Original subtitles

I must be

in heaven, man.

'Cause I get to introduce

Little Steven

and the Disciples of Soul!

Little Steven

and the Disciples of Soul.

♪ Can you hear me? ♪

♪ Wake up ♪

♪ Where's the voice

Of America? ♪

♪ Can you hear me? ♪

♪ Wake up ♪

♪ Where's the voice

Of America? ♪

Listen!

♪ I know that we knew ♪

♪ Right from wrong

Once upon a time ♪

♪ Everything we stood for

Has been compromised ♪

♪ I been quiet ♪

♪ Too quiet ♪

♪ While across

Our borderline ♪

♪ My people lie ♪

♪ Can you hear me? ♪

♪ I said wake up ♪

♪ We are the voice

Of America ♪

♪ Can you hear me? ♪

♪ Wake up ♪

♪ We're the voice

Of America ♪

♪ We're the voice

Of America ♪

♪ We're the voice

Of America ♪

♪ We're the voice

Of America ♪

All right.

♪ After the wind

Dried my eyes ♪

It was a time

when there were clubs

all over for teenagers.

On a Friday

or Saturday night,

you had your choice

of a dozen places to go

to hear live music.

We just had

a million places to play.

Beach clubs and VFW halls

and-and-and

high school dances,

and there were clubs

built for teenagers.

♪ And jump for joy

And Xanadu ♪

♪ It's Hullabaloo ♪

The Hullabaloo clubs

were a franchise

from the television show.

For one reason or another,

I was going to the one

in Middletown one weekend.

I walk in, and...

uh, there was,

uh, a band playing,

sounded really good.

Stevie was fronting.

My recollection is,

I always say

he had on a huge paisley tie

that caught my attention,

- and it was funny.

- Bruce had a band,

The Castiles,

it was one of those bands.

My band was the Source.

Our two bands were the only

bands that had managers.

He had this crazy character

named Tex, you know,

and I had Big Mama McEvilly,

who was the drummer's,

my drummer's mother.

And I don't know if we

exchanged some information.

I didn't have a phone.

There was just some

mystical thing in the air

that happens when

you meet somebody

who feels about

something the same way

with the kind of intensity

that you feel about it.

So he just became

my rock and roll brother

instantly, you know?

Now tonight, the whole country

is waiting to hear

England's Beatles.

February 8th, 1964,

there were no bands

in America.

February 9th they play

The Ed Sullivan Show,

February 10th, everybody

had a band in their garage.

It was revealing this

extraordinary new world,

especially for those of us

who were misfits, freaks,

and outcasts, you know.

We're not relating to anything

that society was offering us.

But they were so good,

you couldn't

picture doing it.

What nobody knew

is that we'd been

rehearsing and practicing

in Britain, in Europe,

in Hamburg,

and we'd put in

a lot of hours, you know.

It's Malcolm Gladwell's

10,000 hours.

Um, so by the time

we reached America,

we were a fully formed beast.

But you couldn't imagine

how you get into

that world, you know?

Four months later,

lucky for us,

the Rolling Stones come.

You know, they made it look

easier than it was.

They wore different things,

they had no harmony,

you know, it was

the first punk band.

You've gotta

keep things simple.

That's the great thing.

If you listen

to any great records,

they're so simple.

The fact that Mick Jagger

did not smile.

That to me meant this is not

show business anymore,

this is a lifestyle.

I was like,

"I want to do that."

We would put together

one band after another,

and we couldn't

get work, really.

Nobody wanted to hire bands

that were playing

any original music.

I go see Bruce,

he said there's

this new place called

Upstage at Asbury Park.

There was this

crazy idea for a club,

just for kids, no booze,

open from 8:00 at night

till 5:00 in the morning.

And if you were good,

you would lead the jams.

Stevie Van Zandt,

he's my baby,

you know?

The fact that he

played bass, keyboard.

Of course, Steven excels

with his guitar

and his voice.

He and Bruce made

a great combination.

Totally different

guitar players,

and constantly

on the stage together.

They would sweep the floor,

they loaded soda machines,

they did everything.

And Upstage

became the place

where we met everybody.

Southside Johnny,

Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez,

uh, Danny Federici, everybody.

And one day I came,

and there's this guy

with long bushy hair

on stage,

he was doing

a Yardbirds song,

and he was killing it.

I mean, the passion

was so much there.

The guitar playing was great.

He was killing the singing,

I just, I went,

"Who's this guy?

I don't need the competition.

I'm the singer here."

But I figured I could either

make friends or kill him,

so I went back

and made friends.

And it was really the start

of a great friendship.

You'd be in

one guy's band one week,

another guy's band

another week,

'cause they're putting

bands together, trying things.

We did a duet thing one time,

just guitar and harmonica.

It was very fluid back then.

And we were

rooting for each other,

you know, we were

mildly competitive.

But I think the love

we had for each other

overwhelmed everything.

He was one of those

guys I met, like Bruce,

who said flat out at 17,

"I'm gonna be a musician."

We didn't think

"I should prepare to be...

maybe I should

study up and do," no.

It was all or nothing

at all, you know?

Bruce was the first

really to get out.

I mean, he-he actually

got an album made,

and was playing around

the country a little bit.

Bruce and I had a bunch

of different bands together,

but he actually got signed

as a folk singer.

Unfortunately,

Bruce had to say, uh,

you know, "Now that

I'm signed as a folk singer,

I'm not a folk singer,"

you know.

"I got a band."

And so the record

company's pissed.

I was one guitar too many.

At that point, you know,

I said, "You know what?

I think we missed

the boat anyway."

So I quit entirely,

and, um, I started

working construction.

Steven lived

with my wife and I.

He was working a jackhammer

on the parkway.

He would come home

literally covered in tar,

his hands would be like this.

I'm saying, "You're a guitar

player, you can't do this,"

and finally he got a gig

with The Dovells,

uh, and did

the oldies circuit.

Uh, the Dovells made a couple

fantastic records,

"Bristol Stomp"

and "You Can't Sit Down,"

and along the oldies circuit,

you're also gonna play Vegas.

Now, I'm a big...

gambler as a kid

at that point.

I'm also a bit of a Mob

aficionado, you know?

So I'm all in, okay,

um, you know,

and, um, and that begins

a very big chapter

in my education.

Back in the '50s,

we were really segregated.

The white DJs were supposed

to play their white artists

for their white audiences,

the Black DJs were supposed

to do the same thing.

There was Little Richard,

Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry.

When courageous DJs

like Alan Freed

started playing

those Black records

for their white audiences,

that's when rock and roll

went to another dimension.

Popular music became

an instrument

for social change,

and launched

a cultural phenomenon

known as

the British Invasion.

Ironically,

the British Invasion

had the unintended

consequence

of putting all those

pioneers out of work.

If you had two hits

when the Beatles came,

you were gonna

play those two hits

the rest of your life.

I get on this oldies tour,

and all of these guys

have been put out to pasture

in their thirties

and early forties.

I mean, they are in

the prime of their lives.

So they're all pissed off.

All of 'em.

They hate being

called oldies.

They're not old.

I'm the only one

having a great time.

You know, I'm meeting

all these amazing people.

Stevie would hang with us

on the tours we were doing.

He always had a little hat,

a little cap or beanie

or something on.

And he always wore, like,

a purple jacket, brown pants.

You never knew where

the style was going to go.

The first time I met Steven,

I was doing a show

for Dick Clark

at the Flamingo Hotel.

So I guess he's

up in the balcony,

I'm doing a sound check,

and I start doing...

Robert Johnson songs.

He was a great

blues writer and singer.

A lot of people

don't know who he is.

And I'm like,

"Am I hallucinating or what?"

It turns out he's into,

you know, Robert Johnson,

he's into Hank Williams,

he's into things, you know,

that were just

fascinating to me.

After we met at the Flamingo

Hotel, he joined my band.

He says,

"We got a couple gigs left,"

this oldies circuit thing

was gonna end in Miami,

and I come back to

Asbury Park January 2nd,

and I'm still wearing

a flowered short-sleeved shirt,

and the Frank Sinatra,

Sam Snead hat,

and I'm like,

"Fuck winter, okay? I'm done.

I'm tropical from now on."

I'm carrying it with me, okay?

And that's how Bruce starts

calling me "Miami Steve."

♪ You're sweeter

Than the honey ♪

♪ That the bees make ♪

♪ Soul sister... ♪

I got back,

me, Johnny, Bruce,

and I think Gary,

went to see Sam and Dave,

and they inspired us to start

Southside Johnny

& the Asbury Jukes,

combining rock and soul.

I was

not only leading the band,

you know,

but also managing it

and doing all the business.

We just kind of organically

built a band to do

lots of different

types of music.

I always wanted horns.

'Cause Count Basie

and Duke Ellington,

that's what I grew up

listening to, but more.

The horns are on those old

Atlantic records, Stax-Volt.

Steven really wanted them too.

That's where

we had a mutuality.

We both wanted to hear

this horn section go "Ba-da!"

The scene revitalized

when, uh, we put

the Jukes together.

We just went into a bar

that was about

to go out of business.

There had been

a hurricane or something,

the roof was falling in.

It was called The Stone Pony.

We said, "Look,

we'll play for the door,

you have nothing to lose,

we play what we want."

They started

lining up in the rain

outside The Stone Pony

in Asbury Park

six hours before

the 10:00 p.m. kickoff

of the biggest night

in the lives

of Southside Johnny

& the Asbury Jukes.

You hear that?

Say that louder.

That's the greatest.

I've come to see

them 120 times.

120 times!

Who goes to see

anyone 120 times?

Kids would

huddle on the boardwalk

with transistor radios,

listening along

with their friends at home,

and in bars along

the Jersey Shore,

to the first live

concert broadcast

in the history

of Asbury Park.

Tonight may be Memorial Day

in the rest of America,

but it's New Year's Eve

in Asbury Park.

- All we wanna know...

- Yeah?

...is what are you people

doing in my town?

I... I consider myself

very fortunate

that I got to see

a bit of that part

of Asbury Park.

The boardwalk,

the club scene,

Steven trying to create

an original sound

out of classic dirt, grit,

mud, heart, soul.

Seeing them in this bar,

you know, they were

just so powerful, you know?

But you know, I always joke

that we were probably

Southside fans

before we were E Street Band

and Bruce fans.

I don't know about you...

♪ We're having a party ♪

♪ Everybody's swinging ♪

♪ Dancing to the music... ♪

So Bruce had done

the showcase clubs.

You know, each stage,

the rules change.

Once you're in that stage,

and the records

weren't selling,

and you know, he wasn't

gonna graduate

to, uh, anywhere past that,

so you know, he's coming down,

hanging out with us.

♪ Dancing with my baby ♪

♪ We're having a party ♪

♪ Everybody's swinging ♪

♪ Dancing to the music ♪

♪ On the radio ♪

♪ Oh yeah ♪

♪ So listen, Mr. DJ... ♪

He created extra interest.

People started coming

from North Jersey

and Philadelphia,

and we started to really

build up an audience,

and we go to a second night,

and a third.

One more time!

♪ We're having a party... ♪

That is what made

that scene become

even more special.

♪ Dancing to the music ♪

♪ On the radio ♪

♪ So listen, Mr. DJ ♪

♪ Keep those

Records playing ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm having

Such a good time ♪

♪ Dancing ♪

♪ With my ♪

♪ Baby ♪

I think I really met

Steve for the first time

when he came in

and saved our asses

on "Tenth Avenue

Freeze-Out."

We just knew

we hadn't fully realized

the potential of the song.

So Bruce calls Steve,

who comes barreling in.

And I have no knowledge,

or particular diplomacy,

or, you know, sophistication

about the music business

at that point,

and these guys are fucking up

my friend's record.

And Bruce, you know,

says, "Hey,

what do you think?"

You know.

Big mistake.

And I was like...

"This sucks."

He kind of laughs it away,

and says, "All right,

then go in there

and fix it then."

Then he says, "Everybody,

take that paper you're

looking at, throw it away."

"You, this is

what you're playing.

You, play this.

Now I want it

to sound real guttural,

I want it to sound funky.

Okay? I don't want

it to sound smooth.

I want it to sound like soul."

♪ I was standing

In the jungle ♪

♪ Trying to take in all

The heat that was given... ♪

All of a sudden,

it was electric.

You know, it was great.

It only took 20 minutes.

This guy is somebody

to deal with.

It was just a grand slam.

I had met another character,

which I should mention...

...uh, named Jimmy Iovine,

who was the engineer

on Born to Run.

Uh, Jimmy says, um, "I know

you got this band, the Jukes,

I got the key to the studio.

We'll sneak them in after

hours and do a demo."

I don't remember

the exact hustle,

but I'm sure there

was a hustle involved.

I got busy inside.

You got me doing this shit.

Get Steve Van Zandt out here.

He'll talk to you

all you want.

