Clarence Clemons

Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.

Clemons released several solo albums. In 1985, he had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a duet with Jackson Browne. As a guest musician, he featured on Aretha Franklin's song "Freeway of Love". As an actor, Clemons appeared in several films, including New York, New York and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. He also made cameo appearances in several TV series, including Diff'rent Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons, My Wife and Kids, The Super Dave Osborne Show and The Wire.

Clemons published Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales (2009) with his friend Don Reo. The book is a semi-fictional autobiography told in the third person.

In 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.

Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. was born on January 11, 1942, in Norfolk County, Virginia (later the city of Chesapeake), the son of fish market owner Clarence Clemons Sr., and his wife Thelma. He was the oldest of their three children. His grandfather was a Baptist preacher and, as a result, the young Clemons grew up in a very religious environment listening to gospel music. When he was nine, his father gave him an alto saxophone as a Christmas present and paid for music lessons. He later switched to tenor saxophone and played in a high school jazz band. His uncle also influenced his early musical development when he bought him his first King Curtis album. Curtis, and his work with the Coasters in particular, would become a major influence on Clemons and led to him switching to tenor saxophone.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.