Cornershot: Love for little Steven | Music
Steven van zandt
JULY FILE
Today in my vast musical universe, I want to pay homage to one of the coolest in rock history – the non-fictional Bruce Springsteen and fictional Tony Soprano “confidant” – Steven Van Zandt, aka Little Steven or Miami Steve.
“Little Steven” was born November 11, 1950 in Massachusetts, but grew up primarily in northern New Jersey / New York.
Van Zandt first appeared playing guitar and backing vocals with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, exploding from New Jersey in the early 1970s.
He was then known as “Miami” Steve and was Springsteen’s right hand in an iconic band that mixed epic live performances with epic lyrics of “The Boss”, in rock arenas around the world.
Van Zandt left the E Street Band on several occasions, once in 1979 and again in 1984. He joined the group in 1999 and has remained.
Between two stints with Springsteen, he mainly worked with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, and with Artists United Against Apartheid… the last of which really blew me away when I was a teenager.
The Artists United project brought one of the earliest and most visible South African protest records, with a video titled “Sun City” which aired on MTV in the mid-1980s. It featured a diversity of performers, including Miles Davis, Bono and Lou Reed.