He's better looking.

Later.

We were doing

everything we could

to help Steve and Southside

get the record done.

Bruce suggests I see this guy

Steve Popovich,

I give Steve the demo,

he loves it,

and starts the process

of signing the band.

And Steve Popovich,

in his insanity,

sends the demo to Kid Leo,

the most popular DJ

at the most popular station,

uh, in Cleveland.

So Popovich is like...

"We better start

making this record.

It's already getting airplay."

♪ Baby ♪

♪ This time

It's for real... ♪

You have the bootleg

Southside Johnny?

We started

paying for the record,

we happened

to have a good year

at the track that summer.

And, uh, which, uh...

makes me curious as to

why we've never received

one single penny in royalties.

He gave me my first

royalty point on an album,

which was Southside Johnny

& the Asbury Jukes.

I'm not sure if

I ever got the royalty,

but he gave it to me.

I ought to call him

about that.

♪ Baby ♪

♪ This time

It's for real... ♪

We still owe

money probably too.

And that's kind of

how it went, you know?

Uh, we'd had a handshake

agreement with Steve Popovich.

I can safely say

nobody in the record industry

would have, uh,

the same personality,

uh, and been so encouraging,

because we had a lot of

crazy ideas for the Jukes.

I wanted to bring

Ronnie Spector

and Lee Dorsey in

on the first record.

We wanted to bring in

the Drifters and Coasters,

and the Five Satins

on the second record,

uh, reuniting them.

Uh, these were not

commercial ideas.

I remember

doing Southside Johnny,

he brought in Lee Dorsey.

I was like,

"What are you talking about?"

He said, "Shut up,

you don't understand."

I said, "You're

right, I don't understand."

I don't understand

how it all went together.

I learned a lot from Steve

and Bruce both on soul music.

I don't wanna go home.

He knew what he wanted

that band to sound like.

His arrangement power,

his commitment

to authentic music.

♪ I know that

It's getting late ♪

♪ But I don't

Want to go home ♪

♪ I am in no hurry

Baby, time can wait ♪

♪ I don't want

To go home... ♪

You know, I had been

writing for years, really,

and I never liked

anything I wrote.

I just couldn't relate to it.

I decide, "You know what?

I gotta go to school.

I'm gonna go to school

my own way."

Well, I decide it begins

with Leiber and Stoller.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

were the first

songwriter-producers

that set the template

for everybody who followed.

I decide,

"Okay, I'm gonna write

a Leiber and Stoller song

for Ben E. King

and the Drifters.

That's gonna be my mission."

And I write

"I Don't Want to Go Home,"

which was the first song

I ever liked that I wrote.

I didn't have the courage

to give it to Ben E. King.

♪ Look at all

The people staying ♪

♪ I don't want to go home ♪

That's because...

♪ In their minds

They've all been there ♪

♪ And I don't wanna go home ♪

♪ I know the words ♪

♪ I know

They've got to be real ♪

♪ Because

I don't wanna go home ♪

♪ Baby, it's talking about

The way I feel ♪

♪ And I don't wanna go home ♪

♪ Baby, I know

We had to try ♪

♪ To reach up

And touch the sky... ♪

It was perfect.

The arrangement,

and the chart,

the whole thing sounded

pretty much in the bag

that, of the stuff

that we were doing.

The song itself

I thought was wonderful,

because it's so insistent.

When he's like,

"I don't wanna go home,"

it lends itself

to being repeated,

and it's very touching.

I think Ben E. King

would have loved it.

♪ Sweeter than honey ♪

♪ Believe it... ♪

Back then,

everybody had a turntable,

they brought their vinyl,

everybody's listening.

I walked into a friend's room,

and the first Southside

Johnny album was playing

"I Don't Want to Go Home,"

I'm like, "What's this?"

"This is great. I've never

heard anything like this."

And I looked, and it was

Steven Van Zandt.

♪ Or a picture book ♪

♪ I'm talking about

Love, love, love ♪

♪ Ain't nothing

But love, love, love... ♪

When you're a kid and have

a record in your hand,

you're always reading who did

what, who wrote what,

who produced what,

this and that,

so Steve was that.

♪ And that kind of love

Don't come easy ♪

♪ Baby, ain't much of it

In the world around you... ♪

Steve and Southside were

a very powerful team together,

and they made

really good records.

I used to say, "Steven,

maybe you should

sing your stuff yourself."

He wasn't ready to be

the front man at the time,

which was the right decision

for him at that moment,

because the records

he made with Southside's,

uh, fabulous voice, and,

and did great justice

to Stevie's material.

What's gonna happen with

Steven? He gonna come out?

Steven had already thought

he was gonna go with Bruce,

even at the beginning

of the first record.

We convinced

the record company

it would be okay without me

and I'd still

be there producing.

And I was basically

gonna join up

with Bruce for a minute.

I went for seven gigs,

and I stayed seven years.

♪ Rosalita

Jump a little higher ♪

♪ Señorita

Come sit by my fire... ♪

The friendship

was so intense,

and I needed

another sounding board,

and somebody

with Stevie's creativity,

and things were going good.

It was just a no-brainer.

You know, we were so close

that I just wanted

him near me,

I wanted him at my side.

I heard that

when he was

in the E Street Band

on those great tours,

that he was managing

Southside Johnny,

making payphone calls

before cell phones,

and dealing with the Southside

Johnny Asbury Jukes stuff.

I know that.

Don't you think I know that?

I know that.

On the piano,

Professor Roy Bittan!

On the bass guitar,

Garry W. Tallent.

The names,

the nicknames, you know,

the Big Mick,

Miami Steve,

the Mighty Maxim, it's like...

On the guitar, Miami Steve.

It was

traditional rock and roll

done in a very powerful

and new way.

On the drums, the Mighty Max.

It was new, but it was old.

It was both.

On the organ, Dan Federici.

On the saxophone,

Clarence Clemons.

The E Street Band,

you know, you got

guys from Jersey.

Loads of things

make a good band.

I think one of

the important things

is if you're all from

the kind of same area,

if you all relate

to the same sort of stuff.

Everyone working

toward the exact same goal,

in the same direction,

from the same neighborhood,

at the same time in history,

with the same

record collections,

that's what makes

a band great.

People talk about

the Liverpool sound.

"Oh, The Beatles

put that on the map."

It's the same thing that

these guys did for Jersey.

Bruce, Steven, Southside

put Asbury Park on the map.

You know, back in the day,

there wasn't, um,

there wasn't really videos.

You didn't see too many clips.

You saw pictures.

When I saw pictures

of these guys,

or even pictures

of them playing live,

Little Steven had these

three-piece suits and hats,

and he'd come and sing

these crazy

background vocals,

and play guitar,

and they were such a gang,

a group of men

to be reckoned with.

They scared me.

Most groups, whether

it was the Sex Pistols,

or early

Red Hot Chili Peppers,

they scared you.

Ramones, they were scary.

The E Street Band

was the same.

Some pictures from The River,

all dressed in black,

looked like they

maybe dressed up

for a wedding, but...

the way they were dressed,

maybe gonna be a funeral.

You couldn't tell

who was playing

what guitar on the records.

You'd try to figure that

out when you were listening.

But you could hear those

distinctive background vocals.

He's just all over it.

♪ Ooh, girl

I got a crush on you ♪

♪ I said ooh, girl

I got a crush on you... ♪

I was like,

"Wow, this is rock and roll."

This is that camaraderie

that, like, gang thing

that I look for,

and seeing that these guys

had this connection.

They could be

running down the street,

a certain kind of

brotherhood,

and I spotted

that right away,

that Mick and Keith

thing with him and Bruce.

All right.

♪ I got some beer ♪

♪ And the highway's free ♪

♪ And I got you ♪

♪ And baby you got me ♪

Get down, chico.

Of course, Barry.

Born to Run and

Darkness on the Edge of Town

were two very tough

records to make.

When it came time for

The River, I was like,

Bruce, I love you, but I can't

go through this again.

It's too much torture.

He was like, "No, you gotta

produce this one with me."

Bruce, he says, "You know,

we got this amazing

reputation live,

but you know, we can't get it

on record, you know?

So you're a band guy,

I want you

to produce

the record with me,

and let's get the band sound

on the record, you know?"

The River

is a classic example

of Steve's influence

on my music,

and him bringing

his best to the table,

and creating something

that really was

a creation

of the two of us, you know?

I had two strong

sounding boards.

I had Jon and I had Steve,

and they did not have

the same vision

for the music

we were making.

It sounds great.

Their visions were

not incompatible,

but significantly off-center

with each other.

Steve and I would agree

about many things

in the studio.

We also disagreed

about many things.

That was good for me,

because I was

trying to suss out

where I wanted to go,

and I got the benefit

of all those different ideas,

and was able to decide

on which way to go

on any particular project.

We were there

for the same reason,

which was to make

what we were working on

the best it could be.

It was a lot of fun

some of the time.

♪ Well I wish that

I could have myself ♪

♪ A seven day weekend ♪

You know, I was

a huge Gary U.S. Bonds fan,

so I came

and saw him at a club

here in New Jersey one night,

ended up talking to him,

I said, "Gee, I don't know,

I'd love to produce something

for you, you know?

It'd be fun if Stevie and I

did it together."

He came in

and said, "Look, let's, uh...

why don't we

record some stuff?"

And I said, "Sure."

And unbelievably,

we have a hit single.

You're on the top

of the charts.

Yeah, I like it, man.

Bruce Springsteen,

did he produce this album?

Yep, and Miami Steve.

- Miami Steve Van Zandt.

- That's it.

I-I don't know

how Bruce knew it,

but as one song

led to the other,

I started to realize

Gary is one of great

soul singers of all time.

We'd like to do a song for you

that was written

by Miami Steve Van Zandt.

♪ It's been a long

Long time for us ♪

♪ I need to talk ♪

♪ But I'm not

Strong enough... ♪

"Daddy's Come Home,"

which is still

my favorite song,

and it's a ballad.

He likes to get into

all the goody-goody,

the kissy-kissy,

the huggy-huggy stuff too.

Steven writes

emotional songs.

He writes songs

from the heart.

He's got a way

of turning a phrase,

like Richard Thompson does,

uh, Tom Waits, Bruce,

they all have that way of...

You always go, "God damn,

I wish I had

written that line."

♪ Daddy's come home ♪

♪ Daddy's come home ♪

♪ Back where he belongs... ♪

He hears

a lot of stuff. It's amazing.

He can hear horn lines,

and he can hear guitar lines.

You know, there are a lot

of cats, they don't hear it.

♪ Daddy's come home ♪

This is one of my favorite

songs of Steve's,

called "Love Again."

♪ I've been to

The Statue of Liberty ♪

♪ So fine and full of grace ♪

♪ Lately every girl I meet ♪

♪ Has that lady's look

On their face ♪

♪ I'm not a man

For one night stands ♪

♪ That's never been

Where it's at ♪

♪ Maybe I'm

A little old fashioned ♪

♪ But what's

So wrong with that? ♪

Being in the studio

with Stevie Van Zandt

was mind-blowing,

the things he came up with.

The music that's in his head,

different things he tried.

Steve was

an incredible arranger.

It's knowing how to take

a particular piece of music

and get the best out of it.

Arrangement to me

is all about that,

enhancing the song.

The track in general

is there to support

that song being sung

by that artist.

The key, really,

to a successful arrangement

is nothing conflicting.

Everything's adding.

Here's the horns.

- The backing vocals.

See how they

go back and forth?

They answer each other.

♪ Ah ah ah ♪

♪ Ah ah ah ♪

See, the backing vocals

just doing "ah's,"

but the horns are actually

playing a lick.

And then they...

then they all got kind of...

do a, like, a pad together.

That's one of the kinds

of things he does.

And the piano is just doing

part of the rhythm section.

Steve is very specific

about balances.

The fifth bar,

the second trumpet

sticking out too much,

he hears all

that in his head.

He's a pretty formidable

talent, I'd have to say.

- Hello?

I was completely

taken and enamored

by everything

that Steven touched.

Finally, I said to him,

when we started this record

company, EMI America,

I said, you know,

"You need to make a record."

Nobody's gonna need a love

song sung by a side man.

I'm like, "No, no,

you need to do this."

You're one of the greatest

songwriters of our day.

You're as good a producer

as anybody I know,

and, um, you need

to make a record.

Steven, I'm going to kill you

if you don't do this.

If I'm gonna do

a solo record at that point,

um, I needed

to find an identity.

You know, Miami Steve,

the fun guy in the band,

we were like

the rock and roll Rat Pack,

and I was

the Dean Martin character.

Uh, Bruce is Frank,

and Clarence

is Sammy on steroids.

I was the first guy you call

if you're gonna have a party.

I thought, "I better kind of

introduce myself

or reintroduce myself,"

you know?

As this new character,

Little Steven.

