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Artist
Clarence Clemons
12+ albums
jazzrocksoulfulsaxe street band
about
Clarence Clemons (born January 11, 1942 – died June 18, 2011) was an American musician, best known as the saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Clemons was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Known as "The Big Man", Clemons played with Springsteen from 1973 to his death in 2011; his sax parts were an easily recognized feature of the E Street sound, with the most famous being his long, elegiac solo during the song "Jungleland." With the band Clemons plays mostly tenor saxophone, but has also occasionally played soprano and baritone saxophone. He also plays various percussion instruments during songs that do not have a saxophone part. In addition, Clemons had a larger-than-life persona within the band; he served as a visual foil to Springsteen during concerts (as well as on the Born to Run foldout album cover) and as the crowd favorite is always the last player mentioned during band introductions, usually after a lavish, over-the-top build-up from Springsteen. In addition to his E Street Band work, Clemons had recorded with many other artists and had a number of musical projects on his own. The best known of these were his 1985 vocal duet with Jackson Browne on the hit single "You're a Friend of Mine", and his saxophone work on Aretha Franklin's 1985 hit single "Freeway of Love". In the mid-1990s, he recorded a Japan-only CD release called Aja and the Big Man "Get it On" (on the now-defunct Dream Train Records) with singer/songwriter Aja Kim (formerly of the tribute band
