Donors and Friends > Previous Donor News Stories
4,000th Donation Fills A Historic Gap
Donor Thanks [Various Dates]
Springsteen Fans Keep Giving To Asbury Collection
Two Rare Magazines Donated To The Springsteen Special Collection
In September of 1975, a month after the release of Born To Run and a month before the simultaneous Time and Newsweek covers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band found themselves in the American heartland--Iowa, to be precise; the Hawkeye state where, as the state song has it, "fields of tasseled corn" and "wondrous prairies shine/To yonder sunset's purpling line."
One barnstorming stop in particular might never have been happened, especially on the Born To Run tour, except for two facts. Grinnell, the 25th largest city (population 8,400) in the nation's 20th smallest state, had a college. And in March of 1974, 20 months prior to the tour, a Grinnell College official had been persuaded to book the band--despite the fact that Springsteen's first two albums had been commercial flops.
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| Photo: Grinnell College, Jonathan Daen |
Down through the years, very little has been written about the Sept. 20, 1975 show in tiny Darby Gym on the Grinnell campus. But that changed in a major way recently when The Grinnell Magazine, a quarterly for alumni, faculty, students and friends of the College, published "The East Street Shuffle, 30 Years After the 'Springsteen Invasion'" as the cover story for its Fall 2005 issue. The issue, donated to the Springsteen Special Collection by editor Jacqueline Hartling Stolze, who also wrote the cover article, is the 4,000th publication to join the Springsteen Special Collection.
Stolze's article, told through the eyes of people who were lucky enough to be there, documents a fascinating day replete with fears, tensions, and exhilarating rock and roll.
The fears started early. In Iowa, fanatical rock travelers are not an every day occurrence and as the concert approached, college administrators were worried about rumors that the concert would be overrun by crazed fans "from the East." Students, Stolze wrote, "were advised to be particularly cautious, and to carry their IDs and lock their doors and windows. It was practically a Red Alert for this small Iowa town." Pinkerton guards were hired to put down rioting in case things got out of hand once the 200 tickets set aside for the invading hordes had been snapped up.
For Bruce and the band, the day began quietly enough with breakfast at the Silhouette Restaurant (Bruce had oatmeal, eggs and a milkshake, according to a waitress), and ended late with an after-show party where, according to the calculations of a Grinnell student, Bruce went broke buying pizza. In between:
Thirty years later, during a visit to Grinnell, Max Weinberg looked back fondly on the experience. "It was wild," Weinberg told The Grinnell Magazine recently. "I only spent one Saturday night in Grinnell, but it was wild." And while there may be more tasseled corn in Iowa than there is in New Jersey, Max said the heartland "was an area of the country that really responded to [Bruce's music] early and hard ... We were thankful for the support we got from our Midwest fans."
Jan Sweeney of Marco Island, FL
for Stephen King's "megamix" list written up in Entertainment
Weekly, including "Seeds;"
Dublin's Tom McCormack for another great collection
of Irish newspaper articles;
Joe Kivak of Pittston, PA., for continuing to
provide major newspaper articles from his vast collection
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Rosanna Belluti of Fabbrico, Italy for
recent editions of L'espresso and Jam;
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ for a 2006 TV
Guide featuring Springsteen songs on TV's Cold Case and a Palm
Beach Post interview with Clarence Clemons;
Joe Kivak of Dupont, PA, for a large collection
of European newspaper articles;
Melanie Paggoli of Oceanport, NJ for a web article
praising Bruce'physical condition at age 60
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Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ, for
the end of decade review from The Press of Atlantic City;
Joe Kivak of Dupont, PA, for a series of 1978-1980
publications from his excellent collection reviewing shows in Rochester,
Buffalo, Miami and Birmingham
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Linda Randall, of Oneonta, NY, for
her thesis "Finding Grace In The Concert Hall: Community and
Meaning Among Springsteen Fans;"
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ for the Popdose.com
"100 Best Albums of the Decade," a Ticketmaster flier
for three Giants Stadium shows, and a series of newspaper articles.
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Jos Westenberg of Utrecht, The Netherlands,
for "Magic Night," the book (co-written with Muriel Kleisterlee,
covering the Magic tour in Europe and the US);
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ,
for fliers for Clarence Clemons' book signing in Bridgewater,
NJ; for The Sounds of Asbury concerts at The Stone Pony, and coverage
in The Buffalo News of the tour's final concert;
Jan Sweeney of Marco Island, FL for coverage of the Auburn Hills ("Hello
Ohio!") show.
