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Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originator of heartland rock, combining mainstream rock musical styles with narrative songs about working class American life. He is also best known for his work with the E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Boss", Springsteen is widely known for his brand of hearland rock, poetic lyrics, Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running up to an uninterrupted 250 minutes in length.

In 1973, Springsteen released his first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, neither of which earned him a large audience. He changed his style and reached worldwide popularity with Born to Run in 1975. It was followed by Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and The River (1980), which topped the US Billboard 200 chart. After the solo recording, Nebraska (1982), he reunited with the E Street Band for Born in the U.S.A. (1984), his most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Seven of its singles reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100, including the title track. Springsteen recorded his next three albums, Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992), and Lucky Town (1992) using mostly session musicians. He reassembled the E Street Band for 1995's Greatest Hits, then recorded the sparse acoustic The Ghost of Tom Joad, followed by the EP Blood Brothers (1996), his last release of the decade.

Springsteen dedicated his 2002 album The Rising to the victims of the September 11 attacks. He released two more folk albums, Devils & Dust (2005) and We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006), followed by two more albums with the E Street Band: Magic (2007) and Working on a Dream (2009). The next two, Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014), topped album charts worldwide. His latest releases include the solo Western Stars (2019), the E Street Band-featuring Letter to You (2020) and a solo cover album Only the Strong Survive (2022). When Letter to You went to No.2 in the US, Springsteen became the first artist to score a Top Five hit across six consecutive decades.[3]

Among the album era's prominent acts, Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 71 million in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award (for Springsteen on Broadway). Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016. He ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Artists of All Time, which described him as being "the embodiment of rock & roll".[4]

Springsteen appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest four times on the following dates:

  • May 9, 1992, the nineteenth episode of Season 17, hosted by the actor Tom Hanks, where he performed "Lucky Town", "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" and "Living Proof".

Springsteen returned to Saturday Night Live and made his 2nd musical guest appearance, as well as the first time that the E-Street Band made their musical guest debut.

He returned to Saturday Night Live along with the E-Street Band as the musical guests for his 3rd appearance and their 2nd musical guest stint.

  • December 19, 2015, the ninth episode and the Christmas show of Season 41, hosted by longtime former cast members Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, which making first appearance in 13 years on SNL. He and the E-Street Band performed "Meet Me in the City" and "The Ties That Bind" and are joined by Paul McCartney and the cast for "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band returned to Saturday Night Live once again as the musical guests for his 4th appearance and their 3rd musical guest stint.

  • December 12, 2020, the eighth episode of Season 46, hosted by actor Timothée Chalamet, making their first performance since 2017 and their first to promote Letter to You. They performed "Ghosts" and "I'll See You In My Dreams".

He has also been impersonated multiple times by Gary Kroeger, Adam Sandler, Will Forte, and Ben Stiller.

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