When I first

became aware of you,

you were, uh,

Miami Steve Van Zandt.

Yeah, that's right!

Now, uh,

and now you're Little Steven.

I'm still

gonna keep a nickname,

because nicknames suggest

not taking

yourself too seriously,

but I wanted to be able

to take the work seriously.

I said I'm gonna

open the first album

with a song that's gonna

explain the rest of my career.

You know, very political.

Ask the question,

"What happened

to all our '60s ideals?

Where did they go?"

♪ Come on, baby ♪

♪ Come on, sing with me now ♪

If there

is any such thing

as an Asbury Park sound,

then one of the guys

most responsible

is Steve Van Zandt.

Miami Steve is best known

as Bruce Springsteen's

guitarist,

but he's also

a respected songwriter,

arranger, and producer.

Now he's taking

that one final step.

He's fronting his own band,

Little Steven

and the Disciples of Soul.

When he made

the first album,

that was his

step away from Bruce.

Those guys love one another.

It's not the big brother

that you're

stepping away from.

It's trying to not feel like

the little brother anymore.

And when Steve made

Men Without Women...

...that's not

a little brother's record.

♪ We always stood

On the same block ♪

♪ Way back then ♪

♪ Waiting to find out ♪

♪ Where in the world

We fit in ♪

♪ Then something

On the radio ♪

♪ Changed everything

We'd been ♪

♪ And now I need it, baby ♪

♪ Over and over again ♪

♪ Where it comes from

Baby, I don't know ♪

♪ That same old something

Just won't let me go ♪

♪ Oh it's too late, baby ♪

♪ It's been too long ♪

♪ Don't try to stop me ♪

♪ Till the good is gone ♪

♪ It seems like

Only yesterday ♪

♪ I could hear

Big Mama call... ♪

Men Without Women came out.

It was basically

the Southside sound,

but taken to another level.

♪ One more time

Say yeah ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah... ♪

I was coming into it

with quite

a lot of knowledge,

but also a lot of expectation.

It feels very organic,

and personal.

I fell in love

with those songs.

I met Steven

when I was an intern

at Power Station studios.

And this was at a time

when he was

starting his solo album,

but he was looking

for a specific sound

on a song.

And, uh, Ben Newberry,

his guitar tech,

said, "Zoe plays oboe,

is that the sound

you're looking for?"

He said, "Yes."

When we finished the record,

he said, "Do you

wanna go on tour?"

When he was working

on his albums in New York,

we'd meet every Friday

at this little

Mexican restaurant,

and then go see a movie.

It was like being a teenager

when you'd get off early

on Friday. It was so much fun.

I think I met Jay Cocks

through Marty Scorsese.

And because Marty and Jay

were very close,

um, Marty had shown me

and Bruce Mean Streets.

We were talking about

making a film

about the songs.

That's when I introduced

him to John Cassavetes,

who could light

anybody up with the idea,

"You can do this,

you can make a movie."

These two guys

were kindred spirits.

I see at some

Santa Monica cinema

that doesn't exist anymore

there's a one week

run of the film,

Men Without Women.

I'm like, "I gotta see

this fucking thing.

Steve made a movie?"

Uh, so I go,

and it's a rough cut,

it's like a lost movie.

I've spoken to Steven since,

and I think it's gone.

Let's ask him for the great

undiscovered secret,

like the lost footage from

The Magnificent Ambersons.

I remember it.

I remember it from...

I saw it when it came out.

I haven't seen it since,

so that's, I don't know,

30 or 35 years ago,

or whenever it was, you know?

Van Zandt says the film

is not a documentary,

although the storyline does

parallel his own life.

That's Maureen

"Knuckles" Santoro,

who married Van Zandt

earlier this year.

Back in '75,

at one of those showcase gigs

I was playing with Bruce

and the E Street Band,

it is at that Bottom Line gig

where I first met Maureen.

And I see this girl,

and I just go nuts, you know?

I'm like, "Wow,

this is the Brigitte Bardot

of New Jersey."

And we talked

a little bit afterwards,

and-and that was it.

I talked her

into going out with me

like a year later.

It took me, like, a year.

Once Steve met Maureen,

that was it, you know?

Simple as that, that was it.

I was

one of those guys,

never gonna get married.

She was just into

all kinds of things,

literature and ballet.

She was way above

my level of sophistication.

She turned me

on to all of that,

expanded my consciousness

tremendously.

She really just, you know,

rocked my world, as they say.

You know, I'm very

grateful to her for that.

Men Without Women

was written when we met.

You feel like someone

is opening a window

onto a private thing,

your relationship.

On the other hand,

it's a really beautiful thing,

and it's what any rock

and roll girl would dream of.

He says

he's getting married, great,

I'm his best man.

Little Richard's

gonna marry him.

Why not?

I don't know who came up

with the Little Richard idea.

I know I was completely

in agreement with it.

Didn't think it would happen,

and it did happen.

We sat down

with Little Richard,

tried to explain to him

the kind of service

we wanted.

We don't want too much

of the Jesus thing.

"Oh, yes, absolutely,

absolutely."

At the ceremony,

he disregarded

everything we said.

First thing, he's going

"Jesus!"

But together

you can daily offer

your prayers to God,

and as your love for him grows

stronger and stronger,

your love for each other will

be purified and strengthened.

It was a classic

Steven production.

He had Percy Sledge singing

"When a Man Loves a Woman."

Ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. and Mrs. Van Zandt.

Meet them.

♪ When a man loves a woman ♪

It was way out there.

I was an usher.

I'm glad to see that my job,

I did a good job

and it worked, right?

That had something

to do with it.

I remember

when we were kids,

and we heard

Little Steven got married,

and Bruce was the best man.

My best man right here.

And it was the wedding band

from The Godfather.

♪ But it really isn't

What I need... ♪

And, uh, I heard

it was really great.

I don't remember a thing,

but that's what I heard.

Do you feel like

Steven Van Zandt is

living out your fantasy

or your dream?

Absolutely.

Seems like yesterday,

listening to the radio,

and saying,

"Jeez, I'd like to do that."

And then you are,

and that's-that's great.

I feel very lucky about that.

Little Steven

and the Disciples of Soul,

- how are you doing?

- Hello, Peter, how are you?

What are you doing

in your show now?

It's basically

rock and roll, um...

with horns, you know?

♪ Ain't it hard

To see through it ♪

♪ Don't it hurt your eyes

To try ♪

♪ It was so much easier

Yesterday ♪

♪ When all we had to do

Was survive ♪

In my so-called career,

I met the coolest,

most important cats.

Frankie Barsalona,

he was the last

of the great agents.

The old, uh, promoters

were all basically thieves,

and he decided to put

his own people in place

the same way that Maranzano

and then Luciano divided

the Mob up into regions,

introducing the concept

of longevity.

By telling these promoters,

"Look, you're gonna lose money

the first-first tour,

maybe the second,

you break even on the third,

maybe fourth.

From then on, you make money

the rest of your life."

This was a radical concept.

He created an industry

that, you know,

now could relax

and people could develop.

Because greatness

is not born,

greatness is developed,

and I want Bruce

to be with Frank.

Frank's the best.

I want Bruce

to be with the best.

It was important

for Steven that

the E Street Band

followed the plan

that Frank had

worked out for them.

So from 1975 to 1980,

the E Street Band

basically followed

that Frank Barsalona formula.

You know, they went from

small clubs, then theaters,

then to bigger

places like arenas,

and eventually to stadiums.

By the time they went in

to record Born in the USA,

they were poised to become

the biggest band

in the world.

On Born in the USA,

Bruce started turning a little

more in my direction,

and Stevie wanted to be heard,

and if anything, he wanted

to be heard more.

And so that arrangement

that worked well on The River

started to become a little

dysfunctional for Stevie.

He just was not happy.

Part of the rationalization

and satisfaction

of being a boss

working for another boss

was the ability to offer

suggestions and advice.

I liked being the underboss

in the E Street Band,

the consigliere.

Kept me out of the spotlight,

but allowed me to make

a significant enough

contribution

to justify my own existence

in my own mind.

And there was a balance

between me, Bruce, and Jon.

But somewhere in '83,

it started to feel like

Bruce had stopped listening.

Fifteen years,

we finally made it,

and I quit...

the night before payday.

It was fucking with

destiny big time.

Or was it fulfilling it?

I think the initial intent

was not to leave

the E Street Band,

but to just

do his own project,

but then I think

it became apparent

that he needed to...

to go out and do this.

We had heard he was

going back and forth

in and out of the studio,

and got tunes,

and some of them are done,

some of them aren't.

And maybe there'll

be four or five more,

and you're not gonna

be playing on them?

We talked about it,

and-and Bruce may have to

finish it without me,

you know?

At the time,

I thought he was nuts.

I didn't understand it

one bit.

Uh, I told him so.

He felt he had to give it

his whole 100%,

do it, you know.

But, um... hey,

you gotta follow your dream,

your conviction.

If you don't,

what are you following?

I thought, you know,

"You're in a band that's...

doing phenomenally well,

having a great time,

you know, you're working

with your best friend.

Do you wanna

risk losing that?"

Though I started

recording solo albums,

technically I was still

producer on the album,

and still involved in it.

"Dancing in the Dark"

was way till the end.

They had the record together,

Jon Landau, the manager,

was saying,

"We're missing one more song,

we need one more

verifiable hit," or something,

and so Bruce kept trying

and kept trying,

until Steven said,

"I think I put out

two solo records

in the time it took you

to write that one song."

"You're right. I remember."

He plays me

"Dancing in the Dark"

and "No Surrender."

Says, "'Dancing in the Dark'

is gonna be on the record,

and 'No Surrender' is gonna be

an outtake, like a B-side."

And I'm like,

"Uh, Bruce, I gotta tell ya,

you got it backwards.

I don't know about

'Dancing in the Dark,'

but this 'No Surrender,'

this is what it's all about."

This is for, uh...

This is for

Little Steven. He's...

- He's got...

He's got a record out

called Voice of America now.

"No Surrender" was something

I was going to take off,

but he said, "No,

you've got to keep it on."

And I was afraid it was

too one-dimensional,

or-or... but he-he really...

when he came in at the end

and said, "No, that's...

that's gotta be

on the record,

man, that's what it's

all about, you know?"

It's funny he did that,

'cause it's a song

that speaks

more to who Stevie is

than maybe to who I am,

but it said something

about us also together.

Making a decision to leave

an iconic band

like the E Street Band

had to be...

probably one

of the most significant

decisions in his life.

That album featured two songs

that seemed to be about Bruce

and Steven's relationship.

"Bobby Jean,"

where one of the friends

goes out on their own,

and "No Surrender,"

which seems to be about

their promises

to each other over time.

Only Bruce and Steven

know if those songs

reveal something

they could never

bring themselves to say

to each other in person.

♪ Then we busted

Out of class ♪

♪ Had to get away

From those fools ♪

♪ We learned more from

A three-minute record, baby ♪

♪ Than we ever

Learned in school... ♪

He did need

to take a shot at that point.

The night we talked

about him leaving was,

we talked,

"Let's not throw the baby out

with the bath water.

You know, I think that,

all I know is you're

one of my deepest friends.

I need that relationship.

I don't want

that to disappear."

♪ Well we made a promise ♪

♪ We swore

We'd always remember ♪

♪ No retreat, baby ♪

♪ No surrender ♪

I think he just needed

his independence,

and, uh, um...

so I was as

supportive as I could be,

but I felt badly about him

not being in the band.

It was difficult and painful,

and, uh, not

my favorite chapter

in what we've done,

you know?

Politics in rock began

with the first two sentences

of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean

Homesick Blues."

"Johnny's in the basement

mixing up the medicine,

I'm on the pavement

thinking about

the government."

Thinking about the government?

Well, why would you do that?

We're on our first

European tour, man,

we're breaking,

we've broken through.

He and I went

to East Berlin in 1980,

just the two of us,

one afternoon.

You know, they confiscated

your reading material.

You could go over there,

but it was a very, very

oppressed society.

And I believe that that was

part of the beginning

of his awakening to...

political ideas,

and wanting to

include it in his music.

♪ Checkpoint Charlie ♪

♪ Walls so wide,

Can't get around it ♪

I'm just walking to a park,

in Munich, I think it was,

somewhere in Germany.

Some kid asked me,

why am I putting

missiles in his country?

"No, there's a guitar

in that case, kid.

There's no missiles.

What are you talking about?"

And it just would not

leave my head.

It finally occurred to me,

"Oh my God,

this kid isn't looking at me

like a rock star,

or a Democrat, or Republican,

or anything else.

He's looking at me

as an American."

And I'm like...

"I never thought of myself

as an American.

I'm from New Jersey."

What part of New

Jersey did you grow up in?

Did I grow up? I guess I did.

Middletown, New Jersey.

Right in the middle.

So Middletown was

a very conservative town.

All the dads went to work,

the moms stayed home.

