Clarence Clemons: The One, the Only, The Big Man Forever

Remembering a Giant 10 Years On

Ten days from now, June 18, will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Clarence Clemons, a musical Titan best known as Bruce Springsteen’s saxophone player in the E Street Band. I am here today to tell you he was so much more than that, in every way possible. If you know him, you know what I mean; if you don’t, it’s time to correct that.

You may wonder why I’m writing this 10 days before the anniversary rather than publishing it on the day itself. Well, that would work for remembering many great artists we’ve lost, but not Clarence. He was always larger than life, and he demands more than one day even in death.

Some of you younger readers may not recognize his name, especially if you’re not Springsteen fans (why the hell are you not Springsteen fans?), but you probably recognize his picture at the top of this page. Though rarely the frontman (even in his multiple solo projects), he was ubiquitous, ever-present, like the air we breathe yet never notice. It is his shoulder Bruce leans on in the iconic Born to Run cover photo. And in what was his final video, it is The Big Man, sitting on a step, the epitome of cool, who is the only person besides Lady Gaga who appears in her “Edge of Glory” video. 170 million of you have seen that on YouTube.

It is fitting that the grandson of a Baptist preacher from Norfolk, Virginia who wanted a train set for Christmas when he was 9 years old but got a saxophone instead performed his final song with a global superstar. From Gaga to Bruce to Aretha Franklin to Jackson Browne to the Grateful Dead to Ringo Starr, Clarence attracted musical legends to himself with the gravitational force of a neutron star.

The story of how Bruce and Clarence met has become legend, with Bruce telling it so many times, with so many embellishments, when playing “Growin’ Up” in concert that I doubt even he and Clarence remembered the actual facts by the time he told the story for the final time (starting at 2:25 in the video below):

As cool as that story is, it is this verse from “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that immortalizes Clarence’s place with Bruce and the band (in concert Bruce always preceded this verse with: “now this is the important part”):

When the change was made uptown And the Big Man joined the band From the coastline to the city All the little pretties raise their hands I’m gonna sit back right easy and laugh When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half With a Tenth Avenue freeze-out

It is impossible to envision some of Springsteen’s greatest songs, from “Spirit in the Night” to “Sherry Darling” to “Rosalita” to “Born to Run” (aka, The Greatest Song Ever) without Clarence’s signature King Curtis-inspired growling sax solos. But the one that solidifies his place in the pantheon of not just sidemen or sax players but rock and roll gods is this 2 minute and 41-second masterpiece from “Jungleland,” shown in the video below totally separate from the song itself because it stands on its own:

If you didn’t get chills by the end, you need to see a medical professional or a faith healer immediately.

I was blessed (not fortunate, not lucky…blessed) to see Clarence play with Bruce and the rest of the E Street Band three times. Sadly, by the time I took my daughters to see Bruce in 2016, Clarence had already sailed to the far shore to jam with all the other legends in that musical Valhalla we all hope to someday see.

Speaking of my daughters, if you ask them about my reaction when I heard about Clarence’s death following complications from a stroke, you will find embellishments worthy of that “Growin’ Up” story. Contrary to what they will tell you, I did not lock myself in my room for three days. I am not ashamed to admit that I did cry longer and harder than I had since my grandmother’s passing almost exactly 20 years earlier. Sometimes people you never meet touch you in ways that simply cannot be explained.

There are still times, even 10 years later, that I will tear up unexpectedly when I hear one of Clarence’s sax solos. But most of the time they do what he was a master at doing for legions of fans: they bring me joy in what is too often a dark and joyless world. For that gift, I am eternally grateful.

In his eulogy of Clarence, Bruce made the comment that he was “too fucking big to die.” It sounds like the normal sentimental platitude you hear at times of loss, but in this case, it is absolutely true. Every time you hear a Springsteen song, or Aretha’s “Freeway of Love,” or Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory,” The Big Man lives on. Ten years burning down the road, to quote one of Bruce’s many introductions of Clarence, he remains:

“And last but not least, the Minister of Soul, the Secretary of the Brotherhood, probably the next King of England…I have seen the future of the whole fuckin’ thing, and it’s Big Man Clarence Clemons.”

Fair winds and following seas, Big Man. We’ll see you on the other side.

All lyrics by Bruce Springsteen and found on www.brucespringsteen.net.