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Dina Davis of Tallahassee for newspaper
coverage of the Tampa show;
Michael Glaser of Sondershausen, Germany, for
a great collection of German magazines and newspaper articles,
including major coverage of Bruce Springsteen's 60th birthday;
Sue Davidson, of Ottawa, for newspaper coverage
of the Human Rights, Now! tour in Montreal;
Rosanna Belluti of Fabbrico, Italy for the current
issue of JAM and newspaper coverage of Bruce's 60th birthday
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Jan Sweeney of Marco Island, FL for reviews
of the September Florida shows;
Melanie Paggioli of Oceanport, NJ, for a series
of New Jersey Shore newspaper articles;
Brigitte Poupon of Langolen, France, for Carhaix
festival newspaper and magazine coverage;
Dave Brett of Herndon, VA for providing 128
newspaper and magazine articles, one of the largest individual
donations ever for the Collection;
Patrick Rossi of Strasbourg, France, for several
great issues of Rock & Folk;
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Cecile Fauveau of Paris for a
complete set of the French fanzine TRAMPS;
David Wilson of Woodbridge, NJ for his excellent
paper on the manner in which Freehold, NJ has affected Bruce Springsteen's
life and work
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Francesco Benevento of Milan for sharing his extensive collection
of newspaper articles, including many concert reviews; Anne Noss of
Florham Park, NJ, for materials brought home from the Rome concert; for the
SPAC review in the Times Union, and the NJ Monthly story about Bruce and Patti
at the vet with their dog;
Patrick Rossi of Strasbourg, France, for excellent
newspaper articles covering the E Street Band's concert at Carhaix;
Tim Thompson, Nantucket's piano man and No. 1 fan, for a wonderful collection
of books, song books, videos and other goodies;
Cecile Fauveau of Paris for the
special section of Le Telegramme featuring the "Bruce Springsteen & The E Strip
Band" comic strip;
Salvador Trepat, Barcelona, for recent Spanish magazines and a hard-to-find issue
of Point Blank.
---------------------------------------------
Rosanna Belluti of Fabbrico, Italy,
for four wonderful Italian publications, including the June 2009 Vanity
Fair with Leonardo Columbati's interview of Bruce
Springsteen, and a series of newspaper reviews of Italian shows;
Joan Pedersen of New York for newspaper coverage
of Bergen, Norway;
Arnie Zullow of Chicago for newspaper articles;
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ for an online
review of Atlanta (12/2/02) and the winter 2009 issue of Food
Bank News, among others;
Maggie Powell of Hannover, Germany, for the
Daily Mail's article on Asbury Park, Freehold and Rumson,
and the March 2008 issue of Musikexpress;
George Francy of East Brunswick, NJ, for Bonnaroo
articles, including the front page coverage in the Bonnaroo Beacon;
Paola Baiotti of Torino, Italy, for two issues
of the Italian magazine Late For The Sky containing
his reportage, along with great newspaper reviews from the tour
of Italy;
Annabel Nanninga of Amsterdam for newspaper
and magazine coverage of the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf;
Peter Redmond of Duleek, Ireland for multiple
newspaper reviews of the WOAD tour in Dublin;
Patty Pappas of Etobicoke, Ontario, for newspaper
coverage of the WOAD tour in Toronto;
Tom McCormack of Dublin, Ireland, for more than
three dozen newspapers and magazines full of Bruce news and reviews; Kevin
Kinsella of Dublin for the Dublin review in Hot
Press.
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Joanna Mungai of Washington, PA,
for a series of magazines and newspaper articles, including a 1967
story on the death of Marine Corporal Bart Haynes, drummer in The
Castiles;
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ, for recent Jersey Shore
newspaper articles;
June Lisk of Monroe Township, NJ, for a series
of newspaper articles from her collection;
Jim Pettis, Canton,
GA, for four photos from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from
the June 3, 2000 show which the newspaper did not review;
Sandy
Wells of Little Silver, NJ, for a series of Jersey Shore
newspaper articles;
Anne and Jeffrey Noss of Florham Park, NJ, for
the Clearwater Navigator issue covering Pete Seeger's birthday.
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Jim Merrigan of East Windsor,
CT, for coverage of Hartford;
Michael McQuaid of Ajax, Ontario, for coverage
of Toronto;
Joan Pedersen New York, for coverage of Hartford,
Uniondale and Albany;
Jan Sweeney of Marco Island, FL., for an excellent
review of the first Philadelphia show;
Lois Schumm of Cherry Hill, NJ, for reviews
from The Philadelphia Inquirer of Bruce's last two shows
at the Spectrum;
Mike Romano of Algonquin, IL., for reviews of
the Chicago show;
Brian Magid of Burtonsville,
MD, for once again allowing us to freely select over 100
needed issues from his personal collection;
Annette Eshleman of Austin for additional Texas
coverage.
