Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist sideman, died Saturday of complications from a stroke he suffered nearly a week ago.
Clemons, who was 69, had undergone several surgeries in Palm Beach, Fla., after sustaining a stroke last Sunday. Unfortunately, the surgery obviously failed to save Clemons, known as “the Big Man” and a key member of Springsteen’s E Street Band.
Clemons certainly was a large man and he lived a large life. He was 6-feet-4 inches and weighed 250 pounds. He had a magnetic presence on the stage. He was married five times. He acted in a Martin Scorsese movie. He jammed with President Bill Clinton. He most recently played on Lady Gaga’s new album “Born This Way.”
The story of how Clemons met Springsteen is legend. It was 1971, and the Boss was playing at a bar in Asbury Park during a terrible storm. As Clemons walked into the bar “the wind blew the door off its hinges, and Mr. Springsteen was startled by the towering shadow at the door,” according to The New York Times.
Clemons got on stage and starting playing with Springsteen, and the rest was history.