It was that

Leave it to Beaver existence.

But it was the '60s,

so the kids

were not like that,

and perfect example

was Steven.

My very Catholic

mother divorced my father

when I was two

or three years old,

which was quite

unusual in the '50s.

Virtually unheard of

in the Catholic religion.

I spent most of my time

with Nana Lento,

the matriarch of the family,

who, if there is any trace

of show business in my DNA,

it all would have had

to have come from her.

One of my earliest memories

is her dancing around

to Elvis Presley records.

Until my mother remarried

when I was around seven,

I was brought up

by two very strong women.

How old are you?

Eight years old.

You have any other relatives?

Yeah,

I have over 80 of them.

Steven always talks about

being a band guy,

and I-I think that comes from

the big family he grew up in.

We're a very close

Italian family,

and first five years

of his life,

he was living

with Nana and Grandpa

and the aunts and uncles.

So he's used to having that.

My grandparents

lived five minutes away,

so we would

go there every Sunday,

and everybody would be there,

all the cousins,

aunts, and uncles.

My grandfather spoke

with a heavy accent.

He spent a lot of time

with the grandkids.

He taught Steven how to play

the mandolin and guitar.

And I think

he started the whole...

the whole love

of music for Steven.

Steven Van Zandt

is your real name?

Yes.

Do you have

Dutch ancestors, or...

No, I was adopted

when I was young.

I'm a-I actually

have Italian blood.

How about singing

a little song for us?

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Goodbye, my Coney Island ♪

♪ Baby... ♪

My brother and sister are

much younger

than me, you know,

seven years younger

and 11 years younger.

And unfortunately, I feel

really bad about it now.

I never spent

much time with them.

I have one fabulous memory,

um, with my brother...

that I, among all

the other gratitude

I have for the Beatles.

We had, um,

these transistor radios.

At night, you go to bed,

and under the covers,

you know,

you put the radio on

and listen to it.

My brother

was in the next bed,

and so he could hear,

and, uh, on comes,

uh, the Beatles,

finally getting

airplay in America

on their fifth single,

with "I Wanna

Hold Your Hand,"

and, um...

when they get

to the high part...

"I wanna hold your hand,"

uh, me and my brother

just spontaneously

burst out laughing.

You know?

We didn't have

much in common,

but we had that in common.

That's how profound

and how amazing

the Beatles music was,

to cover that big a gap

with what they were

communicating at that moment,

which you have to define

as simply unbridled joy.

When I get this thing going,

what do you

want me to talk about?

The Beatles.

Which one

do you like best?

Paul and George.

Paul and George?

Yeah.

You like Ringo?

Yes.

What song you like best?

"I Saw

Her Standing There."

How does that go?

I don't know.

Well,

you're the Beatle expert.

We were all raised

in the Baptist church,

but it was

a pretty serious church.

Like, your job was to go out

and witness to other people,

meaning to bring

them into the church.

I think Steven is as fervent

and passionate

about rock and roll

as those people in the church

were about their religion.

Out in the darkness...

there's a voice

trying to make sense

out of a world

that's losing its soul.

A voice that's been

silent too long.

Can't miss out.

Best show of the year.

Ace show.

♪ There's a sadness

All around us ♪

♪ There are words

We're too afraid to say ♪

♪ The things that I thought

Would last forever ♪

♪ Are changing every day ♪

There were great

moments we played Italy,

he was like a superstar there.

We played this one show,

and the girls are trying

to rip our clothes off,

and we played in Verona,

and as we're pulling up

in the cars to the gig,

the kids are piling on

and banging our windows

and all this stuff,

so he was getting

some of that love too,

and realized

this is what it could be.

- Okay, you're great.

At the time we were touring

on Voice of America,

Born in the USA had exploded.

- ♪ The years gone by... ♪

Bruce hit the road,

it was a slightly different

E Street Band.

Patti Scialfa was

on background vocals,

Nils Lofgren handled guitar.

I fucking love Nils Lofgren,

but when Little Steven

wasn't there,

and Nils was, that was

like having a stepdad.

Took me a while

to get used to him

being in the house and...

fucking my mom.

And that record

Steven co-produced

had seven Top Ten singles,

and at that time,

I believe it was tied

for the most of all time.

Woo!

Well, that was a tough period.

It was very strange,

because on one hand,

it was kind of...

we were having

all of this

tremendous success,

and at the time,

I couldn't share it with

Steve, he wasn't there.

So I think it... I think

that would have been...

It would have been nice

at that moment.

I can imagine that affected

Steven somewhat,

but I can say he was super

focused on what he was doing.

It was a crazy tour.

It changed the band a bit.

What was the reason

for dropping the horns?

As I began

to write for the new album,

I realized I wasn't really

writing for horns anymore.

And you know,

I may change every year.

♪ What people need

What people want ♪

♪ When are we gonna start

Talking about that? ♪

At the point

I was touring with him,

it was about

full-on rock stuff.

♪ No more party ♪

♪ No more party ♪

♪ No more party ♪

♪ No more party ♪

♪ Got my own

Party right here ♪

Have you found it a problem

that to be in radio,

radio locked up because

of rock music being white,

and your band

is not exactly white,

it's in between

the soul, the Black,

where do you fit in?

- We don't.

Yeah.

Uh, so far.

Has that

been a problem?

It is, yeah, it's a problem

for everybody

who cannot be

categorized exactly.

You know, that's been

a problem in radio.

The look of that band

obviously is his creation,

but not many bands had

multiracial men

and women in it.

To have brought together

a drummer from the Rascals,

and a bass player

from the Plasmatics.

They should have never met,

those two guys.

I think Steven's philosophy

about a band is it's a club.

And, you know,

we had these long coats

that he made for

everyone in the band,

and those were

like our colors.

I mean, I remember

running around Liverpool

with Maureen

with our dusters.

I mean, we had to represent.

Steven brought them

on David Letterman

and had the Late Night

band wearing them.

Did you actually

bring the clothes

for the gentlemen

in the band?

- No, I'll tell you the truth.

I went in the dressing room,

brought extra things,

I go in there, they're gone.

This is our third trip back

to Europe in a year,

which is unusual, especially

for an American band.

I like it in Europe,

because I can see

America's place

in the world more clearly.

We're like ambassadors

over here.

We represent America.

I feel it's necessary to...

apologize

for my government's arrogance,

- and my people's ignorance...

...and I hope you don't

judge us too harshly.

There's voices that do not

wanna put missiles

in your country.

We need solidarity

right now, uh...

before, uh, it's too late.

♪ Where have you gone

Desaparecido ♪

♪ I taste your blood

In the roots of this land ♪

♪ Where have you gone

Desaparecido ♪

♪ Mi querido ♪

♪ Only yesterday

I held your hand... ♪

Stevie is an

all-or-nothing person.

He's all in,

or he's not in.

And when we first started out,

Stevie was,

"No politics, no politics.

That's not the way to go

about it, that's wrong."

Then he became all politics.

It's all politics.

♪ Where have you gone

Desaparecido ♪

♪ How can they just turn

Their backs to our shame ♪

♪ Where have you gone

Desaparecido... ♪

I felt

if I could shine a light

on some of these things,

maybe I could,

you know, stimulate

some thought,

which would stimulate

some conversation,

which would

stimulate some action.

We're supposed to be heroes

of democracy and freedom,

and we weren't.

♪ I was standing in Pretoria ♪

♪ Waiting for the sky to fall ♪

♪ Impilo Geyethu

Thina Sigidela Phambili ♪

Overseas, the violence

in South Africa

is becoming even

more commonplace.

It has returned to Soweto,

the giant Black township

outside Johannesburg.

Last night in South Africa,

three Blacks were killed

while they were protesting

the country's race laws.

We don't believe,

for instance, in the so-called

guarantees

for minority rights,

because guaranteeing

minority rights

implies the recognition

of portions of the community

on a race basis.

We believe in our country,

there shall be no minority,

no majorities, just be people.

I didn't know what

was going on in South Africa.

I hear this song "Biko,"

by a guy named Peter Gabriel.

♪ Biko, because Biko ♪

But man,

the song was amazing.

It really led

to my engagement

with activism in general,

and specifically,

the apartheid regime

of South Africa.

Political songs

were not my genre,

but in South Africa,

which had racism enshrined

in its constitution,

in apartheid,

that was a struggle

that connected with me.

And with Biko's arrest,

I'm not sure they

meant to kill him.

I'm sure they meant to torture

the hell out of him.

So it was a shock

when his death was announced.

Sunday, September 25th,

20,000 Black South Africans

came to mourn Steve Biko,

the non-violent

but militant

Black radical leader

who died mysteriously

in police custody.

I couldn't find out

much about South Africa,

it was just

very, very mysterious,

and I had to

see it firsthand.

I think on my second trip,

I'm in a taxi,

I'm going down the street,

and-and a Black guy

steps off the curb,

and the cab driver swerved

to try and hit him.

I was literally in shock.

I was like, "Man, let me out

the next corner," you know.

I gotta think about

what I just witnessed.

And at that moment, really,

um, I went from artist

to activist.

So I'm meeting now with the

Azanian People's Organization

in Soweto and had to sneak in

in the back seat of a car,

because there was a military

blockade at the time.

So they're burning,

like, coal fires,

and there's, uh, like,

three feet of, like, fog

as far as the eye could see.

And we get to this house,

and, um, a cat comes out,

you know, they got machetes,

and they're

the tough guys.

They're on the front lines,

they're blowing up

radio stations,

they're killing people,

they're the real thing.

And they're very,

very adversarial.

They don't

like that I'm there.

As far as they're concerned,

I'm violating the boycott

by being there, you know?

I have to explain to him,

I say, "Listen,

I'm on your side."

I don't think

they were pretending.

They were thinking

about killing me.

But at that point,

I was completely fearless.

I had lost all-all of, uh,

my fear of everything

on the flight

down to South Africa.

Uh, it occurred to me that

I had blown my life, you know?

Um, 15 years of work

with the E Street Band,

and I quit, and you know,

I didn't care about anything,

you know, at that point.

Uh, so that helped me, uh,

you know, stand up to them,

'cause they were really,

you know, you know...

fingering their machetes

as they're talking to me,

you know?

I said to them,

"You're not gonna win this war

blowing shit up, okay?

And shooting people."

And they were like,

"We're not gonna

win the war that way?

How are we gonna win?"

I said, "I'm gonna

win the war on TV."

I got home and started

spreading the word.

I needed help.

Steven called and said

"I gotta get this idea down,

so he came to Ben

and my apartment

and we recorded

the "Sun City," uh, demo

on a four-track recorder.

This is, uh, Danny Schechter

of GlobalVision

and the Media Channel.

There was four of us,

equally important.

Danny Schechter,

who had been a real, um,

rabble-rouser from way back,

came from Boston,

and had been involved

with that issue

years before me.

He was the reason why

it was publicized at all.

Arthur Baker

offered his studio,

and his engineers,

and his musicians,

and the record

as his phone book.

When Steve told me

about the record,

I decided I wanted

to get involved.

Hart Perry filmed it.

If he hadn't filmed, no one

would have heard of it,

because American

radio wouldn't play it.

It was too Black

for white radio,

too white for Black radio.

Any one of those four guys

were not involved,

it wouldn't have happened.

I said, "Steven,

we should do something."

He said,

"I've already written a song."

The track was really catchy.

And then we started

just sort of brainstorming

who could be on the record.

And we get together

at this, uh, Sunrise Diner

right on 57th Street.

We go in there,

we'd make a list,

and we'd draw it

on the placemat.

Sun City is

a resort like Las Vegas

in the middle of what

they call homelands.

The homelands are where

the South African government

is relocating all

the South African Blacks

against their will.

So what happens is

they pay a lot of money

for people to come down.

Every time somebody

goes down and plays,

they are justifying

South Africa's

relocation policy.

♪ We're rockers and rappers

United and strong ♪

♪ We're here to talk

About South Africa ♪

♪ We don't like

What's going on ♪

- ♪ Tell it ♪

- ♪ Time for some justice ♪

- ♪ It's time for the truth ♪

- ♪ Speak it ♪

♪ We've realized ♪

♪ There's only one thing

We can do ♪

♪ We gotta say I... ♪

There was nothing like it.

Steven got together

with different

genres of music.

Rockers, punk rockers,

rappers, R&B stars.

And the amount of artists

that were involved.

I was an early

Midnight Oil fan.

You know, Peter Garrett

to Peter Gabriel to Bono.

God almighty, you got

two of the Temptations,

Eddie Kendricks,

David Ruffin.

I was always big

on the Temptations,

so just seeing them

is like seeing God.

I remembered

Lou Reed's in the thing.

People will get

the word eventually, but...

It seeps in like osmosis.

You could tell it was gonna be

something monumental,

because of who was there,

and the main thing,

why they was there,

and everybody's passion

for what the project

stood for.

