E Street Band co-founder David Sancious reflected on the way Bruce Springsteen looked after him, and explained why he had no regrets about quitting just before the Boss hit big.
The keyboardist – who’s continued to collaborate with Springsteen over the years – helped inspire the band name when he was being dropped off at his E Street home after a show in 1974.
Sancious went on to work with Peter Gabriel, Sting, Eric Clapton, Santana and others, but as he told the Guardian in a recent interview, he never forgot Springsteen – and selected two moments that demonstrated the band leader’s character.
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“The police used to raid these places [where we played] and card everyone,” he said of a show that took place when he was 17. “One night I’m on stage with Bruce and the cops are hanging out at the front door.”
Springsteen and saxophonist Clarence Clemons enlisted the help of two others to surround Sancious and hide him. “I was in the middle moving slowly, trying not to draw any attention,” he said.
On another occasion, he continued, he’d fallen foul of racist behavior. “I was at the beach and there were two guys making threatening gestures and saying inappropriate racial stuff.
“Clarence comes along and sees what’s going on. He sat down right next to me. And then Bruce comes walking by. Bruce found a piece of driftwood and he kept hitting it in his hand – like he was saying, ‘I’m not going to let you hurt our friend.’”
Why David Sancious Doesn’t Regret Quitting the E Street Band
Sancious appears on Springsteen’s first three albums, but by the time the 1975 breakthrough LP Born To Run was released, he’d quit to sign a solo record deal. “I felt very happy for him, honestly,” he said of the Boss’ success. “I knew it was going to happen for him.
“We did shows in Texas in 1974 and the crowd went nuts. We finished the show and the audience wouldn’t leave. Bruce used to end the set with a song called ‘For You’ that he would play by himself on piano and we would go off stage and watch. I remember standing there looking at him and thinking, ‘As soon as everybody finds out about this guy he’s going to blow up. It’s going to go crazy.’”
He said that all the big artists he’d worked with had “more in common than you might think: none of them had a plan B – they all did it out of a love for music.”
Pressed on whether he regretted leaving the E Street Band, Sancious explained why he didn’t. “There is a whole life I would have missed out on, working with all these other artists and making my own music. If I had to do it again would I do the same thing? Absolutely. Because I didn’t walk away from anything – I walked towards something.”
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Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
