We’ll miss you Big Man – RIP

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Sad news this morning, especially if you are a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Big Man, legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons, died Saturday night of complications from a stroke that he suffered back on June 12. He was 69. Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga's sax player, dies at 69:

Clemons – known as 'Big Man', as he stood 6ft 5in tall and weighed 270lb – had been with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1973, contributing memorable sax solos to songs including Born To Run, Jungleland and the mega-selling hit album Born In The USA.

Throughout his career, he also played for he Grateful Dead and worked with artists including Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne and Ringo Starr.

Although his health had begun to fail in recent years, he played on two songs on Lady Gaga's Born This Way album, performed live with her on the season finale of American Idol, and appeared in the video for The Edge Of Glory – the album's Springsteen-tinged closing track.

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Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to his close friend – Clemons once described the bond between them as 'the most passion that you have without sex' – in a statement on his website, saying: 'It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7pm tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away.

'His loss is immeasurable and we are honoured and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years.'