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Cecile Fauveau of Paris for the
French Rolling Stone collectors issue and the January 2009 cover
story of Start Up magazine with Bruce's last name misspelled
in the headline!!!
Laura Watson of Eastman Kodak in Hemel, Hempstead,UK
for the InCamera issue of July 2008, with a feature on the shooting
of the Girls In Their Summer Clothes video;
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ for a series of articles
from the Asbury Park Press;
Brigitte Poupon, of Langolen, France, for 12
French magazines and newspaper articles, including the all-Bruce
issue of Crossroads;
Jim Van Horn of Clinton, AR for a series of
Tulsa, OK concert articles;
Carlos Blanco of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for a series
of Dream articles in Brazilian newspapers and magazines;
Ed Ortiz of Phoenix, AZ for the online review
of April 3, 2009;
Kris Power of Austin, TX for four wonderful
articles from The Austin Chronicle online;
George Kovacik of Houston, TX for a review of
the April 8 show;
David Mariano of Quincy, MA for coverage of
Boston (4/21/09);
Morgan Funder of San Francisco for her excellent
blog reviews;
Ron Gullberg of Casper, WY, for his online examples
of living the life in Wyoming;
Journalists Kevin O'Hare, Springfield, MA, and Alison
Mundy of Hartford, CT, for coverage of the Hartford
show
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Tim Thompson of Nantucket, MA
for several articles from his personal collection and an excellent
collection of early newspaper clippings;
Melanie Paggioli of Oceanport, NJ, for magazines and a
bunch of Jersey Shore newspaper articles;
Caryl Karp of Long Branch, NY, for two huge boxes of magazines,
fanzines, newspaper clippings and more;
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ, for the issue of Historical
Collector's Edition with photos of the We Are One concert during
the Obama inauguration;
Joanna Mungai of Washington, PA, for newspaper clippings
including a photo from the 2004 Flood Aid concert;
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ for a large box of newspaper
clippings from the Jersey Shore, plus fascinating articles from The
Freehold Transcript, documenting Bruce Springsteen's baseball
exploits as a member of the Indians;
Sandy Wells of Little Silver, NJ, for magazines and clippings;
Dan Toskaner of Scarsdale, NY, for a big collection of
newspaper clippings;
The author Ahmet Tulgar of Istanbul, Turkey,
for his Springsteen articles in the June 2004 issue of the news
magazine Aktuel, and the December 2007 issue of the
art magazine Milliyet Sanat;
Stefano Rizzo of Milan, Italy, for once again searching
the Milano Record Fair and local newstands for Springsteen articles;
Tina Thacker of Penticton, British Columbia, for the January
2009 issue of Faith & Friends, with a Bruce cover story inspired
by the publication of Jeffrey Symynkywicz's book "The Gospel According
to Bruce Springsteen."
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Brigitte Poupon of Langolen,
France for six French magazines and two newspapers
Joanna Mungai of Washington, PA for The Patriot-News review
of the Hershey show
Tom McCormack of Dublin, Ireland, for a series
of newspaper articles and a Magic television documentary
Gail Haltiwanger of Jacksonville, FL., for previews
of the March 1977 show in Jacksonville; and for a book on rock
and roll rivalries
Kristi Burt of Bloomington, MN, for reviews of
the June 10, 1978 show in Bloomington
Becky Harris Cowley of West Ewell, UK, for sharing
her personal collection of UK newspaper articles
Matthias Buckpesch of Munich, Germany, for hard-to-find
reviews of German shows
Chuck Bauerlein, English professor at West Chester
(PA) University, for a copy of his review of the Sept. 6, 1975
show in New Orleans
The author Ahmet Tulgar of Istanbul, Turkey, for his three books
with Springsteen essays as well as a two articles, one a ranking of Springsteen's
top 15 songs, the other an interview with Tulgar, in the December 2007 edition
of the Turkish music magazine Roll
Christina Hutcheson of Groveport, OH, who donated
her collection of documents, including a lovingly and carefully
prepared scrapbook of magazine and newspaper articles
Brent Gregory of Mesa, AZ for five concert reviews,
1975-1984 from The Phoenix Gazette.
