Springsteen Celebrates ‘Born to Run’ 50th Anniversary With Star-Studded Monmouth Symposium

Bruce Springsteen united past and present E Street Band musicians for a surprise set at Monmouth University in New Jersey on September 6. The show marked 50 years since his breakthrough album, Born to Run, hit the airwaves. At the university's Pollack Theatre, the rock star performed two classics, "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run." 

His eight-piece band included Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, Roy Bittan, Max Weinberg, David Sancious, Ernest "Boom" Carter, and Ed Manion on sax. This marked the first time this mix of musicians — both old guard and current members — shared a stage. 

The show ended a day-long event at the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. Earlier panels featured talks with former manager Mike Appel, current manager Jon Landau, sound expert Jimmy Iovine, and the man behind the lens, Eric Meola. 

Bruce Springsteen also spoke. He wrote Born to Run in his Long Branch house in 1974. He's a notorious perfectionist, but according to NJArts.net, he said, “There wasn't a note that I'd change, or a lyric that I'd change.” He and Iovine recently took a drive through New Jersey, visiting spots tied to the album while listening to it. Old Columbia Records staff shared stories as well. 

The timing fits with other Springsteen projects in the works. Jeremy Allen White will star in Deliver Me From Nowhere, a film about the making of Springsteen's 1982 Nebraska album. Two exhibits will keep the celebration going. Monmouth University's DiMattio Gallery hosts Born to Run at 50: Photographs by Eric Meola until December 18. The Long Branch Arts & Cultural Center presents Bruce Springsteen in Long Branch: An Exhibition Telling the Story of Born to Run through November 15.