We should impose sanctions.

The only sanction

a rock performer can impose

is to say, "We're not

gonna come and play

until you do things right."

This country prides itself

in being the land of the free.

We should

be able to understand

most people who

want to be free,

and support them.

This is a continuation

of what I've preached

all my life about Apartheid.

It fills me full

of joy to participate.

I had a call from

Steven, he said,

"This is how I heard about

what was going on

in South Africa."

It wasn't "Let's all

hold hands, drink Coca-Cola

and say the word peace."

It was about actually

there's something wrong

that we need to fix.

Rage is at the heart

of rock and roll,

and you can

direct it at the people

who are oppressing you,

or you can direct it at people

who are oppressing

other people,

who can live in far-off lands.

As a Black South African,

I cannot vote.

And as a Black South African,

I cannot own land.

As a Black South African,

I am not allowed

to get married

to someone from another city.

So, you know,

from the cradle to the grave,

if you're Black

in South Africa,

you need government

permission to exist.

I think

people will sit and listen.

Nobody is really aware

of everything that's

going on in South Africa,

and I think this will make

people really aware.

It wasn't about

egos or anything.

We were just

all happy to do it.

With everybody on that album,

it's completely

different voices,

and different temperaments,

and everybody fit in.

♪ Relocation ♪

♪ To phony homelands ♪

♪ Separation of families

I can't understand ♪

♪ 23 million can't vote

Because they're Black ♪

♪ We're stabbing our brothers

And sisters in the back ♪

♪ We're gonna say I ♪

♪ I, I, I, I ♪

♪ Ain't gonna play

Sun City... ♪

I'll try and cue you.

There's a part

where there's na-na's.

Na-na.

♪ Na-na na-na-na na ♪

♪ Na-na-na, yeah ♪

♪ Well this quiet diplomacy ♪

♪ Ain't nothing but a joke

I'm gonna say ♪

The ability to get

all those artists on board,

something that was political,

was quite a feat of,

amongst many other things,

salesmanship.

Which Steve

is pretty good at.

- All this...

- Thank you.

...is a Little Steven

production.

I'm still impressed

how he gathered

all of these different

people together,

and everybody at that time

was in their prime.

On the day that

we recorded Miles Davis,

we were not sure

that he was even coming.

And we were all

on pins and needles,

and then I get the call.

One of those

magical times in the studio

that become part of your life.

This, I'm jumping

at the chance

to do this, this one.

South Africa makes me ill,

sick all over, everything.

When I think about it,

I can't do nothing.

I can't even play.

There will be a lot

of different versions

on the, uh, on the record.

It could be either

five or six versions.

The more great

performances we get,

the more versions.

And it turned out

that six versions

of "Sun City"

were produced simply

out of the creative process.

And then Bono

flew in from Africa,

and Keith Richards

was around, Ron Wood,

and their last song,

called "Silver and Gold,"

was created.

You know, the dirty

little secret here

is none of us wants

to get that call,

where the other artist

is going to ask you

to put down

what you were doing

to take up their cross,

to follow them

on some mission.

He corralled all of us.

Steven understood

that perhaps

that rock 'n' roll owed a debt

to the continent of Africa.

The Malopoets,

uh, have some members

that still live

in South Africa,

and I asked them, uh...

It could be dangerous

to be on this record.

Who knows what

reprisals may happen.

They told me, "We have

to be on this record."

Somebody tells you

they're ready to die

to be on a record, you know...

that's commitment.

Though the Black South African

suffering is horrifying,

they do not

ask us for our pity.

All they ask us is that we

look at them and see them,

because by seeing them,

we see ourselves.

Okay, well you should

come in on the first "I."

Jonathan Demme,

who shot the thing,

was just the A-1 cat.

Shooting on

the video is happening

in two countries at once,

um, England and America,

and on two coasts,

New York and California.

It was planned to bring

this huge number

of artists into town,

and to gather them together

some way or other

to, um, do a-a unity,

a unified image

of everybody singing together.

And, um, the night

before we had to shoot,

Little Steven had

the great idea

of doing it

in Washington Square.

All this was happening

at once. On one day,

Godley and Creme

were shooting

Ringo and Zak Starr

in London,

while we were

shooting Eddie Kendrick,

and Lou Reed, and Rubén

Blades, in New York.

And then the next day,

Hart Perry went out

to Los Angeles

to get Bob Dylan

and Jackson Browne.

- ♪ Relocation ♪

- ♪ Relocation ♪

- ♪ To phony homelands ♪

- ♪ Phony homelands... ♪

George Clinton,

who's incredible

in the piece.

I'm glad it's

becoming more clear

what's going on over there.

So maybe

the awareness will help

make a change there,

I'm quite sure it will.

Actually, I was making

music videos at the time,

and I figured,

"Wow, you know, uh,

this is like

a music documentary.

I'll take my camera

and just start shooting."

Steve says,

"Here comes Bruce now."

So now

I'm expecting to see

like, a whole entourage,

and bodyguards,

and he came around the corner

by himself,

hands in his pocket.

I was like, "Wow,

that's big right there."

And he was hot as

a firecracker, you know?

It wasn't glossy,

it wasn't showbiz-y.

He really consciously kept it

with "We don't need

this to go to Hollywood,"

'cause we go Hollywood,

you miss the point.

So when you edit

like Harlem streets,

and then you go and edit

some of the African streets,

it almost match, you know,

with that same type of vibe

and that grittiness.

You know, back in the days,

like, if you go to school,

and somebody

call you an African,

you would be ready

to fight them.

Because what

they had put in all

the history books and stuff,

they made all Africans

look like savages.

So if somebody say,

"Yo, you an African,"

it was like somebody

talking about your mother.

That's the race thing.

It's like a con job,

but they made Black people

the main focus of what

the con is, you know?

'Cause for me,

I believe in my heart

there's really only one race,

it's the human race.

Everything else

is like a con game,

and they,

and it works perfectly.

But, uh, if you're-if you're

at the bottom of the con,

I mean...

It's not all that great.

MTV was pretty segregated.

You didn't see

R&B artists on there.

You didn't see

rap artists on there.

And when Steven

pulled this together,

it was really

ahead of the curve.

He was just

including everyone.

Hip hop would be over here,

you know, rock and roll

would be over there.

Hip hop was more this

like the bastard music

of all the genres.

We all know what

each other's doing,

but we looking

at each other,

'cause we come from

different walks of life.

Whenever

they do these things,

and this happens

unfortunately very frequently,

they're doing a project that

has an international impact,

they don't call

Latin artists.

"We Are the World."

You know, "We are

the world, except you."

We all have

to be represented.

Whatever problem exists,

it's not just one

nationality's problem.

It's everyone's problem.

It's a good moment for us

to look at the racism

and the prejudice

that still exists

in our own backyard.

It's a moment

we should reinvestigate

our own racial problems.

People try to put it across

as propaganda,

that it's the left or right.

This is apolitical.

Doesn't matter what side.

It's common sense.

It was like the whole music

industry came together.

It was almost like

you felt you belonged.

♪ Oh whoa whoa whoa ♪

♪ Na-na na-na-na ♪

♪ Na-na-na yeah ♪

The whole band, you know,

the E Street Band,

he felt that all these people

would be on the right

side of history.

What separated Little Steven

was some kind of

righteous anger.

Steven was

really informed

and very outspoken

about apartheid.

He spoke

at the United Nations,

and I remember him going

on the Donahue show.

We're in New York City

talking about "Sun City,"

the most politically

aggressive maneuver

in the history

of rock 'n' roll.

That video is totally

misrepresentative

of the true facts.

Why should Sun City

then be linked

with what you saw up there?

Let's get to the truth now.

We wanna talk about truth.

Uh, this is the truth.

It's not Sun City itself,

the entertainment complex

that's the problem.

It's where it is,

and where it is

is where people are not free

to go where they want to go.

They're there because

they have been

relocated forcibly.

They've been put on a truck,

and taken hundreds

of miles from their home,

and dropped in this area,

and they cannot leave.

They cannot get

visas or passports,

their citizenship

has been stripped.

And no one in the world

recognizes this as

an independent country,

except for the South African

government.

The single has sold well

since its release yesterday,

and is getting

a lot of radio play.

We asked the people

at Tower Records

to play "Sun City."

Customers listen to lyrics

such as "23 million can't

vote because they're Black,

we're stabbing our brothers

and sisters in the back."

Some of the lyrics

are a little critical,

and when you're

dealing with the public,

you have to be careful.

- Would you buy this song?

- Yes, I would.

♪ Quiet diplomacy

Ain't nothing but a joke ♪

- ♪ We're gonna say ♪

- ♪ I, I, I, I ♪

♪ Ain't gonna play Sun City ♪

♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, I... ♪

The system of apartheid,

it's not recognized

by any government

in the world,

except South Africa.

It's like Nazism.

The song, "Sun City"

is an affirmation

of the resolve

of the community of artists

to contribute to awakening

the public's

social consciousness,

to put an end to this inhuman

and totally

unacceptable policy.

It was an incredible creation.

In my opinion, it's a very

historic piece of music

that really, I think,

had an effect on apartheid,

and the way it was seen

around the world.

We have Band Aid,

we've had USA For Africa,

we had Live Aid,

Artists United

Against Apartheid,

Farm Aid, Fashion Aid.

You think there might be

too many aid records?

No, I think-I think, um,

as long as there's injustice

and problems in the world,

we should talk about them,

and rock and roll is the best

communication we have.

Ronnie Reagan

can't hear that, come on.

There's a political element

in rock and roll anyway.

It is you saying,

"I'm doing this

no matter what people think."

But when he started

to actually do things,

and say things

about politics,

he politicized rock and roll.

We've been quiet too long.

We've been patient too long.

We the people

will no longer tolerate

the terrorism

of the government

of South Africa.

Tell 'em, Steve.

We'll no longer do business

with those who do business

with the terrorist government

of South Africa.

The fact he's

partially responsible for

bringing down a government

is extraordinary.

I don't know if anybody

talks about that anymore.

We the people demand

the unconditional release

of Nelson Mandela.

We always knew

he had a kind of feistiness.

The surprise was

how organized he was.

♪ Na-na na-na-na ♪

♪ Na-na-na yeah ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ Na-na na-na-na ♪

♪ Na-na-na yeah ♪

Keep the pressure on!

And I didn't know about

apartheid, I was 12, 13,

and I learned about it

because I saw that video.

There was a bill passed

um, in the Congress,

the Anti-Apartheid Act,

and it was essentially

economic sanctions

against South Africa,

until they ended apartheid,

and it was vetoed

by Ronald Reagan.

Steve called me,

and he knew

what the situation was.

The Congress

was now gonna vote

to override the veto, or not.

To override

one of his vetoes was,

uh, quite a,

quite a challenge.

He stepped forward, said,

"I'm gonna be part

of that process,"

and he came down,

and made persuasive cases

to a number of senators,

and it's very impressive

we succeeded.

We overrode

the president's veto.

And that was the end.

Once the banks cut them off,

they had to let

Mandela out of jail.

There's Mr. Nelson Mandela,

a free man,

taking his first steps

into a new South Africa.

It was the most

thrilling moment of my life.

Mandela came here.

There was a whole celebration

for Nelson Mandela

at the Tribeca Grill.

So Robert De Niro was there,

like everybody was there.

Steven is really

the-the, uh...

the person who started this,

the whole thing here,

and I thank him,

and we all thank him.

And we can tell

the movie companies

we work for

we do not want our films to be

distributed in South Africa.

We can... we can tell

the record companies

we don't want

our records to be sold.

We have power, and we

have to take advantage of it.

Little Steven,

ladies and gentlemen.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Deputy President

of the African

National Congress,

Nelson Mandela.

I never felt that before.

You know, like, he had,

like, an aura, you know?

Of-of a... of spirituality.

My mother and I got

to meet him. Wonderful man,

who said, "You must be

very proud of your brother."

And now I'm gonna cry.

That's impressive.

Politicians can't do that,

presidents can't do that.

But he did pull

all those people together

and made a change

in the world.

That is the way to go.

Indeed, years later, that's

exactly the way I went.

I followed him right down

those marbled halls

and through those oak doors,

and made my own case,

um, against extreme poverty.

But I followed his example.

A lot of people,

especially once we did

the "Sun City" thing,

you know, started to connect,

you know, the whole

rock music to politics.

It was starting

to reach people

in the way I was

hoping to reach them.

The song itself

was an irrefutable jam

that featured perhaps the most

revolutionary gathering

of musicians

ever heard on a recording.

It was an inspired song,

an inspired video,

and it inspired American youth

who were part

of the global movement,

which eventually pressured

apartheid out of existence.

For me and most people I know,

music did that.

You know, we came up in a time

of the Live Aid concerts,

the Amnesty International,

and I know there were

predecessors to that.

