Greetings from New Jersey

Clarence Clemons dies following stroke

Clarence Clemons, the larger-than-life saxophone player who helped catapult Bruce Springsteen to rock fame, was known as “The Big Man,” a nod to his physical size as well as his stage presence and booming sax notes. 

Within hours of his death, fans were slowly stopping by The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Flowers, a candle and a handwritten sign saying “RIP Big Man” sprouted outside the building.

Clemons, Springsteen and the E Street Band helped rebuild Asbury Park from a struggling, faded seaside resort in the early ’70s to a rebounding, hip culture center. His raucous sax solos helped define the Jersey shore sound of the ’70s and ’80s, a genre that also included Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and occasionally, a young Jon Bon Jovi.