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Bruce Springsteen's memoir: 8 must-answer questions

Chris Jordan
Asbury Park (N.J.) Press
Bruce Springsteen is shown on a big screen in a 2009 performance at Giants Stadium.

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — The Boss talks.

Rather, the Boss writes. It’s Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming autobiography, Born to Run, due Sept. 27 from Simon & Schuster.

In the book, Springsteen “vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band,” according to a posting on Springsteen’s social media sites.

What’s compelling about Springsteen is that there are parts of his life that have been laid bare — yet there are other elements that we know little about.

“Writing about yourself is a funny business,” says Springsteen in the book. “But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.”

Thanks, Boss! Springsteen gets snowed out, shares free concert instead

We’re looking forward to it. Springsteen is a compelling storyteller and perhaps his greatest story has yet to be told. Specifically, there are eight questions we would like answered in Born to Run:

• Did Springsteen, then a member of Steel Mill, throw a speaker at police during the 1970 Clearwater Swim Club melee in Middletown? OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but we’d love to hear his take on this infamous chapter of Jersey shore music history.

• Why did members of the early Springsteen band, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, play Monopoly on stage?

• Where and when did Springsteen first meet Clarence Clemons? Was it at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park? Was it at the Beacon Manor in Point Pleasant?

• What happened to the piano Springsteen wrote the song “Born to Run” on in his Long Branch bungalow. OK, he probably doesn’t have the answer to that — it was left on the curb by the landlady and taken to parts unknown. But as we know a lot of about the recording of “Born to Run,” it would be neat to learn more about the writing of it.

• Why did Springsteen stop playing “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” in concert in 1984? Also, who is the inspiration for “Rosie”?

• How much can Springsteen bench press? No arch or bounce.

• Why did Springsteen break up the E Street Band in 1989? It’s, like, 10 years we can never get back.

• Are Springsteen and Gov. Chris Christie friends or not? We’ve lost track — it’s a little confusing at this point. Seriously, the Boss has never spoken publicly about Christie’s infatuation with him — he has sung about it on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and he attacked Christie’s social policies, although he didn’t name him, in a letter to the Asbury Park Press. His side of the Springsteen-Christie story would be very interesting.

See you at the book store in September.

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