Whether it be George Harrison

or Pete Seeger,

this was a formative time,

and it had

a huge impact on me.

We got something

going on in America

that they're calling...

"New Patriotism," you know?

But, uh...

It don't look like

no new patriotism to me.

It looks like blind

nationalism, you know?

That ain't right. That ain't

what patriotism is all about.

My friend had a copy,

on one of those Beta tapes,

of a performance they did

on a German show

called Rock Palace.

And I remember it

because he did

a great introduction

to the song "I'm a Patriot,"

where he talked about

early onset nationalism

back in the States.

Being a good patriot

means you question

every motherfucker

everywhere every time.

It sure ain't about parties,

you know?

Loyalty to the party instead

of loyalty to the truth.

He understands

the need to utilize

music not just as

a means for escape reality,

but to document it,

and/or confront it.

Especially Steven,

at a time when,

you know, Reagan and all that

stuff was in America,

like to go to that

direction, it's brave.

♪ Listen

I ain't no communist ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I ain't no capitalist ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I ain't no socialist ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I sure ain't

No imperialist ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I ain't no Democrat ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I sure ain't no

Fucking Republican ♪

♪ I only know one party ♪

♪ Its name is freedom ♪

♪ Say it, I am ♪

♪ I am, I am ♪

♪ I am a patriot ♪

I used to be part of

little benefits in San Diego,

I was working a midnight

shift security job,

and that was one of the songs

that really could connect.

♪ And the river shall open

For the righteous ♪

♪ And the river shall open

For the righteous... ♪

So I kind of

dissected the song

and made a version of it.

♪ I was walking ♪

♪ With my brother ♪

♪ And he wondered ♪

♪ Oh, how I am ♪

I'm gonna leave

you with this song.

This is about

my favorite song,

written by Little Steven.

I think it was '86,

Amnesty International,

I saw Jackson Browne

play a version,

and that was really exciting.

♪ I am a patriot... ♪

Stevie was

a huge influence on me

at a time when

I was trying to write

songs about

what I cared about.

And that I hadn't

even dared to try

to talk about it in a song.

♪ She said, "I want

To run like the lion ♪

♪ Released

From the cages..." ♪

I would say that probably

most people

who come to my concerts

think that that's my song.

I take the trouble to tell

them whose song it is.

I've told him,

I said, "Steve,

I'm sure a lot of people

think I wrote this, you know."

Usually, as a writer,

you're more concerned with

saying too much, you know?

I was concerned

with not saying enough.

And Jackson Browne doing

one of your songs is wild,

and then Eddie Vedder

also would do it.

Such an endorsement,

you know, such a-such a, uh,

such a wonderful validation

of what you're doing,

you know?

We still play it this day.

We've played it fast,

we've played it slow.

You can take that-that

car of a song,

get in a demolition derby,

and you will win.

♪ And the river shall

Open for the righteous ♪

♪ And the river shall

Open for the righteous ♪

♪ Someday ♪

♪ I'm a patriot... ♪

You know, whatever,

whatever side of the fence,

or if they're

leaning on it, um...

it transmits.

♪ Sanctuary... ♪

♪ Sanctuary... ♪

His solo records

were just filled

with in-depth

political thought.

There's some

kind of adrenaline rush

that takes place

when you start to realize

why you're on this planet.

This combination of artist

and journalist thing

where I'm going places,

doing research,

and checking things out,

turning it into stories.

I'm doing something

that feels important.

♪ America's on trial... ♪

I was terrified, because

he went into situations

that I later found out

were really, really dangerous.

I thought, "What happened?"

You know, I marry

this fun rock and roll guy,

and we're going

all over the world,

we're having a great life,

and all of a sudden,

he's in South Africa

being smuggled

into some dangerous area

under a blanket.

I didn't know that then.

While I admired

what he was doing,

I think I really resented it,

because I felt it was putting

everything at risk.

His life, our relationship,

even his musical life.

Out of all the disturbing...

situations around

the world, um...

the single most disturbing

was right here,

with the treatment

of Native Americans.

♪ Love's been sacrificed ♪

♪ Promises buried beneath ♪

♪ The trail

Of broken treaties ♪

We celebrated 200 years...

of our Constitution

the other day.

That's something we should

be happy about,

but until we start honoring

Indian treaties,

the Constitution is a lie.

♪ Sing it, I ♪

♪ I am Native American... ♪

On the Freedom -

No Compromise album,

the concept was the state.

Uh, I decided

to do three sub-themes.

There's South Africa,

Native America,

and Latin America.

Stevie was

like a bow and arrow,

a very well dressed,

you know, archer,

and was shooting those arrows

exactly where he aimed them.

Now, if they

hit the right target,

you're in trouble.

He shook people up.

If you have that in you,

you were a threat

to corporate structures.

He's such

a galvanic humanist,

that you kind of

have to make

that kind of progression

into politics.

It was political,

but it was more

generally humanistic

than that.

No party line, all compassion,

all empathy.

I went to Nicaragua once,

and then Steve

decided to come.

I mean, he was

amazing on this trip.

He brought nothing but, like,

Gatorade and Marlboros.

And here's this guy

who is so well-read,

and so politically astute,

but dressed like, you know,

like a rock and roll,

you know, like

a dervish or a pirate.

♪ Someday we'll reap

What we have sown ♪

♪ I don't look east

I don't look west ♪

♪ I don't understand

Their accents ♪

♪ I will gather no more

Of your bitter fruit... ♪

What Stevie

did meant something.

This particular song

had to do with an injustice,

and that's a good thing that

Stevie is teaching people.

They don't know

these stories,

and it was built

with integrity.

I have the honor

and the privilege

to introduce somebody

who is not only

one of the greatest forces

in rock and roll

on this planet,

but one of the greatest forces

for justice and human rights

on this planet,

and that's Little Steven!

The whole '80s

for me,

I was completely

obsessed with politics,

against all rational

thought, you know,

beginning with leaving

the E Street Band.

But it was more than that.

Every album had

a different theme,

a different soundtrack,

which was part of my,

uh, problem commercially,

and part of my

artistic, uh, success.

♪ Keep the people divided ♪

♪ Keep the energy spent ♪

♪ Keep the people divided ♪

♪ So they don't think

About the government ♪

♪ Look at all

The pretty children ♪

♪ They all look the same ♪

♪ They don't want

Your anger ♪

♪ They don't

Share your pain... ♪

I'm writing this in 1989.

The alienation between

the workforce and labor

started to now

become contagious,

and I thought

the alienation had now

moved into the institutions.

No longer trusted the Church,

the government,

no longer trusted

our schools,

and as now,

spreading to the alienation

from our very life support

systems, the environment.

It's a bit more powerful,

more beefy with the sounds

than a typical

dance record, but, um,

it wasn't anything

to do with rock.

Anyway, uh, that, that...

uh, confused people

pretty, pretty, uh, consistently.

He had the most

resolute agenda.

He had it kind of mapped out

where he was gonna go

with these songs,

three or four albums deep,

because he is nothing

less than revolutionary.

This is for, uh, Leonard...

in Leavenworth Prison.

I was focused on

the international situation.

But of course,

as it turns out,

in a way, the Native American

situation is international,

because they are

sovereign nations.

I read

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.

It was very striking to me

that Steven would

write this song,

"Justice for Leonard Peltier,"

and try to give him

the kind of attention

and regard that he did.

♪ He should say

What he wants to say ♪

♪ It's time we listen ♪

♪ He should pray

Where he wants to pray ♪

♪ Without asking permission ♪

♪ Leonard Peltier ♪

Everything

that he's gone after

has been a really noble

or meaningful thing,

so in the end, how could

you not support that?

It might scare you,

make you upset,

but you cannot say,

"You shouldn't do this."

We dedicate this show today

to the students in China.

Solidarity with them.

Finally, I peaked,

you know, in Rome, 1989.

We did a concert

for Tiananmen Square.

I couldn't see the end

of the crowd, like Woodstock.

This is where my political

trip has been leading,

and I realized

I don't wanna

be a politician.

I said what I wanted to say,

learned what

I wanted to learn.

I said, "Man, that's it.

I'm done. I'm done."

♪ The war stopped

For a moment ♪

♪ We held our breaths,

My brothers and I ♪

♪ The poisoned sky

Stopped crying ♪

♪ The red sun tried to shine ♪

♪ We looked down

From the mountain top ♪

♪ And felt so alone ♪

♪ This once was paradise ♪

♪ This wasteland

Once was home ♪

♪ Oh... ♪

I had a trip planned

for my next album,

to do research in Algeria,

and so I came home from that,

I recorded my fifth album,

Born Again Savage,

but I wasn't

gonna tour with it.

No record company

wanted to sign me anymore.

I was done.

The weight, I think,

began to put the brakes

on Steve's freedom

to let his imagination

go where he wanted.

And the outlets seemed

like they had been

turned off like water taps.

I was

spiritually exhausted,

mentally, physically.

I went out to the wilderness,

man, you know?

And walked my dog

for seven years.

♪ Don't ever say

it was all in vain ♪

♪ Yeah, don't tell me... ♪

So there I was, uh...

no more record deal,

no more job opportunities,

no more offers, really,

and, uh, no particular

ambition either.

♪ Yeah, I know

It still remains ♪

♪ Because

I'm still the same... ♪

Certainly, it mystified me,

why someone of his caliber

would have trouble

getting record deals,

or holding onto one,

but knowing what I do

about record companies,

you know, it was...

it wasn't hard to see why.

The idea of writing directly,

addressing directly an issue,

is not commercially kosher.

Promoters don't

wanna hire you.

The radios will not play you.

When you're

dealing with issues

that have to do with feeding

yourself and your family,

then the question is

how far are you willing to go

to support your idea?

You could feed

people in Africa,

they're okay with that,

but start bringing down

governments,

they start getting

a little nervous.

You know, like, uh...

"Maybe we're next," you know?

I met him at a time

when he was

not having success.

He couldn't get good music

released by anybody.

Painful as it is, you know,

I think it's a quite

good experience

for artists, you know.

You learn more

from failures in life

than you do from

successes, I think.

They're better teachers.

Bruce had disbanded

the E Street Band,

and was moving on

to other things.

During the time that Bruce

had disbanded the band,

was also a time

for reflection for Steven.

I thought about being

a professional producer.

You know, I liked

producing records,

but I only did it

for my friends, really.

I ended up producing

a couple records.

I did the Arc Angels,

and, uh,

a Nigerian cat named

Majek Fashek, Lone Justice,

and then I did

a reunion record

with Southside Johnny

& the Asbury Jukes.

♪ It's been a long time ♪

♪ Since we've

Laughed together ♪

♪ It's been a long time

Since we cried... ♪

Greetings from Asbury Park.

On the stage

of the fabled Stone Pony,

the three guys who put

the place on the rock map,

Little Steven Van Zandt,

Bruce Springsteen,

and Southside Johnny Lyon.

It felt like we should

be working together again.

We laugh, have fun,

tell lots of stories,

we had-we listened

to a lot of music.

We sat down and wrote things,

it felt like it did

when we first started out.

The forthcoming LP

by Southside Johnny

& the Asbury Jukes,

entitled Better Days,

resurrects the horn-enriched sound

that was a musical trademark

of the band in the late '70s.

The album is produced

and arranged

by former Juke and good

friend, Little Steven.

I just try to keep it human,

and simple, and...

live as possible.

That's the way we always

did it, the way I still do.

I haven't really changed

since I started, really.

Do the same

thing long enough,

eventually it becomes

fashionable.

I don't remember it

was any much that different,

but when we got into

the studio for Better Days,

we both were relaxed enough

that we could let things

happen, it was great.

You go back to Asbury,

there's Southside,

there's Steve, there's me.

Just those three guys.

That's not gonna

happen again.

Those are the people

you were there with.

Those times are gone,

but those feelings,

the feeling remains.

The soul,

and the love,

and the feelings,

we still keep

a great faith with.

♪ We lived in a time ♪

♪ In a world of our own ♪

♪ Making up the rules

As we went along ♪

♪ Just one coat between us ♪

♪ And we never felt cold ♪

♪ We were never

Gonna get old ♪

♪ It's been a long time ♪

♪ Since we laughed together ♪

♪ It's been a long time

Since we cried... ♪

Luckily, Lance Freed,

a music publisher

who happened to be

the son of the legendary

DJ Alan Freed,

heard the Southside

Johnny album.

Said, "I haven't heard writing

like this in a long time,"

and offered me

a publishing deal,

which saved my life.

There were decades of success

in the past.

I didn't feel

that his-his writing

had-had diminished at all.

I felt like it was every bit

as good as it had ever been.

And eventually, you know,

things come around.

At the time it was

a lot of money,

and paid my bills for years.

Lance, if you're out there,

I love you, baby.

My relationship with Steven

started with Home Alone 2.

We were looking for a song

that would cover a montage.

I said, "Let's think

about this.

