Born in the working man's suburb of Freehold, N.J., Bruce Springsteen caught the music bug at an early age after he saw Elvis Presley perform on television. He played in several bands throughout high school and afterward, eventually meeting several musicians who would go on to comprise the famed E Street Band, including the late saxist Clarence Clemons and multi-instrumentalist Danny Federici, bassist Garry Tallent, and guitarist Steven Van Zandt.

Springsteen released his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., in January 1973 and in September 1973 followed with The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, the latter of which is considered one of the "greatest albums in the history of rock and roll" by AllMusic.com.

Born To Run, Springsteen's seminal 1975 album, shot to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the anthemic title track. By then, Springsteen and the E Street Band had cultivated a rabid following based on their high-energy live performances, which led music journalist and future Springsteen manager Jon Landau to state, "I have seen rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen."

Springsteen was arguably at his most poetic and prolific throughout the late '70s and into the '80s, releasing the classic Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978) and the double album The River (1980), the latter of which marked Springsteen's first No. 1 album and featured "Hungry Heart," his first top 10 hit.

In 1982 Springsteen released the solo album Nebraska, which peaked at No. 3. Springsteen and the E Street Band returned full force in 1984 for what would turn out to be their biggest seller, the chart-topping Born In The U.S.A. The album earned Springsteen his first GRAMMY Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for "Dancing In The Dark," one of seven top 10 hits from the album.

Over the course of four decades, Springsteen has solidified his rock royalty status. His subsequent projects have included 13 additional top 10 albums, including his 1987 solo album Tunnel Of Love, 1992's Lucky Town and Human Touch, and 2002's The Rising, which was inspired by the events of Sept. 11. He has won 20 GRAMMY Awards to date and in 2013 he was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year for his philanthropic efforts.