"Bruce Springsteen is the mythos of rock 'n' roll sprung to life. During his quarter-century career as a recording artist, any number of commentators, beginning with one for the New York Times in 1975, have voiced the observation that 'if there hadn't been a Bruce Springsteen, then critics would have made him up.' The argument is exactly backwards: the problem with Bruce Springsteen was not that he was a critic's invention; rather, it was that he was too good to be true.

"Why Springsteen?", I've been asked. My answer? Hey.. it's ok. I know... you just .. you don't know. You've never heard the music I've heard - the bootlegs. You've never read the poetry I read. You were never witness to the blinding charisma that I saw through countless bootleg videos from the 70's and 80's (and from having seen him live). I understand. It's funny. Bruce has had such a varied sound, but.. "Born in the USA" seems to be the only album people know. "THAT is Bruce Springsteen", they say. Yes, it was. It was also an abberation in his catalog.

You really have no idea how good he was, do you? You think we're all closet Billy Joel fans. Bruce was the real deal. He was a street poet. He was a soul singer. He was a bar band rocker. He was a folk singer. He was a balladeer. He was a preacher. He was you. He was me. More importantly, he was the single reason I started writing. Critics saw him as Jesus Christ. Now? Hey.. he's 54yrs old. Some ask... "Is Bruce the same old 'Boss'?". Look... The HBO special, yeah.. it was nice. The "Born in the USA" tour? Uh huh.. it was good. It was, but.. Bruce was in his prime from 1973-1982, ending with "Nebraska" - an acoustic masterpiece that few have heard (recorded as a demo in his home and released "as is"). It's not a secret. Those shows.. damn. I have bootleg videos and audio tapes that would leave you speechless, thinking.. "how can anyone be this fucking good .. this ... charismatic??". You just have no idea how many writers, songwriters, directors, critics and, well... people like you and me across the WORLD he influenced. So.. hey.. it's great that Bruce became POPULAR during "Born in the USA", but.. that wasn't his best album or his best tour. Sorry guys. Our boy Brucie was too cautious at that point - aware of the media spotlight. He was too .. "nice". He was on the cover of "People" and "Good Housekeeping"!

Those who were into him before "Born in the USA" were forever changed by him. I know I was. At a time when I needed hope, Springsteen was Hope Springs Eternal. His albums were good, but.. in concert.. he left me absolutely speechless. It was akin, I suppose, to a religious experience.

Turns out I'm not the only one. He's been a huge influence on everyone from Sean Penn to Stephen King, Tom Hanks to Nick Hornby. Hell.. Robert DeNiro admitted once, in an interview, that he stole his classic speech in Taxi Driver ("are you talking to me??") from a Springsteen show. I think it's like Emeril Lagasse. Guys knew there were poets out there before Bruce.. We knew there were romantics. Bruce, though.. man.. he was the first to speak our language, albeit in a poetic fashion. He was one of us. We ... were him. Guys everywhere wanted to be like him. We wanted to be swept up in the same street-level romanticism. Unlike rock stars before him.. Bruce never put himself above his audience. He didn't have bodyguards. He talked to us. He hung out with us. He didn't act like a "star". He recognized himself in his fans.

I can't tell you how much I wanted to write like that. Now.. at 34, I still want the same thing - to be able to write as beautiful a line .. as honest a line as Bruce. 30yrs later, he's still... "the future of rock 'n roll". He's one of the few - the absolute few - who has earned our trust. Thanks, Boss.