What you need to do

is call Stevie Van Zandt."

♪ The cold wind's blowing ♪

♪ And the streets

Are getting dark ♪

♪ I'm writing you a letter ♪

♪ And I don't know

Where to start ♪

♪ The bells will be ringing ♪

♪ Saint John, the Divine ♪

♪ I get a little lonely ♪

♪ Every year

Around this time... ♪

I said, "I don't know

what the song exactly is,

but it has to feel

like some of the stuff

you had just done on

the latest Southside album,"

which was Better Days.

Steve says, "I'm gonna

get the E Street Band

to come in to be

backing musicians."

Wow! Okay, all right.

I'm coming to that recording

session.

And I thought, "My world

has finally connected

with my dream world."

I think Steven,

with that particular song,

wrote one of the great

Christmas songs.

In my mind, I felt that

if there was ever a situation

where I needed

a song in a film,

I would call Steven.

♪ This is the time

Of your life ♪

♪ Whatcha gonna do with it ♪

♪ Don't fool with it... ♪

I needed a song

for the end credits

that celebrated

the way I was feeling

about being a young father

for the first time,

and he comes back

with "Time of Your Life."

♪ Don't think

About the future ♪

♪ Don't think

About the past ♪

♪ There's just this moment ♪

♪ You better

Make it last... ♪

It's an intensely

personal song.

I don't really...

think he's written a song

quite like it since.

Well, most people

who get into a band,

you don't do it

to-to win accolades.

You do it because

you love music,

you wanna be

on stage and share it.

Gold records, winning awards,

those things definitely

are meaningful,

but they're definitely

not the reason you do it.

♪ Whatcha gonna do with it ♪

He was trying

to get the Rascals

up and running again,

and they had been

feuding for decades,

and they were a personal

favorite of Stevie's.

And to induct them

into the Hall of Fame,

he came out wearing those

outfits they used to wear

in the very beginning,

like little schoolboy outfits.

Some people

may not realize it,

but the Rascals were the first

rock band in the world.

In the center of the universe,

New Jersey,

the Rascals

were the first band.

And who knew

that sitting in New Jersey,

watching on TV,

was this guy David Chase,

saying, "You know, that guy

could be good

for my new TV show."

You know, their stage garb

was a little, uh, bizarre.

Uh, what I'm trying to say

is people think

they dress funny.

Now, this is a subject

I know something about.

And I just, you know,

for the record tonight,

I wanna say that there was

absolutely nothing

unusual about the way

the Rascals dressed.

I...

Nothing strange about that.

I used to buy

Springsteen albums,

back to the days of vinyl.

I used to read the album

over and over,

stare at it.

And I saw this guy,

every album, there he was.

And he looked Italian to me.

I'm Italian.

So you know,

it-it pricked my attention.

And he was very funny,

glued me to the TV,

just really charismatic,

and I said, "That guy's

gotta be in the show."

We were

having dinner one night,

he goes, "You know,

this guy, David Chase,

he saw me speak

at the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame induction dinner,

and he wants me

to try a part for HBO."

And I said, "Steven,

you can't fucking do that.

You can't be in television.

I mean,

think of Donny & Marie.

Are you

the Partridge Family? No.

You're Stevie Van Zandt,

you're a fucking

rock and roll idol.

You can't do this.

You're gonna

ruin everything."

And he goes,

"Well, I'm also broke."

Steven goes, "I did

this pilot for this TV show,

about a Mob family

in New Jersey,

I don't know if it's

the right thing."

I said, "What do you mean?"

He goes, "Rock 'n' rollers

shouldn't be on TV."

I said, "Well, look, Steven,

TV has no memory."

He goes, "What do you mean,

has no memory?"

I said, "Do you know

that Henry Fonda

had a TV series?"

He goes, "He did?"

I said, "Yeah.

Do you know Jimmy Stewart

had a TV series?"

He goes, "He did?"

I says, "Yeah."

He said, "I don't remember."

I said, "That's my point.

If the thing is great, great.

If the thing is bad,

they'll forget about it."

If he's right, he's right.

What the fuck are you doing?

Sil, take it easy.

I'm losing my balls over here!

This fucking moron

is playing Hazel?

Get the fuck outta here!

I was trying

to sweep the cheese--

Why? Why now?

Leave it there.

- I don't know, I was just--

- What?

Where do you get

these fucking idiots? Where?

He's sweeping the cheese

while I'm trying to get...

Leave the fucking

cheese there!

I love cheese on my feet.

I stick mother fucking

provolone in my socks at night

so they smell like

your sister's crotch.

All right? So leave

the cock sucking cheese

where it is!

What stunned people

was the breadth and range

and authenticity of this cast,

the surprise of this cast.

And Steve Van Zandt was

the personification

of that surprise,

because he wasn't

a professional actor.

And you could see that

he was made to do this.

He was built to do this.

He said

he didn't wanna take

a job from an actor.

We were auditioning

all kinds of actors.

So I said, "Well, we'll

create a character for you,"

which we did.

And it was based

on a character

that he had invented,

named Silvio Dante.

His club was gonna

be traditional,

with maybe '40s music,

and I said, "That'd be great

for the show."

Well, what it wound up as

was a strip club.

I wrote a whole

biography about him.

He grew up with Tony Soprano,

he was his best friend,

and I kind of used

my relationship with Bruce.

We were driving

on the North End,

which is kind of like

Mulberry Street, New York.

It's a real old school

Italian district.

"Silvio's here

on the North End!"

Owners of the restaurant

come out,

they're bringing him

out meatballs.

We gotta keep him in the van

because it's Beatlemania.

From the Sopranos soundtrack,

our thanks to Little Steven.

♪ Even if it's all over ♪

♪ Don't ever say it was

All in vain... ♪

What was interesting

in the music that David Chase

chose for the show

was that it was exposing

Little Steven songs,

and even unreleased

Little Steven songs,

to a brand new audience.

I loved

picking out the music,

and thinking about songs,

and some of them I'd had

in my head for 30 years.

It was my favorite

part of the show.

But it was never me trying

to, like, introduce, um...

the world to any music,

it was just what was right

for that dramatic piece.

When I came in

to open up one morning,

there you were,

your head half in the toilet.

Your hair was in

the toilet water. Disgusting.

I told you I had the flu.

I said my piece, Chrissy.

He was almost unrecognizable.

If you see him in the band,

then when you see him

in The Sopranos.

Uh, I was just deathly afraid

of people saying "Hey,

I just saw you

play in Cleveland.

What are you doing trying

to be a mobster," you know?

I was deathly afraid of that.

That's why I gained,

I went in the gym,

I gained, like,

30, 40, 50 pounds right away.

Uh, and muscle, you know,

I really, you know,

tried to, bulked up,

and I wanted to be

as different as I could be,

thinking I'm never

going back to music.

You know...

I was in one trailer,

and Stevie was

right next to me,

and I used to play

a lot of Bruce and Southside.

Steven comes by,

I had the door open,

and he says, "I figured

you'd be playing Sinatra,"

and I says, "No, man,

this is Southside."

He said, "I know who it is."

"You know I wrote

all those songs?"

I says, "I didn't know that."

and I took the CD out,

said Van Zandt,

I says, "I didn't know that."

He's clearly

fabricating a persona,

but you smell enough

of Steven in the character,

that-that it's totally

believable.

Without Frank, none of youse

would be in this room tonight.

I was talking

to the guitar tech,

and he said,

"Every once in a while,

he'd be waiting too long

for his guitar,

he'd turn around

and turn into Silvio."

"What the fuck, give me my...

My fucking guitar."

It was probably

always in there,

but now it became unleashed.

Hey, Sil.

- What?

-"What?"

I've been gone a long time.

Let me hear it.

Just when they

thought I was out,

they pull me back in.

All right, get

the fuck out of here.

I was not fooling around.

I came out of that trailer

as Silvio Dante,

and I was really him.

You know, I didn't...

I didn't take that lightly.

When you're connected

with Gandolfini,

you just gotta get better,

and Steven and Jimmy

got along so good.

He learned a lot from Jimmy.

He'd always say,

"Look in the mirror.

Look at this face, you know?

You believe they cast me

as the lead in this show?"

He meant it, you know?

Just being in

a scene with him,

you walked away

a better actor.

You just couldn't help it.

He was that good.

What the fuck do you know

what goes on in my head?

I've known you since

you were a kid, Ton'.

Frankly... you've got

a problem with authority.

I knew exactly those dynamics.

I know what it's like

to be the only guy

bringing the bad news.

That's the job.

You wanna be

somebody's best friend?

Be a real friend?

You wanna be a consigliere?

You've gotta take that heat.

And you gotta stand up to it,

because that's the job, man.

'Cause everybody else

is too afraid to do it.

You know, it might cost you

your friendship,

or in this case, in Sopranos,

it might cost your life,

you know, but you gotta do it.

That's the gig.

So I was comfortable

with those dynamics,

and, uh, I think it helped me

as a first-time actor.

All his experience

through his career,

with Bruce, and other ways,

he gave me tips, um,

which were really valuable.

He took on more

thematic responsibility too

as he became a consigliere.

That's what he's like

as a person.

He was always

that way with me.

"Don't do this,

don't do this," you know?

That was the big time.

He'd been in the big time

for a long time.

I'm gonna tell you something

I never told anybody.

Back when Jackie

was at the end,

they floated the idea

of me stepping up

to the big seat.

Not Tony, me.

- Really?

- Yeah.

But I thought,

"It's not for me."

Still, you wouldn't

sneeze at it.

I never saw myself

as that kind of guy.

I'm more behind the scenes.

Advice... strategy.

And here you are, Sil.

The times make the man, honey,

not the other way around.

Come on, Stevie!

Once more.

One, two!

♪ Once I spent my time

Playing tough-guy scenes ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I was living in a world

Of childish dreams... ♪

Here's two friends

that I'm so happy they're

getting back together again,

and that's how

I felt about that.

Those guys have a connection,

and it's fucking awesome.

They're laughing,

they're like two kids.

That's the relationship.

♪ I believe in the end ♪

♪ Two hearts

Are better than one ♪

♪ Two hearts

Girl, get the job done ♪

♪ Two hearts

Are better than one... ♪

Being in a band is like

being in the priesthood

or the Mob.

These are organizations

you can't leave.

Unless you're dead.

The whole mythology

of the band of brothers.

♪ My special one ♪

♪ Two hearts

Are better than one ♪

♪ Two hearts

Girl, get the job done ♪

♪ Two hearts

Are better than one ♪

- Steve!

- Yeah, Boss?

How the hell

is this guy gonna be doing

a rock show the night before,

and had a 6:00 a.m. call

the next day in New York?

We used to wait and say,

"Is he gonna make it?"

Boom, he shows up,

comes out

looking like Silvio,

- and we go to work.

- Let's go act.

Van Zandt

is creatively restless,

says his wife,

Maureen, who also plays

his TV wife in The Sopranos.

You know, that's

what's interesting about him,

that he's a... he's a real

Renaissance man.

I know that sounds

very cliche, but he is.

People ask me, uh,

"What have you been doing

these last 20 years?"

And I say to them, "I've been

putting all of my energy

into preserving this thing

we call rock and roll."

And they said

it wouldn't last.

The Underground Garage

this week

begins its fifth year.

It started with

his syndicated radio show

Little Steven's

Underground Garage,

now heard on 200 stations.

He said, "I started going,

city by city,

I would get a dinner

with the head

of the radio station,

and then we'd talk

Sopranos for an hour,"

he'd say "What's your

slowest night?"

He wheeled and dealed

to get this golden music

into the people's ears.

I remember being

on the West Coast

listening to

Underground Garage,

like, "These are the coolest

bands I've ever heard."

My only desire was to be

on that station as a band.

Your radio show, Little

Steven's Underground Garage--

Yes, we are the only

radio show with dancers.

Yeah, I noticed.

You know, it goes

from punk rock, to surf,

to doo-wop, to psychedelic,

to, you know, modern garage

stuff to old garage stuff,

and glam, and a bunch

more I'm forgetting.

There's even reggae in there.

You think of all those

bands that got played,

he was the first guy

to turn anybody

on to the White Stripes.

I mean, that was him.

And it just steamrolled

into this monster,

you know,

groundbreaking thing.

Underground Garage

gave Steven his freedom

to play whatever he wanted.

I can't say the name

of the track,

because it's got

a horrible word in it.

It's my station, we can do

whatever the fuck we want.

Well, there you go.

I ask people, "How do

you know my music?"

They say Underground Garage.

I get that all the time.

It wasn't just the past.

It was like, "Here's the past,

and here's the future."

♪ When you're walking in LA ♪

♪ Everybody knows

That you're down... ♪

He thought there

was country music

being unrepresented,

and said

"I got a second idea,

I wanna do this thing

called Outlaw Country.

So Outlaw Country comes.

