In-Depth New Bruce Springsteen Article Reveals the Boss' Fight with Depression, Other Revelations

Photo: Danny ClinchAn in-depth and lengthy article delving into Bruce Springsteen's life and career is featured in the latest issue of The New Yorker. The exposé, titled "We Are Alive," was written by David Remnick and includes interviews with The Boss and past and present members of his E Street Band. The piece offers a number of eye-opening revelations about Springsteen, including details about how, according to biographer Dave Marsh, the singer/songwriter experienced severe depression during the early 1980s that led him to contemplate suicide.

Marsh explained that Springsteen underwent a period of self-doubt while working on 1982's Nebraska, as he tried to come terms with the huge success he was experiencing thanks to Born in the U.S.A. in contrast with his everyman image.

"He was on a rocket ride, from nothing to something, and now you are getting your *** kissed day and night," noted Marsh. "You might start to have some inner conflicts about your real self-worth."

The Boss also talked about his battles with depression at the time, while suggesting that the marathon concerts he played at the time were possibly his attempt to escape from his problems.

"With all artists, because of the undertow of history and self-loathing, there is a tremendous push toward self-obliteration that occurs onstage," he said. "There’s a tremendous finding of the self while also an abandonment of the self at the same time. You are free of yourself for those hours; all the voices in your head are gone."

The article also includes a conversation with the Boss' wife, E Street Band backing singer Patti Scialfa, who admits she some***** feels underutilized in the group.

"My place in the band is more figurative than it is musical," she tells Remnick, explaining that she gets frustrated at ***** when she attempts "to bring something to the table that is more unique. But the band, in the context of the band, has no room for that."

In addition, she also talks about how both she and Bruce have fought depression, and touches on the struggles Springsteen initially had corral his drive to create music so that he could focus on being a father and family man.

The article also reveals that Springsteen's longtime manager, Jon Landau, had a tumor removed from his brain last year that left him blind in one eye.

Read the entire Springsteen article at NewYorker.com.