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Author Howard Shapiro of Coraopolis, PA.,
for a copy of his book "Hockey Player for Life"
Denise Green of Decatur, IL., for dozens of reviews
from college newspapers of Bruce's early on-campus shows
Salvador Trepat of Barcelona, Spain, for his help with a great collection of Spanish publications
Jim Van Horn of Clinton, AK for articles on the epic
St. Louis and Kansas City finale of the Magic tour
John Palisano of Norwalk, CT., for a great
collection including a catalog, a price list, a marketing plan
and a flier distributed at the Kristen Ann Carr concert
Pat Chastain of Indianapolis, IN for a BITUSA tour
staff itinerary for October-November 1984
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Art Masciocchi of Berlin, NJ for a review
of the second show of the Born to Run tour
Mark Uzzo of Mt. Vernon, NY for a review of
the first East Rutherford show on the Magic Tour, along with
the English version of the book "Local Heroes"
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ, for Kevin Coyne's
essay "These Two Lanes Will Take Us Anywhere" in
the New York Times
S-J Rice of Melbourne, Australia, for the UK
publication Great lyricists – the 10,000 publication
to enter the Special Collection
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Brian Magid, Burtonsville MD,
for 114 magazines, 15 fanzines and 61 newspapers – one
of the largest collections ever donated to the Special Collection
Author and professor Louis P. Masur of Highland
Park, NJ., for the Glory Days Symposium articles which fill Vol.
9, No. 1 of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, along
with his Born to Run 30th anniversary piece in the Chicago
Tribune
Pastors Morris Brown and Mike Moran, for their
four part series of sermons entitled "The Gospel According
to Bruce Springsteen" delivered during April at the Grace
Church - United Methodist in Greensboro, NC.
Sandy Wells of Little Silver, NJ for a great series of
recent newspaper articles
Francesco Magni from Switzerland, for two publications
distributed to fans in Milan last June
Michele Hovan of Flemington, NJ, who donated the March
25, 1992 issue of East Coast Rocker, thereby reducing the Want
List by one more
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Michael Glaser of Sondershausen,
Germany, for a big box of German magazines
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ for five publications,
including the programs for the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction
ceremony and the Count Basie Theatre benefit concert
Tom McCormack of Dublin for a great batch of
Irish newspaper and magazine articles documenting the three Dublin
dates
Phil Bracken of Bolton, UK, for three issues
of The Ties That Bind newsletter
Mark Uzzo of Mount Vernon, NY for a Newsday clipping
looking back at Springsteen's first show on Long Island
---------------------------------------------
Mark Uzzo of Mount Vernon, NY for the Feb.
27, 2008 cover story in Free Time magazine
Jim Van Horn of Clinton, AK for newspaper articles
on the April 13, 2008 show in Dallas
Arnie Zullow of Chicago for a huge collection
of newspaper articles
Melanie Paggioli of Oceanport, NJ for a big batch
of Jersey Shore newspaper articles and some magazines, too
Leonardo Colombati of Rome, Italy, for his wonderful
new book "Bruce Springsteen, Come Un Killer Sotto Il Sole" which
takes poetic novel writing to new heights, and for the first 12
issues of The Killer Newsletter
Joanna Mungai of Washington PA for The Columbus
Dispatch of March 25, 2008 with a front page photo from Value
City Arena
Tom McCormack of Dublin for yet another great
batch of Irish newspaper clippings
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Shawn Poole (Philadelphia, PA)
for two additions to the comic books section, donated by Shawn
in honor of "the late, great Suzy Shaw, who passed away
last fall. Suzy was one of the co-conspirators behind the fantastic "Bruce
Springstone" parody record and was very interested in depictions
of Bruce in comic-book and comic-strip forms."
Jersey Shore author and photographer Chuck Yopp for
the revised edition of his book "Greetings From Asbury Park,
N.J., A Look At The Local Scene"
Lorraine Mangione of Keene, NH, for the November
2007 issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the
Arts, containing the article she co-wrote with Susan Keady
entitled "Bruce Springsteen: Spirit In The Night"
Tom McCormack of Dublin, Ireland for a great
batch of Irish newspaper articles
Carlos Blanco of San Paulo, Brazil, for the January
2008 issue of Rolling Stone (Brazil)
Michele Hovan of Flemington, NJ for the October
1992 issue of Relix, with a review of Lucky Town and Human
Touch.
---------------------------------------------
Maggie Powell of Hannover, Germany, for
three German magazines, including the December 2007 Rolling Stone and
January 2008 Rocks with Springsteen cover stories
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ, for five publications
including the Food Providers, Inc. flier saluting Bruce at the
Nov. 15, 2007 show in Albany
Stefano Rizzo of Milan, Italy, for helping us
acquire recent issues of all major Italian music magazines
---------------------------------------------
Tom McCormack of Dublin, Ireland,
for a wonderful collection of 39 magazines and newspaper clippings
featuring Magic CD and album reviews
Carlos Blanco of San Paulo, Brazil, for a large
package of magazines, newspaper articles and internet article
printouts
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ for the Magic
review in Soap Opera Digest.
