- Bruce Springsteen spoke about his band's longevity during a screening of his new documentary about their tour.
- He has toured and recorded music with the E Street Band since the 1970s.
- “I pay them a huge amount of money,” Springsteen said at an event in London on Friday.
Bruce Springsteen spoke about the keys to his success and longevity after the recent screening of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band“In London.
The 75-year-old musician, who is worth more than $1 billion, said being a “very nice boss” and paying his band well was crucial to his career.
“I pay them a huge amount of money. This greases the wheels nicely,” he said at the event on Friday. “And then, I'm a very nice boss. The truth is, you need to put your band together well.”
“If you get the art and the music right and the band right, you go out and play every night as if it were your last night on Earth. That was the serial philosophy of the band, and we stuck to it.” He added.
Springsteen has worked with the E Street Band since the 1970s. Although the lineup has changed several times over the years, many of its members have been with Springsteen for decades.
Bruce Springsteen. Dave Bennett/Getty Images for Disney+
Springsteen described the documentary, which will premiere on Hulu in the US and Disney+ on October 25, as essentially “about the rewards of a band staying together.”
“The actual arc of rock 'n' roll bands is breakups,” he said. “Think about it, how many teams stayed together versus how many broke up?”
Springsteen added: “Forget about bands staying together, we can't make two people stay together.”
Stevie Van Zandt, a member of the E Street Band; Director Tom Zimny; Springsteen's longtime manager Jon Landau also participated in the Q&A following the show and talked about working with Springsteen.
Van Zandt said the band has always focused on the music rather than chasing success.
“It was never a commercial venture,” he said. “This has been an artistic adventure from the beginning.”
“So anyone who joined knew this was what they were getting into,” Van Zandt added, “and now, fortunately, we've found some commercial ground along the way, which is great.”
Known for such hits as “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” and “Born in the USA,” Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and won 20 Grammy Awards.
According to Forbes, Springsteen is currently worth $1.2 billion.
He made about $500 million alone from selling his music catalog to Sony in 2021.