Bruce Springsteen has been something of a heroic figure since his arrival on the national music scene in the mid-1970s. In an era when music was dominated by flat, formulaic sounds, he embodied the pure, raw spirit of rock and roll in a way that Elvis or the Beatles had in earlier decades. Instead of mouthing Pop platitudes, Springsteen delivered characters and situations concerned with the struggle to maintain dignity and make sense out of life in a tarnished, troubled America.
This outlook was a natural reflection of his own youth in a gritty New Jersey town where most people expected little more from life than a daily grind in a dead-end job. At a young age, Springsteen decided to avoid that fate by becoming a rock star.
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