Steven Van Zandt, aka Little Steven, is a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s legendary E Street Band, which he left in the early 1980s before joining again in 1999.

Discuss his recently published memoirs Unrequited fads with the New York Post, the former “Sopranos” star speaks candidly about his falling out with Springsteen that prompted him to leave, just before the Boss was catapulted to a whole new level of stardom with the release of his mega -hit from 1984 Born in the United States.

According to Van Zandt, he had become frustrated when he felt that Springsteen’s manager was undermining his role as Springsteen’s advisor.

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“I just felt like I wasn’t appreciated anymore because I was still his main advisor in a way just being his best friend, and then a new manager came in and became his main advisor,” Van said. Zandt at To post.

“I thought he wasn’t paying as much attention to my advice as he used to. I felt like I had to be part of the official management team, and he didn’t agree with that because I was his little brother in his eyes. So I thought, to preserve the friendship, I think the best thing to do is to leave, so that’s when I parted ways, ”he recalls.

Leaving The E Street Band, however, turned out to be a disastrous decision.

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“It was career suicide,” he admitted. “It was more than just a job change, it was the end of my life. I mean, my life ended then, and I had to start all over again. So it was heavy, it became very intense. I slowly understood what I had done by acting out of passion… We just did it, we just had our first success, and I’m leaving. I really felt like I wasted my life.

In the book, note an excerpt in Ultimate classic rock, Van Zandt reflects on the positive aspects of his years away from Springsteen before joining the band in 1999. “I have to be in ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Lilyhammer’. They probably never would have arrived, ”he said of his sideline as an actor.

“I would create two radio formats, a syndicated radio show, two channels of original content for Sirius (which has introduced over a thousand new bands that have nowhere to go), a record label and a program. history of music. Would all this exist? he thought, observing that his absence also had unintended consequences, in that “it would change Bruce’s personal life for the better; it is indisputable. He would have been on the road for two years. Would he have had time to connect with [wife] Patti if she hadn’t been on the road with him? Would their three wonderful children exist if I hadn’t left?