Springsteen Shows His Heart

Bruce Springsteen recently showed a young special needs boy at one of his concerts exactly why he is still one of the biggest and best acts in rock.

Charity Buzz, an online auction site, is currently selling tickets to a number of Springsteen’s shows in a giant, ongoing auction to raise funds for Musicians on Call and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, and the 58-year-old superstar took time out from one of his concerts to meet a winning bidder last week. The rocker left the stage during his show at the Toyota Center in Houston, Dallas, on April 14 to talk with the boy, who was confined to a wheelchair. The boy’s mother, who cried tears of happiness over the singer’s generous act, said he shared a conversation with her son and had his photo taken with the young fan.

The concert took place just a few days before the death of Spingsteen’s longtime keyboardist, Danny Federici, who passed away from melanoma on April 17 at the age of 58.

“Danny and I worked together for 40 years – he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician,” said Springsteen. “I loved him very much…we grew up together.”

As well as raising funds for Musicians on Call and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund through his auctions, Springsteen is also set to play some spectacular benefit gigs over the next few weeks. The first of these will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum on April 28, and will raise money for Project Green Leaf, an organization dedicated to sustaining local agriculture by strengthening community between farmers and consumers. The singer heard about the cause through the World Hunger Year organization, which he has supported for a number of years. As well as collecting money for the cause on the night, Springsteen has also donated tickets to the show to a charity auction being held over at www.charityfolks.com.

Springsteen will also perform a benefit concert at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey on Wednesday, May 7, to benefit the historic Count Basie Theatre and help offset the cost of the renovation and restoration of the theatre that will begin this summer. A portion of the concert proceeds will also support other programs and operations at the Theatre. Springsteen’s wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, serves on the Board of the Basie Foundation and as Honorary Chair of the Capital Campaign.

“We are excited that Bruce Springsteen will be performing a benefit concert and deeply appreciate his willingness to help preserve and restore the Basie,” said Rusty Young, CEO of the Basie Foundation.

Tickets are available to the public through an online “Make Your Best Offer” auction at www.countbasietheatrefoundation.org.

Springsteen has also thrown his substantial musical weight behind the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

“He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President,” said Springsteen. “He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.”

I guess you could say that Springsteen thinks Obama was “born to run” the country.