Let's hold Bruce Springsteen to the same standard that he holds the Republican Party to:
Clarence Clemons just died. He was part of Bruce's band, the E Street Band, for 40 years. During that time, he was the only black member of the band. Are you telling me that for 40 years, Bruce could not find another black person qualified to join the band? Of course he could, but he chose not to. Why is that? The man is forever preaching about brotherhood and equality-yet he could not be bothered to apply those principles to his own band.
And its not like there was a lot of red tape or office politics involved: Bruce is the Boss. With a capital B. He could have hired qualified, talented minorities at the snap of a finger-but he never did.
In fact, after he hired Clemons, Bruce has gone almost a half century and he still has not hired another minority. It sounds like a hiring record that only George Wallace would love.
Given these facts, is it any wonder that you never see black people attending a Springsteen show? Look at those audiences; they are whiter than Johnny Winter walking in a blizzard. With the death of Clemons, the total number of black people attending Springsteen concerts will drop from 1 to 0.
Springsteen is not just a rock star; he is also a billion dollar business. And his record on minority outreach is abysmal.
He can perform at all the Obama fundraisers he wants, he can preach to his hearts content, but that does not change his 40 year record of exclusion.
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To quote you, “He could have hired qualified, talented minorities at the snap of a finger-but he never did.”--- Except that he DID hire qualified, talented minorities at the snap of a finger---many, many times.
Beginning in 1972, the original line-up of what came to be known as the E-Street band included David Sancious (keyboards); in 1974, Vinny “Mad Dog” Lopez was asked to resign, and Ernest “Boom” Carter took over for drums. A few months later, in August 1974, Sancious and Carter left to form their own jazz fusion band called Tone. (They were replaced in September 1974 by Roy Bittan on the keyboards and Max Weinberg on drums.) In 1989, Springsteen temporarily disbanded the E Street Band, and from 1992-1993, toured exclusively with other performers, including Bobby King (vocals), Carol Dennis (vocals), Tommy Sims (bass), Crystal Taliefero (guitar, vocals, saxophone), Zachary Alford (drums), Cleopatra Kennedy (vocals), and Angel Rogers (vocals). Then, more recently, for his “Working On a Dream” tour, Springsteen added the talents of Curtis King (background vocals and tambourine) Cindy Mizelle (background vocals and tambourine) to the E Street Band.
David Sancious
Ernest “Boom” Carter
Bobby King
Carol Dennis
Tommy Sims
Crystal Taliefero
Zachary Alford
Cleopatra Kennedy
Angel Rogers
Curtis King
And last but not least, Cindy Mizelle,
ARE ALL AFRICAN AMERICAN.
Suggesting that someone is a bigot is a pretty bold (and hurtful, to say the least) statement to make, and it is wise to have some semblance of your facts straight so that you can at least attempt to put up the façade that you have even the slightest idea of what you are talking about.
Oooooooooooooohhhh Take THAT! You didn't even take the time to read a Wikipedia page before writing this blatantly incorrect post. Congratulations.
Jackass. And a dumb jackass to boot. Trying to make Bruce out to be a racist is about as futile as trying to make Fox News look balanced.
Oh, that's right. You DO think Fox News is balanced. And that Rush Limbaugh is a patriot, etc.
Oh well. Can't expect everyone to have a functioning brain.
And by the way, if you seize up in bed one night, it might just be because the Big Man took exception to your ignorant ravings.
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