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George Francy of East Brunswick, NJ, for the UMass Amherst alumni magazine and the October 2007 of Uncut from the UK
Francesco Magni of Ponte Capriasca, Switzerland
for the October 2007 Rock Star and November Fedelta
del Suono,
both with Bruce covers
Cliff Breining of Rancho Santa Fe, CA.,
for sharing his huge collection of articles, most from the early
1970s
Joanna Mungai of Washington, PA for the November 2007 magazine
Whirl with the Bruce cover story and a great series of Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette articles
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ for the "Jersey
Rocks!" issue of New Jersey Monthly
Fanzine editor Dave
Petruski of McKeesport, PA, for two issues of his 'zine Cadillac
Ranch
Maggie Powell of Hannover, Germany, for a collection of German music magazines,
Magic-era
Lawrence Kirsch of Montreal, Canada, for a copy of his book For You
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell of Hartford,
CT for her proclamation declaring Bruce Springsteen day in the
state
Mark Uzzo of Tuckahoe, NY, Dan Toskaner of
Scarsdale, NY, Sandy Wells of Little Silver,
NJ, Carl Beams of Howell, NJ, and Melanie
Paggioli of Oceanport, NJ, for big batches of newspaper
articles
Jim Van Horn of Clinton, AK for a Magic review
from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Francesco Magni of Ponte Capriasca, Switzerland,
for the October 2007 issue of the Italian fashion magazine I
O Donna
Stacie Tobin of Baltimore, MD for a series of
internet articles
Russ Worden and Jan Lawrence of Culver City,
CA, for newspaper articles from the Los Angeles shows
Robert Emerson of Glenview, IL for Chicago concert
reviews in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times
Gregg Chadwick of Santa Monica, CA for his excellent blogcritics.org article
entitled "Devils and Dust: Bruce Springsteen, Edward Hopper
and American Light."
Joe Hurley of Wall, NJ, for a
huge box full of early Springsteen newspaper articles and magazines
Francesco Magni of Ponte Capriasca, Switzerland, for the
June 2006 issue of the Italian magazine Buscadero
Jim Van Horn of Clinton, AR, for a big batch of newspaper
articles, including the Live In Dublin review from the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette and great BITUSA concert reviews from Memphis and
Dallas
---------------------------------------------
Melanie Paggioli of Oceanport,
NJ., for the Little Steven interview in the November 2006 issue
of American Way
Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ., for the Playbill from "The
Music Of Bruce Springsteen at Carnegie Hall"
Anders Martensson for the Swedish edition of his book
"Local Heroes Asbury Park, NJ."
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Phil Bracken of Bolton, UK, for
the program for Light of Day 6
Paul Limbrick of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, UK, for numerous
publications, including a curious Omaha Rainbow fanzine from 1975
with a Bruce cover, but no inside content whatsoever
Stephen Jump of Badlands for the Snap Galleries brochure
for the Eric Meola photo exhibit in Birmingham, UK
Art Masciocchi of Berlin, NJ, whose huge collection will forever be reflected in the Special Collection
Margrit Roepke for the March 27, 1995 Time International with the MTV Unplugged feature, the Seeger Sessions tour review in the Oct. 12, 2006 Hamburger Morgenpost, and for making available other items from her extensive collection
Virginia Tixi of Genova, Italy, for magazines and clippings from the Seeger Sessions Band tour of Italy
Jamie Gillies of Victoria, British Columbia, for the June 9, 1984 Billboard with a full page BITUSA ad
Tom Cunningham, voice of Bruce Brunch on 105.7 The Hawk, for the Winter 2002-03 issue of the University of Dayton Quarterly
Peter Schoefboeck of Vienna, Austria for the May 1995 issue of Rock & Folk containing an extensive interview with Bruce
Tom McCormack, of Dublin, Ireland, and Anne Noss, of Florham Park, NJ, for clips from the Seeger Sessions Band's swing through Ireland (and to Anne, as well, for the Light of Day 7 program)
Scott Haspel, of Rockland County, NY, for the January 1983 Musician containing an interview with Miami Steve
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ., for issue #4 of
harmanpro magazine, which details the high-tech details of the
Seeger Sessions Band tour, the March 2007 Monmouth Health & Life,
and the NJEA Review
Marietta Phillips of Anchorage, AK for the 2007 Grammy
Awards program.
