The Real Reason Bruce Springsteen Was Kicked Out Of His First Band
It's not uncommon that the first musical project that a musician picks up won't be their last. From Billy Joel's heavy-metal outfit to Madonna's brushes with post-punk, it's a fact of life that we move on to bigger and better ventures. This was the case with New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen as well, whose first experience sharing a stage was a downright interesting one.
After viewing the Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show appearances in 1964, The Boss purchased his first guitar for $18.95 at the Western Auto Appliance Store, according to Springsteen: Saint In The City: 1949–1974 by Craig Statham. Later that year, Springsteen's mother helped buy him a slightly more expensive Kent guitar, a moment that was later memorialized in his song "The Wish".
The young musician would later defend his purchase to his mother, stating "that to get in a band, to make a buck, to get anywhere, I needed an electric guitar," per Brooksy Society.
Not long after, Springsteen began to play for audiences with a band called the Rogues with bandmates Craig Caprioni, Jay Gibson, Jimmy McGuire and Donnie Powell. Thus began the Boss' journey into legend.
The votes are in ... Bruce Is out
The Rogues played popular cover songs to modest venues throughout 1965, including the Freehold Knights of Columbus, The Elk Club and Freehold Regional High School. However, Springsteen's beloved guitar was known to have many issues –- including the rare ability to consistently go out of tune.
It was only when a gig at a high school dance went particularly horribly that Springsteen was given terrible news: he had been voted out of the band. Per Business Insider, the guitarist was told his instrument was "too cheap" and that the same model had been spotted at a New York City second-hand sale for $30.
"That night I went home, pulled out the second Rolling Stones album, put it on and taught myself Keith Richards's simple but great guitar solo to It's All Over Now,” he later wrote in his autobiography Born To Run. "It took me all night but by midnight I had a reasonable facsimile of it down," he continued. "F**k'em, I was going to play lead guitar."
And the rest is history.