The Poster Memorabilia blog

The Boss Will Always Be A Boss

A stage door on West 48th Street, an hour of waiting, and a poster forty years in the making.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

No one is more fit to bear the name “The Boss” than Bruce Springsteen. He uses music as art, delivering strong messages that resonate with the rest of the world, and he's been doing it for over fifty years now.

I've always thought this since I discovered the true meaning behind his iconic 1984 hit, Born in the U.S.A. With its American iconography and that huge rock chorus, it's easy to mistake the song, maybe even the whole album, as a straightforward flag-waving anthem. You could easily get swept up in it.

However, the song's true purpose was the complete opposite. If you listen to the verses carefully, it's a bitter, heartbroken account of a Vietnam veteran who came home to a country that had no use for him. The chorus isn't a celebration. It's a howl.

“The chorus isn't a celebration. It's a howl.”

Springsteen has always been this subversive with his music. His songs are never quite what they seem, and they often carry messages that go over people's heads — something he's talked about plenty of times over the years, usually with a shrug and a laugh.

More than that, the man himself is gentler than he presents on stage. Yes, he rocks out unlike any other when he's up there, but in person he's quiet, courteous, and about as far from a rock-star ego as you can get.

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I can confirm this myself since I met him at the stage door of the Walter Kerr Theatre on West 48th Street in New York City. His solo residency ran there from October 2017 to December 2018, and I got to see it in the summer of 2018.

The concert was great, and it was everything I expected and ever wanted from a Bruce Springsteen performance. I did miss the final moments, though, since I left early to get a front-row spot by the stage door. My friend, who went with me, later said the finale was just as good as the rest of the show.

I wanted to make sure he'd sign my Born in the U.S.A. tour poster because my parents had the original copy from back in the day. That concert was one of their first dates, and they've been telling the story ever since.

Their original still hangs in my childhood home, but I've since bought a newer copy, and I wanted to get it signed since they missed their chance back then. So I waited at that stage door for about an hour, and when he finally came out, it was pandemonium.

People rightfully went crazy for the legendary rock icon, and I was no different. I'm just glad I calmed myself down in time to ask him to sign my poster when he was in front of me. And not only did he give me his autograph, but he also asked if I was alright when the people behind me nearly flattened me against the barrier.

He then told them to step back and take it easy, and promised he'd sign for as many people as he could. So Bruce Springsteen didn't just turn out to be a true gentleman, he also technically saved my ribs.

Now, that’s a true boss!

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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