Guy's got another channel.

You wanna make

those connections.

You wanna connect dots,

like you do in music,

Like, how is Robert Johnson

the same as

the White Stripes, or whoever?

I think he realizes that if

somebody doesn't

keep this going,

it may die.

♪ Who will save

Rock and roll... ♪

From his

New York office, Van Zandt

also books underground

garage concerts.

He was trying

to save CBGB's.

He reunited some great bands

for the Garage Rock Festival.

And for all these events,

he'd bring friends

from E Street and Sopranos.

I hope youse

having a great time

listening to all

this garage trash today.

I know I'm trying.

Steven has this...

sheet of paper

with all of the things

that he wants to do.

I'm pretty sure

he's done them all.

Like, it's just mind-blowing,

but I think he has

kind of checked a box

on every one

of those branches.

Steven's second act,

it's amazing how much

he's accomplished.

Is that the teachers?

All of a sudden,

he's involved in TV, radio,

education, he's building

a record label.

Steven showed up to our gig,

he's like,

"I want that record."

You can have that record.

It's all about music for him.

There's just a lot

of bands these days,

and a lot of the bands

came to us saying

"We need more help."

That was gonna be successful,

because people love rock.

♪ One, two three

Good love ♪

♪ Good love ♪

He was on fire

about this Rascals thing.

The next thing I know,

it's on Broadway,

which is tremendous.

He sees it historically,

'cause he is a historian.

He probably knows more

about my music than I do.

It's every performer's dream

to play Broadway.

That dream came true for me

when I wrote and co-directed

Once Upon a Dream,

reuniting The Rascals.

♪ How can I be sure ♪

♪ I'll be sure ♪

♪ With you ♪

One of the police officers

who was helping us

when we'd come out

of the stage door,

pulls me aside and says,

"I've been working

Broadway for 20 years,

and I have never

seen an audience

come out

of a show like this.

Cheering, singing,

smiles, happiness."

It took people to a place,

in the audience,

that they never thought

in their wildest dreams

they would ever get back to.

Musicians are very theatrical.

They become

different people, you know.

When I stood on the stage

of Carnegie Hall,

and announced Stevie's name,

I just felt so cool.

I mean, I just felt

like my world went...

And I could be...

anything I wanted to be.

Now, this could only happen

to a guy like me.

And only happened

in a town like this.

- Am I right?

♪ This is ♪

♪ My kind of town ♪

♪ Lilyhammer is... ♪

I started a record label,

and I start signing a bunch

of Norwegian bands.

I'm producing one of them

in Bergen, Norway.

The assistant engineer

says, "There's a couple

in the lobby,

they wanna say hello."

It's Eilif Skodvin

and Anne Bjornstad,

and they say to me,

"We're TV writers,

and we wrote

a TV show for you."

Well,

you don't hear that every day.

Kind of out of the blue,

I get a call

from Stevie's agent,

saying, "Will you take a call

with Stevie Van Zandt?"

And I said, "Would I?

Anyone ever say no to that?"

Very excited. No idea what

they're gonna talk about.

I'm thinking "Lilyhammer."

Three episodes were complete,

and I loved it.

Really what that was,

like the first Netflix show.

I think that

that digital world,

for a guy who is as off-beat

as, uh, Steve is,

will create opportunities.

The sheep head,

it's my dinner.

I thought I was gonna

have to give

Johnny Fontaine a movie part.

It's Gary U.S. Bonds!

♪ Should auld acquaintance

Be forgot... ♪

- I'm impressed.

- Yeah!

I got to direct

the final episode,

of Lilyhammer,

and that was one of

my scripts,

uh, and, uh...

you know, I had been talking

to Bruce about, uh...

getting in somewhere.

We had been talking

since Sopranos.

Angelina, Anthony.

What brings you here?

It's our brother, like always.

I was thrilled that he

did it, because, uh,

people have been trying to

get him to act for 30 years.

You know, I'm proud of that.

We've been

friends a long time,

still, you know,

he trusted me.

No Child

Left Behind legislation

had devastated all

the arts classes in America,

So I said how about we do

a music history

curriculum instead.

Teacher asks the kid,

"What are you listening to?"

And whatever they answer,

you trace it back.

And he's not kidding.

He wants rock and roll

taught in school.

You mustn't lose

the history of music,

the history of anything.

Rock and roll is

important, it's great to have

Steven out there

making sure people know

how important it is,

what it means,

and what a lifeline it can be.

He's almost like

John the Baptist.

He's out there screaming

there's a sacredness,

there's a holiness to rock.

This guy is doing

40 things at once,

and they're all complicated.

And they're all good.

He's a writer,

he's a director,

he's a musician,

he's a producer,

he's a businessman,

he's a philanthropist,

and now he wrote

an entire book

in prose, and it's very good.

The book has it all.

Sex, drugs, rock and roll

in unequal measure,

and the true story

behind the bandana.

♪ Could have been

A politician ♪

♪ In a bulletproof

Limousine ♪

♪ Could have made

A lot of promises... ♪

I did invite Stevie

to my 80th.

Bill Wyman invited us

to his 80th birthday party.

Leo Green,

his crazy promoter,

he says, "That's the same

week as my blues festival.

Why don't you

throw a band together

and headline one night?"

It sounded like fun.

I thought maybe

I'll bring the horns back,

I'll do a handful of my own

songs from the old days.

For almost 30 years,

Steven did not

perform his own music.

He acted, he was

performing with Bruce,

he was involved

in a lot of different things,

but he didn't play

any of his own songs

for a very long time.

♪ Could have been a lawyer ♪

♪ But my daddy taught me

Right from wrong ♪

♪ That could have been

The reason ♪

♪ Everything takes too long ♪

♪ I could have hung out

In Hollywood ♪

♪ I could have

Been a millionaire ♪

♪ Could have been big... ♪

As I'm-as I'm going

through my old songs,

I couldn't get through

them at first.

And my-my throat

was tightening up,

I-I... I started to tear up.

And I went to Bruce,

I said, "Bruce,

has anything like this

happened to you?"

And he's like,

"Yeah, I know why,

because you abandoned

your children for 30 years."

It reminded me

these songs have value.

I really shouldn't have

abandoned them.

I was like, "Dude, yeah,

you should be doing this."

But, you know, who knew he was

gonna pile it on top

of everything else he's doing?

I was overjoyed. He should

have been on the road anyway,

'cause he loves the road.

He stays in the fine hotels,

and, you know, drinks

that fine wine and all that.

My first manager over here.

Nobody messes with Big Mama.

You're my baby.

Without you,

I don't know where I'd be.

Oh, Stevie.

♪ Stop the world

For a minute ♪

♪ Is that a tear

I see in your eye? ♪

♪ This is your chance

This is your moment, baby ♪

♪ Spread your wings

It's time to fly... ♪

He's a great performer,

great songwriter,

great producer,

great arranger,

and made a couple

of great records

that ought to be out there.

He had gone

quite a-quite a period

without using some

of his greatest abilities.

Stevie called me up and said,

"I wanna get back

into doing this."

I said, "Of course, man."

That was just one of

the sweet things about Steve.

Is that he

would think, "Can I?"

That he would think

to make that call.

I don't think that would

happen in other bands.

♪ Lighting the soulfire ♪

♪ Lighting the soulfire... ♪

I saw them

in downtown LA.

Mike Stoller was the emcee,

which blew my mind.

Here they are, Little Steven

and the Disciples of Soul.

♪ Ah yeah ♪

When I put on "Soulfire"

for the first time,

I have to be honest,

I had tears running

down my face,

because it picked me up

and threw me back into 1977.

♪ Hey hey hey... ♪

He gets on with it.

Who goes on the road

with 14 musicians?

Steven asked me,

"Can you find out

how big the stage is

at the Cavern Club

in Liverpool?"

And I went, "Uh, yeah, why?"

And he goes,

"I wanna play there."

You are eternally part

of our wall of fame.

- Thank you.

It's your turn.

I love his enthusiasm,

and his passion

for what we both love.

He lives it

and he promotes it,

you know,

with his radio station.

♪ Well, she was just 17 ♪

♪ If you know what I mean ♪

♪ And the way she looked... ♪

The thing

I see with Stevie,

I think he's just

following threads

that he really likes.

♪ So how could I dance ♪

♪ With another ♪

♪ Woo ♪

♪ I saw her

Standing there... ♪

What he's doing, the tradition

he's carrying on,

rock and soul,

from Sam and Dave

to the Dave Clark Five

to the Stones,

he's a witness.

♪ Well, we made a promise ♪

♪ We swore we'd

Always remember ♪

♪ No retreat, baby ♪

♪ No surrender... ♪

It is 20 years now

since we've been back.

It's crazy.

You know, it's, uh,

it feels like it's

the way it ought to be.

♪ Baby, no surrender ♪

Come on, kid!

♪ No retreat, baby ♪

♪ No ♪

♪ Surrender ♪

Whoo!

Things have a way

of coming around,

and working themselves out.

If people

have the faith in...

in each other,

it'll allow that to happen,

and the love, you know?

This is for Maureen.

She's been there

through the thick

and the thin,

and that's pretty darn rare.

♪ I wanna protect you ♪

♪ I wanna connect with you ♪

♪ I wanna affect you ♪

♪ I wanna reflect you ♪

♪ I wanna be your happy end ♪

♪ We start all over again ♪

♪ I wanna feel

The same pain you do ♪

♪ Dancing in the rain

With you ♪

The two of them, they're both

really lucky, you know?

And so is the dog.

And now he's back, there's

no politics.

For the moment, you know?

I mean,

he's still an activist.

It comes through

in the spirit of the music,

and in the way

that he plays it.

♪ Take it easy ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah... ♪

You know, Stevie

told me many years ago

rock and roll kept him alive,

and I really do believe

it's his religion.

♪ I don't know

If you realize it or not ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ I don't know if you have

Cable TV or not ♪

♪ But outside

These walls right here ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ The world is going

Fucking crazy... ♪

♪ And we're here tonight ♪

♪ For sanctuary ♪

♪ We're here tonight ♪

♪ For some

Spiritual nourishment ♪

That's right.

We come to this cathedral

for spiritual nourishment.

And there ain't no

spiritual nourishment

like real live music.

He has this passion

for rock and roll,

but Stevie goes beyond.

♪ It makes you

Wanna say yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah... ♪

A whole sort of

encyclopedic knowledge

of music.

You know, um,

I'd say I know quite a bit,

but he knows more.

♪ Something like that

Uh-huh ♪

- ♪ Yeah yeah ♪

- ♪ Uh, huh ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah... ♪

The world

isn't going to get

everything you do.

The success to me is

that you had that vision,

and you followed through on it

and you went

all the way with it.

♪ Yeah give me some drums

Give me some drums ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ A little bit louder now ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Oh yeah ♪

♪ Yeah a little bit

Louder, baby ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

- ♪ Oh yeah ♪

- ♪ Oh yeah ♪

- ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Everybody sing now ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ Everybody sing now ♪

♪ Yeah... ♪

The fact

that he manages

to put these things together,

and then the impact

that they have,

is a credit to his

belief in what he does.

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ Oooh... ♪

At the end of the day,

Steve's a true believer.

♪ Oh yeah ♪

♪ The old men make excuses ♪

♪ While the young men

Bring the noise ♪

♪ And nothing ever changes ♪

♪ ‘Cause boys keep being boys ♪

♪ And the women

Just surrendered ♪

♪ While Cinderella slept ♪

♪ Now they know they've waited

Too long ♪

♪ There's nothing worth

Stealing left ♪

♪ Under the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ We supply the sins

While you confess ♪

♪ You're seduced by

The vampires' sweet caress ♪

♪ Behind the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ We give you politicians ♪

♪ And you call it choice ♪

♪ We let you do the voting ♪

♪ And you think

You have a voice ♪

♪ We control the information ♪

♪ And you call yourself

Informed ♪

♪ We give you our religion ♪

♪ And you believe it's yours ♪

♪ Under the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ We supply the sins

While you confess ♪

♪ You're seduced by

The vampires' sweet caress ♪

♪ Behind the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ Breathe,

Life is just a dream ♪

♪ Reach out and touch

The screen ♪

♪ We're here to soothe you ♪

♪ Relax ♪

♪ It's better

If you don't fight ♪

♪ Believe in the

Flickering light ♪

♪ We can't afford to lose you ♪

♪ We offer you diversion ♪

♪ On any channel you choose ♪

♪ We give you bread

And circus ♪

♪ And you still call it news ♪

♪ We orchestrate your hatred ♪

♪ It's as clear as white

And black ♪

♪ We select your history ♪

♪ And you believe it's fact ♪

♪ Under the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ We supply the sins

While you confess ♪

♪ You're seduced by

The vampires' sweet caress ♪

♪ Behind the camouflage

Of righteousness ♪

♪ Behind the camouflage... ♪