New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Raise A Glass For The Big Man


By Gary Wien

originally published: 06/19/2011


"It's been a long time since we laughed together
It's been a long time since we cried
Raise your glass for the comrades we've lost
My friend it's been a long, long time..."

(JUNE 18, 2011) -- Words fail me. They really do. I had just come home from a music festival in South Jersey when I checked my emails to find that Clarence had passed away. To me, Clarence Clemons WAS the E Street Band. His sax provided the sound that I fell in love with as a kid. Through that sax, the definition of the Asbury Park Sound was written.

To say it's been a rough month for the Asbury Park music community is to put it mildly. Friends of mine lost two very good buddies in Clarence and Kevin Kavanaugh (who passed away on June 4); music fans lost two of the most important musicians in Jersey Shore music history; and I think we all feel a little closer to our own mortality right now. Let's face it, many of us grew up with the records those two made. I feel sorry for the people I know who were very close to these guys. Many people have been friends with them since the sixties. When you're friends for that long, you become a true family. These losses hit hard.

For years, I couldn't imagine the E Street Band without Clarence. The band may have gone on after Danny passed away, but replacing the Big Man seems different to me -- almost sacrilegious. We all knew this day would come someday, but that it happened so soon was a shock. What happens now? Is this truly the end of the band?

A message from Bruce Springsteen appeared on his website tonight, "It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th.

Bruce Springsteen said of Clarence: Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."




Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here



I say we take Southside Johnny's advice and raise a glass to the comrades we've lost and hope we've seen the end of this run. Sadly, there are even more people fighting hard just to stay alive right now. Please say some prayers for guys like Vinnie Roslin. The Asbury Park music community has had enough tears for the year, it's time for some good news.



Photo by Danny Clinch



Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.

FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Tuesday

Tuesday Night Record Club - Crowded House

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Monmouth University - The Great Hall
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


 

Curtis

Curtis Salgado

Wednesday, July 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

John

John Lee & Friends

Thursday, July 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Blues

Blues People with Special Guest: Jeff Levine

Saturday, July 05, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Straight

Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90’s Part 2

Tuesday, July 08, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

bergenPAC

bergenPAC presents Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90's Part 2

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- After a totally fly 2024 summer tour packed full of 90s boy band, pop, and R&B hits, RIAA-certified Gold a cappella group Straight No Chaser is back by popular demand with "Straight No Chaser Summer: 90s Part 2." The tour comes to Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Thursday, July 8, 2025 at 7:00pm.



Blue

Blue Curtain presents 2025 Summer Concert Series in Princeton

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Blue Curtain returns to Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater this July with a free three-concert series. The 2025 season opens on Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm with a performance by internationally acclaimed trombonist, composer, and bandleader Jimmy Bosch, also known as El Trombon Criollo.



NJPAC

NJPAC presents KEM with special guest Melania Fiona

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents a special evening with KEM, known as Soul's Greatness, on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 8:00pm. Special guest Melanie Fiona will open the night.



Drew

Drew University Rocks the House with Legendary Tributes and Live Comedy In September

(MADISON, NJ) -- This September, Drew University's Concert Hall in Madison will transform into a powerhouse of live entertainment, delivering six unforgettable nights of tributes and laughter. From heartland rock and Southern soul to mystical classics and offbeat comedy, each event brings a unique and electrifying experience to audiences of all ages.



Levoy

Levoy Theatre presents The Artimus Pyle Band – Honoring Ronnie Van Zant's Lynyrd Skynyrd

(MILLVILLE, NJ) -- The Levoy Theatre presents The Artimus Pyle Band on Friday, August 22, 2025 at 8:00pm. The band features Artimus Pyle, the last surviving member and drummer of the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup & 2006 Rock & Roll HOF inductee with Lynyrd Skynyrd.