, Steve Forbert, Jon Bon Jovi, [10] Bonnie Raitt [11] and Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul [12] The club would also feature popular Jersey Shore acts such as The Midnight Thunder Band fronted by Jobonanno, The Jim Davison Band, The George Theiss Band [13] and The Diamonds. [6] Theiss was a former member of The Castiles, one of Bruce Springsteen’s earliest bands. The Diamonds, featuring former members of Cats On A Smooth Surface, made their debut opening for Little Steven at Big Man's West on December 16, 1982.
Through a combination of health and safety regulations and financial difficulties, Clemons decided to close the club in January 1983. On January 8, the final night the club was open, Clemons, Springsteen, Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent joined Larson for two songs, "Rockin' All Over the World" and "Lucille". [5] [6] [7] In May 1984 Springsteen and the E Street Band, together with new recruit Nils Lofgren, also used the now defunct club for rehearsals for the forthcoming Born in the U.S.A. Tour. [14]
Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr., also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band.
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is the second song on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough album Born to Run, released in 1975.
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The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
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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 Miami Steve 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. The band's horn section – the Miami Horns – has also toured and recorded with Springsteen. More than one hundred musicians can claim to have been members of the Asbury Jukes, including Jon Bon Jovi who toured with the band as a special guest during 1990. Bon Jovi has also cited the band as an influence and Jukes' Bobby Bandiera and Jeff Kazee have also toured with Bon Jovi. Other notable band members include Mark Pender and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg who have played regularly with the Max Weinberg 7 on both Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
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The Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and a new backing band, that took place from mid-1992 to mid-1993. It followed the simultaneous release of his albums Human Touch and Lucky Town earlier in 1992. It was his first of four non-E Street Band tours. Later, Springsteen had more non-E Street Band tours, the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, the Seeger Sessions Tour, and the Devils & Dust Tour. The tour was not as commercially or critically successful as past tours, due to poor reception of Human Touch and Lucky Town as well as changes from previous tours. According to Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, die-hard fans have informally referred to the backing band as "the Other Band".
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Delores Holmes was an American soul singer. She was best known for her years as backup singer for the Bruce Springsteen Band during 1969 to 1972, the last grouping before the E Street Band. The Bruce Springsteen Band included David Sancious, Vini Lopez, Garry Tallent and Steven Van Zandt, among others.
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