Neil Young’s Springsteen Tribute

Guest Blogger: Glen Boyd is the author of Neil Young FAQ. Visit his blog for more Neil Young updates and discussions!

On the eve of the 2013 Grammy Awards, a whos-who of music royalty — spanning genres from rock to pop to country and beyond (Latin pop superstar Juanes was perhaps the least likely surprise, performing “Hungry Heart”) — paid tribute to Bruce Springsteen as MusiCares Person Of The Year.

Now, for those of you asking what all of this has to do with our usual focus on all things Neil Young…well, it just so happens that Neil (a past MusiCares honoree himself) was among the participants.

Not surprisingly — even with a star-studded lineup boasting names as diverse as Elton John, Sting, Mumford & Sons, Patti Smith, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and the aforementioned Juanes — the burning question this week amongst Rusties was both simple and obvious:

What Bruce song would Neil play?

Earlier this week, an online poll posted by our good friends over at Thrashers Wheat favored “The River” (by 25%) — with choices like “Streets Of Philadelphia” (covered by Elton John at the event); “Atlantic City” (performed by Dixie Chick Natalie Maines and Ben Harper) and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” (Jim James and Tom Morello) running not far behind.

But the one Bruce song most everyone seemed to agree was the least likely that Neil Young would perform was “Born In The USA”.

So which song do you think Neil — with Crazy Horse, no less — actually played?

Read Glen Boyd’s blog post to find out! [includes photo of set list]

Neil Young FAQ is the first definitive guide to the music of this mercurial and methodical, enduring, and infuriating icon. From the Archives to Zuma and from the Ditch Trilogy to the Geffen years, this book covers every song and album in painstaking detail-including bootlegs and such lost recordings as Homegrown, Chrome Dreams, Toast, and Meadow Dusk.

Q & A with John D. Luerssen

John D. Luerssen is the author of Bruce Springsteen FAQ. Below is a question and answer he did with Greasy Lake.

Greasy Lake: Why does the world need another Bruce Springsteen book?

John D. Luersson: Bruce Springsteen FAQ is designed to be an entertaining reference book – one that hardcore fans can enjoy as much as passive fans. When I was quoted as saying “It’s the only Bruce book you’ll ever need” by Backstreets, it might have sounded a little pompous but what I meant is that was my goal in writing it. Want to settle a bet over what year Bruce crashed his motorbike into a tree? Pick up Bruce FAQ. It happened at his Holmdel farm in April 1979.
When did The Boss first encounter John Cafferty and Beaver Brown? August 25, 1978, at Toad’s Place in New Haven. It’s there on page 218.

GL: What makes you
 qualified to write a Bruce Springsteen book? How big of a fan are you
 yourself?

JDL: I have been writing about rock and roll for 27 years. My first record review – of The Smiths’ Meat is Murder – ran in my Westfield High School newspaper in 1985. I’ve interviewed some of my heroes – Joe Strummer, Iggy Pop, Paul Westerberg – and some of my current favorites like Ryan Adams, Pete Yorn and Josh Rouse – during an active music journalism career writing for the likes of Billboard, Rolling Stone, Spinner and American Songwriter. I’ve written two other books – one on Weezer that I wrote about a decade ago – and one for Backbeat’s FAQ series on U2 that came out in 2010. In that sense, I’d say I’m pretty qualified to write books.

As for Springsteen, I’ve been a devoted fan since October 1980 when I first heard the Boss on WPLJ as a seventh grader. I had been aware of him before that time, but I hadn’t really heard him. Between Christmas 1980 and Nebraska two years later, I was an ardent student. But from there I became a student of all things rock and roll and while I appreciated Bruce from afar, I didn’t get back into his clutches as an obsessive until 1999’s Reunion tour and the ’98 Tracks box consumed me.

I consider myself to be a big fan, but the handful of shows I’ve seen cannot compare to the likes of
 some. I have a friend from Westfield named Mitch Slater who has seen a
 staggering 235 shows since 1976. The guy has an encyclopedic knowledge of those
 shows. He’s like a Springsteen savant. I’m not in that league but I appreciate 
his devotion to Springsteen.

Keep reading this interview on Greasy Lake.

Bruce Springsteen FAQ

Bruce Springsteen FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Boss investigates Springsteen’s superstar Born in the U.S.A. album and tour, the dissolution and reunion of the E Street Band, the legal wrangling that held up 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town, the group’s postmillennium resurgence, the untimely passing of core band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, and more.

This indispensible read, packed with countless images of rare memorabilia, is a volume Springsteen fans will treasure.