Steven Van Zandt Made an ‘Apocalyptic’ Mistake Ahead of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ Tour
Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen have worked together for years, but Van Zandt temporarily left the E Street Band in 1984. He wanted to pursue a solo music career. While he found some success, he soon realized he’d made a huge, life-changing mistake. He explained why he had so many regrets about the decision and how he eventually found his way back to the E Street Band.
Steven Van Zandt quit touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Van Zandt and Springsteen met as teenagers and collaborated frequently before Van Zandt joined the E Street Band in 1975. The group found widespread success that year with Born to Run. It wasn’t until 1984’s Born in the USA, though, that the band truly exploded. It was their most commercially successful album and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Van Zandt, unfortunately, wasn’t there to reap the benefits.
In 1984, he quit the E Street Band in order to pursue a solo career. When looking back on his life, he said he would advise himself to make a different decision.
“Don’t do it! It’s the one defining moment of my life,” he told Rolling Stone in 2020. “It was a mistake I’ve never recovered from. Financially, it was apocalyptic. That said, we did take years off the life of the South African government [Van Zandt created Artists United Against Apartheid in 1985]. But is that worth losing all of my friends, all of my power base, all my juice, all my celebrity capital, to save a few lives? And you’ve got to say, ‘Yeah, sure. It was.’ But I look back and think, ‘Jeez, if only I could’ve done those things and stayed.’ I would’ve had the perfect life.”
His solo career fizzled out, and by the 1990s, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“I literally went out into the wilderness,” he says. “I’m not exaggerating. I walked my dog for seven years. I’d be out for eight hours a day just thinking, ‘How’d I get here? If I ever get back, what will I do?’ I said to myself, ‘If I ever get back in, I’m not going to stop working. I’m never going to be in this position again where I can’t work.'”
Steven Van Zandt reunited with Bruce Springsteen just as his acting career took off
Van Zandt briefly rejoined the band in 1995 and has been a longtime member since 1999. That year, his luck completely turned around. He received his first acting role as Silvio Dante on The Sopranos and embarked on a world tour with Springsteen. His years of knowing the musician were instrumental in his first acting role.
“I decided that I had to create this guy,” he said. “First of all, I wrote a biography of who the guy was and I made up my own story. He grew up with Tony Soprano, he was his best friend, he’s the only guy who doesn’t want to be the boss, he’s the only guy he trusts. I kind of used my relationship with Bruce, basically.”
He spoke about how he has remained friends with Springsteen
Many bands have seen their members’ friendships fall apart after years of working together. Van Zandt spoke about the importance of maintaining his friendship with Springsteen.
“Our friendship is deeper than any of that, and it’s forever,” he said. “I decided that very early on. Remember, he was a very different person the first 10 years I knew him. He wasn’t the world’s greatest entertainer. He was like one of those grunge guys with long hair that just stares at his shoes. But I got extraordinary strength from finding one other person on the planet that felt the same way I did about rock & roll.”
He said bonding over rock music long before it was “hip” helped solidify their friendship.