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Virginia Tixi of Genova, Italy for an
amazing collection of 45 Italian books, clippings and magazines, including
a special issue of Tutti Frutti covering the Amnesty International
tour
June Lisk of Monroe Township, NJ., for four Seeger
Sessions articles
Carl Beams of Howell, NJ., for a copy of the program
from the June 19, 1967 Freehold Regional High School graduation
ceremony (which Bruce skipped; he picked up his diploma later)
Chris Nierling of Belleview, FL., for magazines,
fanzines and clippings from his extensive collection
Chris White of Kent, UK, for multiple links to
major UK internet articles
Dari Silverman of Santa Monica, CA., for several
great additions to the want list
Tom McCormack of Dublin, Ireland, for large batch
of clippings from the Seeger Session tour in Ireland
Paul Limbrick of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, UK,
for the Autumn 1988 Point Blank/Fever Live Tunnel of Love Express
Tour fanzine
Christopher Zinsli, editor of Gateway magazine,
for the summer 2006 cover story in Gateway on Bruce places
in New Jersey
Rock critic Joyce Millman of San Mateo, CA., who has frequently
written about Bruce, for a collection of her articles, including the cover story
in the Sept. 11, 1984 issue of The Boston Phoenix
Melanie Paggioli of Oceanport, NJ for three publications,
including the Sept. 11, 2006 People reporting on Bruce's
defense of his marriage to Patti
Emiliano Duroni of Rome, Italy, for the Corriere
Della Sera review of the American Land Edition of We Shall
Overcome
Kevin Jessop of Toronto, Ontario, for the August
1992 cover story in Music Express
Uwe Schmalz and Alexandra Billhardt of Cologne,
Germany, for the May 2006 issue of MusikExpress
Fanzine editors Joan Colet of The Stone Pony (Spain)
and Claus Derksen of The Wish (Germany) for their latest
issues
Peter Schoefboeck of Vienna, Austria, and Chris
Saunders of Southhamption, UK., for the November 2006
of Record Collection, in which they wrote the cover story
on the 40 rarest Bruce records
Becky Harris Crowley for the Rock On! 1980 annual.
---------------------------------------------
Monmouth Medical Center and Carl
Beams for the March
2006 issue of Monmouth Health & Life, and Carl for the May
2006 issue of Men's Fitness.
Melanie Paggioli for the Dec.
30, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly, the Jan. 23, 2006 issue
of US, and the November 2005 issue of New
Jersey Life.
Jennifer
Walter of Langley, British Columbia, for her paper "The
Boss and The Bible" presented at the Glory Days Symposium.
Kathleen
Keegan from Freehold High School in Freehold, NJ, for
helping us complete our collection of yearbooks from Bruce's
high school years.
Richard Miller of Germantown, MD for the Marquette
University Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series entitled "Crime,
Lawbreaking, and Counterhegemonic Humanism in the Songs of Bruce
Springsteen."
Susan Edwards of Colts Neck, NJ., for the April
17, 2006 issue of The New Yorker containing the Pete Seeger profile.
Deborah Robinson of Baltimore, MD for the April 21, 2006 Seeger
Sessions review on Slate.com.
Leannah Harding of Arlington, VA.,
who moderates the BruceGrrlsDC group, for many, many links.
Marco
Bulgheroni for two wonderful issues of Mucchio
Selvaggio.
---------------------------------------------
Michelle Maiatico of New Market,
MD, for 21 issues of the fanzine The Fever, 32 issues
of the fanzine The Fever: Bruce Monthly, and individual
issues of Rock Espezial and Ciao 2001.
Gerald Sommerer of Langenfeld, Germany for his
third donation to the Collection, consisting of 18 publications
including three issues of the Swiss fanzine Drive All Night,
four issues of the Norwegian and Swedish fanzine Factory,
and a fantastic issue by the German publication Popstar devoted
entirely to Bruce, detailing his career through "Born In
The USA."
Mori Alessio of Bra, Italy, for the book "Bruce
Springsteen, Trent' Anni Da Boss."
Miguel Jancich of Buenos Aires, Argentina,
for three donations, including the Collection's first
issue of the Argentine fanzine Streets of Fire.
Francesco Benevento of Milan, Italy, for the
all-Bruce magazine Rock Show and two Italian books,
including "Terra di Zucchero," documenting Bruce's
career from 1972 to 1990.
Christy Blanchette of Vllaey Cottage, NY for
a large and generous donation of fanzines and other publications.
