[FourEsters]

I just heard that Clarence Clemons died after suffering from a stroke earlier this week. He was always a part of The many Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concerts I have seen over the years. This saddens me very much. RIP Clarence. You will be missed.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...ons-obit_n.htm

E Street Band sax player Clarence Clemons dies
By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

Clarence Clemons, longtime saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Saturday in Florida after suffering a massive stroke a week ago. He was 69.


Fondly known as "the Big Man," Clemons had been The Boss' vital and colorful sideman since 1972. His busy solo career as a bandleader and session player found him performing and recording with artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Ringo Starr.
In recent years, Clemons underwent spinal surgery and knee replacement operations. An injured hand forced him to pull out of performing The Star-Spangled Banner at the June 2 NBA finals game.
Yet health issues failed to suppress his exuberance or talent. He enjoyed a career upswing of late, contributing to tracks on Lady Gaga's Born This Way album and joining her on the American Idol season finale. When she performed April 12 in Sunrise, Fla., Gaga dedicated You and I to Clemons, dubbing him "one of my favorite people in the world."
Upon learning that Clemons was in serious condition Monday, Gaga tweeted, "Little monsters, my very close friend + musician on The Edge of Glory, Clarence Clemons, is very sick. Can we all make some get well videos?"
The Gaga project was the last in a long series of high notes for the irrepressible showman who moved into music after a car accident (the day before a Cleveland Browns try-out) derailed his football ambitions.
Weaned on gospel music, the Virginia native began playing sax at 9 (he wanted an electric train for Christmas, but received a saxophone) and joined a jazz band in high school. He was inspired by King Curtis, Junior Walker and Gato Barbieri but gradually developed a distinctive blazing rock-driven style.
In 1971, he heard the Bruce Springsteen Band at a New Jersey club, The Student Prince, and told the singer, "I want to be in your band." Springsteen was not averse to the idea and summoned Clemons for tenor sax parts on his 1973 debut, then enlisted him for his touring band.
Clemons' signature wail is stamped on many Springsteen classics, including Rosalita, Born to Run, Jungleland and Thunder Road. On stage, he served as a charismatic soloist and humorous foil.
On his own, Clemons released several solo albums, most notably 1985's well-received Hero, which generated a hit duet with Jackson Browne, You're a Friend of Mine. Temple of Soul, his band with Narada Michael Walden, released the R&B/funk album Brothers In Arms in 2008.
He's played on scores of albums across multiple genres, including on solo discs by fellow E-Streeters Nils Lofgren and Steven Van Zandt. Clemons also recorded with Ricky Skaggs, Dave Koz, Joe Cocker, Twisted Sister, Roy Orbison, Alvin Lee, Luther Vandross, Carl Perkins, Gary "U.S." Bonds and Lisa Stansfield.
And he branched out into film, TV and publishing. He got roles in the series Diff'rent Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons and HBO's The Wire. And he landed big-screen parts in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Blues Brothers 2000 and Martin Scorsese's New York, New York.
In 2009, Clemens published his memoir, Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales, which President Bill Clinton called "an essential read for any music lover" and "a unique personal narrative that's bound in both history and folklore."
In the updated reprint, Clemons shared details about his 2010 back operation while recuperating at his Florida home.
"In a 13-hour surgery, my spine was fused from L2 to L5," he wrote. "I've got metal all over my body now. It's in my hips, knees, chest and back. Don't come to the airport with me unless you've got a lot of time. … I feel stronger every day and look forward to dancing across the stage again on the next tour.
"As I write this I'm sitting on my porch looking out at the Bay toward the horizon where the ocean meets the sky. I intend to keep on keeping on until the day the music swells and giant letters rise out of the sea and spell the words The End."
The end has come for the Big Man but not for his legacy, carried forward by fans of his big sound and his bigger spirit.