E Street Band Sax Player Clarence Clemons Dies At 69

  This is a most major loss to music fans the world over.

Clarence Clemons performs with the E Street Band during the halftime show of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida, in 2009. (SCOTT AUDETTE, REUTERS / February 1, 2009)

Chicago Tribune

Clarence Clemons, the burly saxophone player who played a crucial role in shaping Bruce Springsteen's early sound, has died, six days after suffering a stroke at his Florida home. He was 69.

In 2009 he published his autobiography, "Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales."
"It's fine for me to be known as part of the E Street Band," he told the New York Daily News. "We all wonder what we're here to do. Something got me into a band with Bruce. It's where I belong."

  Bruce Springsteen released this statement:

It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th.

Bruce Springsteen said of Clarence: Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band.

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/...

This is Sax

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