I'll never forget the late night argument's I'd get into while Jocking for KOOK in Billings, Montana over who and what Bruce Springsteen is or could be.
My good friend Brian Sullivan would emphatically interrupt me, "Collins! Knock my love and support for Daryl Hall and John Oates but I'll never give you permission to steal the fire the Boss has set free in my Jersey born heart."
Oh he made my life hell! The moment you bust open a can of Springsteen isn't a Rock legend; he'd whip out a sharp as a sword tongue poisoned to cuss word invention perfection.
"I don't expect Montana people to understand Bruce! Life is too good for ya! Ya got your farmin! You got your restaurants with doors wide open! There ain't nobody here sufferin like we did and still do in Jersey. You horse lovin cowboy wanna-be you aren't supposed to love Springsteen!"
I miss those days of radio. When legions of regional fans of Rock would skip slowly across their AM dials landing on waves pushed up to the edge of the universe then blasted back to earth because late night music junkies required a guitar lick fix.
This is before internet radio! FM might have been king but nothing bounced over a mountain stronger than Superman than Music 97 KOOK.
I still have handwritten letters from listener's in Finland, London Ontario, Alaska and plenty of places the thought of being alive in the middle of winter was completely illegal. Being a Jock meant being upfront.
You didn't slam four songs in a row together without talk. You spent all day show prepping tid bits of information fueled up then fired off across seven second intro's or the backside of a someone's favorite before getting lost in a wall of commercials.
Springsteen was my Jesse Helms.
In the south during the 1980's if you wanted to spark up what lights the night with great conversation...all you had to do was bring up Uncle Jesse.
The moment Bruce released Born in the USA I knew I'd been to Rock n Roll Heaven.
Being stuck out in the middle of a cow pasture spinning 45's from his NJ accent stoked the strokes required to fill the reel to reel tapes with great radio bits that were spliced into masterpieces of radio being what it used to be.
I'm still not a fan! But I won't keep my friend Brian nor you from a major reunion.
Rollingstone Magazine reports Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off a three-night stand at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium last night with a blazing three hour and 45 minute show that featured rarities like "Mansion On The Hill" and "Human Touch" mixed in with classics and new songs from Wrecking Ball.
For older fans, the highlight was likely the surprise return of original E Street Band drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez on "E Street Shuffle." It began when Max Weinberg stepped away from his kit during the songs horn intro. "Where did Max go?" Springsteen said. "What happened to the drummer? He got sick - we need an M.D.!"
With that, Lopez took the stool to perform the song he originally cut with Springsteen back in 1973. The drummer, who parted ways with the band in 1974, was grinning from ear to ear the whole time, and he nailed his parts. Lopez came back onto the stage near the end to play tambourine on "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Twist and Shout."
The stadium leg of the Wrecking Ball tour wraps up on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. Fans are expecting a wild show, particularly because Springsteen's 63rd birthday celebration begins at midnight. Odds are high they'll breach the four-hour barrier.
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