Carlos Blanco of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the
100 greatest shows in Brazil issue of Bizz
Joe Gervais of Fremont, CA for the August 1988 Penthouse
Matthias Buckpesch of Hamburg, Germany, for
the August 2005 Music Express and the July 2005 Rolling
Stone from Germany
Muriel Kleisterlee and Jos Westenberg of
Utrecht, The Netherlands, for their book "Rising High" and
for six issues of the Belgium fanzine Thunder Road
Astrid Ewen of Billerbeck Germany for nine magazines
including the Bruce cover issue (#4 2005) of Good Times
Jim McKelly, of Auburn, Alabama, for the March
1981 issue of the St. Louis publication Metro The Tabloid
Kristina Pfützner, a German fan living and
working in Mexico, who reviewed Devils & Dust in the
Mexican magazine Compas
Jeffrey and Anne Noss of Florham Park, NJ, for
the Playbill for the performance of Anytown at
the Joyce Theater
Francesco Magni of Lugano, Switzerland for the
January 2006 MOJO, the December 2005 Mucchio Selvaggio,
and volume 1 number 1 of the new Italian magazine MUZ from
January 2006, all with Bruce cover stories
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Gail Haltiwantger of Jacksonville, FL., Guillaume Augias of Paris, Joan Colet of Barcelona, Gerri Sommerer of Langenfeld, Germany, Sal Trepat of Barcelona, Midge Botten of Kent, UK, Tramps Like Us members from Paris, and Jean-Louis Valdeyron of Montpellier, France for making significant recent contributions to the Collection.
Special thanks also go to Francesco Magni of Manno Switzerland, for his donation of 40 issues and supplements of the Italian fanzine The River, and to Sue Thomason of Alsager, Cheshire, UK, for donating the first five issues of the UK fanzine Ragamuffin Gunner.
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Special thanks to the following for recent significant donations: Daiichiro Eguchi of Tokyo for multiple issues of Be Street, early Japanese fanzine; Astrid Ewen of Billerbeck, Germany, for the May 2003 cover story in the German issue of Rolling Stone and the #23/24 double issue of The Wish; Hans Christian Færden of Borgen, Norway for a complete run of the Norwegian fanzine Rocksy; Philipp Nyffenegger of Zurich, Switzerland for multiple issues of the Swiss fanzine Drive All Night; Mike Saunders of London for publications documenting the Tom Joad tour of the UK and Bruce's appearance in the High Court of London in 1998; and Spirits In The Night, the Bruce Club at Holmdel High School in New Jersey, for donating a copy of Richard Neer's excellent book "FM." We are grateful to them all.
[Note: not all of our donor announcements remain available for this page. The Donors List on Donors &Friends honors the many generous people who have contributed to this Collection.]
(Press Release)
Asbury Park's collection of books and magazines devoted to the lives and careers of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band has doubled in size in two years, topping 2,000 items with the donation of a 17-year-old fan magazine from Great Britain.
From an original series of donations totaling nearly 1,000 items in December 2001, the Springsteen Special Collection, housed at the Asbury Park Public Library, has steadily grown into the largest publicly accessible collection of Springsteen-related publications.
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| MILESTONE DONATION: Dan French's donation of "Point Blank" issue No. 9, which he edited and published in 1986, was the 2,000th item to enter the Springsteen Special Collection of books and magazines at the Asbury Park Public Library. French, administrator of a medical charity in London, gave 70 publications to the collection which contains items donated by Springsteen fans here and abroad. The collection contains publications from 30 countries. |
The 2,000th donation to arrive at the Collection was issue No. 9 of "Point Blank," one of Great Britain's earliest Springsteen fan magazines. It was the donation of "Point Blank" editor and publisher Dan French, 45, of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, now an administrator for a medical charity in London.
"Asbury Park gave me one of the greatest musical experiences of my life," French said in a letter accompanying the donation, "an unscheduled performance by Springsteen on Oct. 3, 1982 at the Stone Pony. That night will always hold a special place in my heart, so it's a privilege to be able to give even a small something back."
Special Collections are found at many public, academic, and technical libraries. They organize and preserve significant source materials for research purposes, but are not part of the library's circulating collection.
Doris Carroll, president of the Library's Board of Trustees, said the arrival of the 2,000th donation marks the "very first special event in the Library's 125th anniversary celebration." The Library, which traces its history to Nov. 23, 1878, "greatly appreciates the interest in and support of the Special Collection by Springsteen fans everywhere," she said, and is working with volunteers to expand the availability of material from the Collection on the Internet.
The Springsteen Special Collection, organized by editors and readers of "Backstreets" magazine, was a gift to the Asbury Park Library from Springsteen fans around the world. The Collection has received donated items published in 30 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, UK, USA and Yugoslavia. Members of Save Tillie, the preservation group working to save Asbury Park's historic Palace amusements complex, provide staff and web services to the Collection.
"This Collection expresses the fan community's support for Asbury Park and for our belief that Asbury's music history is also a sign-post to the future," said Christopher Phillips, editor and publisher of the Washington D.C.-based "Backstreets." "As a small magazine that has been publishing for nearly 25 years, there is a love of print that's reflected here too, and the desire for its preservation. The Collection gathers so many rare pieces, from the early 1970s to the present, for the use of music fans, scholars, authors -- anyone with a serious interest in Bruce Springsteen's life and career."
