'Greetings from E Street': A look back at a band's glory days

by Barbara Jaeger

The Record (Hackensack N.J.)

8 November 2006

A plain yellow business card emblazoned in one corner with Steel Mill and its center bearing the info, “Bruce Springsteen (201) 922-9610.” (Page 10)

A cocktail napkin and “Band/Local” “Working” “VIP/Guest” pass from the Stone Pony. (Page 35)

A spring 1979 copy of the fan magazine Thunder Road. (Page 43)

These little treasures are among many tucked in among the pages of “Greetings From E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” (Chronicle Books). The book, written by former rock journalist Bob Santelli, is a treasure trove of memorabilia and never-before-seen photos of Springsteen and the band.

The story that Santelli weaves among the photos, documents, handwritten set lists and backstage passes is one that is familiar to all fans. But it is notable because it’s the first time the story has been told by the E Street Band members, some of whom have been with Springsteen for almost four decades.

Santelli, who is the artistic director of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, had several things in his favor when he approached the band - a notoriously closed community - with the idea for this project. He has known many of the group members for years, having covered the Jersey Shore music scene for the Asbury Park Press. Santelli also collaborated with E Street drummer Max Weinberg on his book, “The Big Beat,” and with Springsteen on his book “Songs.”

“I had this sense of trust with the band,” explained Santelli in a recent phone interview. “And I got their cooperation because this was going to be a book about the band, not Bruce Springsteen.”

Santelli said he had long been intrigued by the group’s “sense of family and community.”

“This is a band that is alive and active,” Santelli added. “I just thought it would be a great rock `n’ roll story to focus on the achievements of the band members. They’ve all done great things.”

The main thrust, according to Santelli, was to capture the group’s “musical history and sense of community.”

But Santelli didn’t want to do that just with words. He wanted an interactive account that would “sit on a coffee table” and have a certain amount of “wow factor.”

The idea for this type of book - a slipcased scrapbook - was planted by an earlier project Santelli had done. Working with Bob Dylan, Santelli wrote the text for “The Bob Dylan Scrapbook, 1956-1966.” With its memorabilia and photos, the book presented a wonderful, comprehensive look at Dylan’s early career and served as a terrific companion to the Martin Scorsese documentary “No Direction Home.”

“Doing the Dylan book and going through the cool artifacts from the Dylan archives, I tapped into my two passions, music and museums,” said Santelli, who previously served as the education director at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. “When I got done with the Dylan book, I started thinking about doing two other artists whose music I admired. They were Bruce and Bob Marley.”

There was just one problem, though. Author James Henke was working on a book on Marley that came out this year ("Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley").

“So I did the most important one,” said Santelli, with a laugh.

The project took Santelli about a year and a half to complete. He did interviews with most of the band members, and keyboardist Danny Federici gave him access to historical photos from his collection. As for the artifacts, such as the business card and cocktail napkin, Santelli said these were assembled much in the same way one would put together a museum exhibit.

“You get the word out on what you are doing, and you touch base with collectors,” he said. “That’s the most fun, collecting all the items and seeing how they help tell the story you’re telling.”

The story Santelli tells takes the E Street Band (and all its early incarnations, Steel Mill, Child, the Bruce Springsteen Band, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom) from its initial Garden State gigs through the tour for “The Rising” and the concerts the group performed for presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. As he had done previously, Springsteen then went off on his own and released the solo project “Devils and Dust.”

It’s these solo efforts by Springsteen and the group members’ outside activities that Santelli believes make the band a strong force to be reckoned with for many years to come.

“I’ve always been struck by their ability to come together and connect, personally and musically,” he said. “Not only does Bruce’s solo work serve him well when he comes back to the band; the experiences the band members have had, whether it’s Max working on the Conan O’Brien show or Garry (Tallent) producing other acts, make them stronger, too.

“My guess is there’s plenty of music left in this band.”

Oh, and that phone number on Springsteen’s first business card for one of his early bands? Don’t bother dialing it. You’ll get a recorded message telling you that “your call cannot be completed as dialed.”

© 2006, North Jersey Media Group Inc.