Born to Run: Biography

Realizing his family can’t afford a guitar, Springsteen mows lawns and paints houses to earn money. When he buys a used guitar—untuned and “barely playable”—he has no idea what to do, so he plays by ear, plucking the strings until he produces something resembling music. He eventually learns chord charts from his cousin Frank. Following a rudimentary lesson book, he slowly widens his repertoire until he learns to play the rock and roll standard Twist and Shout. He gives up mowing lawns, “the only real job I would hold my entire life” (60).

Months later, fingers calloused from practice, Springsteen buys an electric guitar. He sells his small pool table, and his mother covers the balance. Guitar in hand, he teams up with a neighborhood drummer to make “the most god-awful racket you’ve ever heard” (62). They eventually add a second guitarist (a “real” musician) and a bassist, rehearsing “semiregularly” until they realize they need a singer.

Showtime

The mid-1960s New Jersey music scene has no musical acts with singers—bands are either strictly instrumental or back vocal groups. Springsteen’s band, The Rogues, plays its first gig at a local Elks club, and Springsteen sings Twist and Shout as the final number. Their next job—opening for local instrumental group The Chevelles—is at Springsteen’s high school, a “top, top” gig.