"Point Blank" No. 9, published in 1986, was part of a 70-item donation by French which included fan magazines from Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Japan, Finland and Sweden, along with other publications from Ireland, Canada, England and the US. UK author Mike Saunders of Hove, Sussex, added a hard-to-find issue of "Point Blank" No. 8 to French's donation, giving the Collection a full set of the magazine's 10 issues.
Although books and general circulation magazines make up most of the Asbury Park collection, fan magazines occupy a special niche, favored for detailed reportage and rare photography. Many of the more than three dozen Springsteen fanzines originated as a forum for fans, French said, as well as a way "of thanking Bruce for his music."
Magazines containing Bruce Springsteen's first published writings and his first photograph as a member of a rock and roll band have entered The Bruce Springsteen Special Collection at the Asbury Park Public Library by way of two donations.
The January 1969 issue of Seascape, the literary magazine of Ocean County College, and the July 1966 issue of the New Jersey Shore music magazine Mod, gave readers their earliest glimpse of the talent that was to evolve into a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter career.
During Springsteen's brief enrollment at the two-year community college, he penned a metaphorical paragraph entitled "My Lady" and an untitled 16-line poem divided into four stanzas. Accepted for publication more than four years in advance of the recording of his first album, both poems were erroneously attributed in print to "Bruce Sprengsteen."
Two and a half years earlier, Springsteen's photo had appeared for the first time ever in a magazine, as a member of The Castiles. Springsteen joined The Castiles in late spring 1964 after a brief apprenticeship with The Rogues, and performed primarily as lead guitarist and vocalist until the band dissolved in early 1968.
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| Photo of Stacie Tobin displaying '"Seascape". |
Seascape was the donation of Stacie Tobin, a partner at the Piper Rudnick LLP law firm in Baltimore. Michael Gilfillan, president of the Newark-based Brick City Sports Capital, LLC, and co-chairman of YankeeNets LLC, a sports and entertainment holding company, donated Mod. Both are long-time Springsteen fans.
"Either of these rare publications would be a cornerstone for any Springsteen collection," said Christopher Phillips, president of The Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection. "To have them both not only further cements the comprehensive scope of the Springsteen Special Collection, but also furthers our goal of preserving those rare documents that trace Springsteen's life and career which might otherwise be scattered, damaged, or lost."
"We are absolutely thrilled that Tobin and Gilfillan feel that the Special Collection at the Asbury Park Public Library is the best home for these rarities, and their generosity is yet another example of the enthusiasm with which the Collection has been met by Springsteen fans around the globe," Phillips said.
Only a few issues of these publications are known to exist, said Phillips. Most fans have seen Springsteen's poems in Seascape only under glass at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.
In "My Lady," Springsteen wrote: "I thought 'Surely she will come, she often comes on days as beautiful as this.' Just a year ago last week she had visited my mother and comforted her from the pain she had so long endured." The untitled poem opens:
"Earth children turn their new eyes upward,
As the rain falls into outstretched arms.
The world moves with beauty beneath their bodies.
The frenzied sea crys upon the shore."
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| Photo of "My Lady". | Photo of the untitled poem. |
"These two works show that Springsteen was not just a kid with a guitar who wanted to be a rock star," Tobin said. "They reveal a young writer trying to convey simple beauties and human dignity, the very themes that have come to define his work as a songwriter. There can be no doubt that time and maturity have improved his skill for expression, but this little magazine can stand on its own to show that even as a young man, he was devoted to expressing the beauty of the world around him and his sorrow at human cruelties. Anyone familiar with the lyrical style of Greetings from Asbury Park will see that these works are the early stages of Springsteen trying to find his voice as a poet for a later time."
The Castiles photo covers 4.5 inches by 6 inches at the top of page 16 of the teen-oriented magazine. "This issue provides valuable insight into the formative phase of Bruce Springsteen's music career," Gilfillan said. "You see Bruce and his Castiles bandmates -- five young dreamers, looking like latter-day mop tops ready to challenge the world. No definitive collection of Springsteen publications can be complete without it, and thankfully, this one, in excellent condition for a magazine published in 1966, is now in the Springsteen Special Collection."
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| Photo of The Castiles from Mod magazine |
The donations are the 3113th and 3114th items accepted into the three-year-old Collection which is devoted to preserving the writing history and cultural legacy of Bruce Springsteen and members of the E Street Band. The Collection is managed by The Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection in cooperation with staff at the Asbury Park Public Library. Recent donations will be available for public inspection once new storage space is provided to the Collection by the Library.