A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball suspended from a crane that is used for demolition work.
Wrecking ball may also refer to:
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, combining a commercially successful rock sound with poetic and socially conscious lyrics reflecting the issues of working class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, which sometimes last over four hours.
Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded after a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his former manager Mike Appel, during sessions in New York City with the E Street Band from June 1977 to March 1978. Springsteen and Jon Landau co-produced, with assistance from bandmate Steven Van Zandt.
Steven Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s.
The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing career, the band included guitarists Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa, keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg and saxophonist Clarence Clemons.
Soozie Tyrell, formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly the Sessions Band.
Ed Manion, also known as Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, is an American saxophonist, who plays both tenor and baritone sax. As a solo artist, he released his own instrumental album titled Nightlife in 2015. Manion is a recording and touring member of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. He was a touring member of the horn section for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and also a member of Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, later called Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band. He is an original member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, The Miami Horns, and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. As a session musician, he has recorded, toured, and/or performed with, among others, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Diana Ross, Gary U.S. Bonds, Bon Jovi, Willy DeVille, Dave Edmunds, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector, Dion, The Allman Brothers Band, Kim Wilson, and Graham Parker. As a solo artist, he released his own CD titled Follow Through in 2004.
"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a folk rock song written by Bruce Springsteen. It is the title track to his eleventh studio album, released in 1995. The character Tom Joad, from John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, is mentioned in the title and narrative.
"Hungry Heart" is a rock song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, The River. It was released as the album's lead single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first big hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number five.
"No Surrender" is a song from Bruce Springsteen's album Born in the U.S.A.. It was only included on the album at the insistence of Steven Van Zandt, but has since become a concert staple for Springsteen. Though it was not one of the seven top ten hits of the album, "No Surrender" nevertheless charted on the Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at No. 29. It returned to prominence during the 2004 United States presidential election when John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a fan of Springsteen, used the song as the main theme song for his campaign.
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2006. The band consists of Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz.
Charles Giordano is an American keyboardist and accordionist. Giordano is known primarily for his work with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, replacing Danny Federici as the band's organist following the latter's serious illness and death in 2008 and as a member of Springsteen's The Sessions Band. He is also known for playing keyboards with Pat Benatar in the 1980s.
"Independence Day" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River, in 1980. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York, on April 24–25, 1980.
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream. This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.
The Sessions Band is an American musical group that has periodically recorded and toured with American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen in various formations since 1997.
Wrecking Ball is the seventeenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on March 6, 2012, on Columbia Records. It was named best album of 2012 by Rolling Stone and along with the album's first single, "We Take Care of Our Own", was nominated for three Grammy Awards.
The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, Wrecking Ball, which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band without founding member Clarence Clemons, who died on June 18, 2011. The worldwide tour in support of the album, which ended in September 2013, reached 26 countries, the most ever for one of Springsteen's tours. The tour resumed in January 2014 to promote Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, and went under that album's name.
"Death to My Hometown" is a song written and recorded by American musician Bruce Springsteen and was the third single from his album, Wrecking Ball. It is a protest song, as well as a prominent example of Springsteen's experimentation with Celtic rock rhythms.
"Land of Hope and Dreams" is a 1999 song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. After being performed on tour and released on multiple live albums, a studio recording was released for the first time on Wrecking Ball in 2012.
High Hopes is the eighteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on January 14, 2014, by Columbia Records. It went to the top of the charts in eleven countries, and was Springsteen's eleventh No. 1 album in the United States, a record surpassed only by the Beatles and Jay-Z. It was his tenth No. 1 in the UK putting him on par with the Rolling Stones and U2. Rolling Stone named it the second-best album of 2014.
Olympiastadion, Helsinki, July 31, 2012 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released on May 23, 2017. It is the thirteenth such release by the Bruce Springsteen Archives. The concert is notable for being, as of the time of its release, the longest by Springsteen and the band, at four hours and six minutes in length. The show also included a brief five-song acoustic set for fans who had arrived early; this is not included on the recording.[A] The concert is the third full-length show from the Wrecking Ball Tour to be released, following Apollo Theater 3/09/12, a rehearsal for the tour, and Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome 2013.