Springsteen’s definitely ripped me off. He’s ripped my movements off as well.
Says famous musician.
(Some of our long-time subscribers may have seen this, but for those who are just now joining us, here’s a sample of what you will see.)
Full disclosure: I’m a big fan of "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen.
I wish it were me that had the audacity to say that The Boss cribbed my moves, but alas, ‘twas not I who uttered these words. We’ll get to who said that in a moment.
Why do I like Springsteen? Let me count some of the ways:
Born in the U.S.A. I played that album (cassette tape, really) probably hundreds of times in my youth. Dozens more as an adult.
His performance at Portland’s Rose Garden arena was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.
He has another Portland connection: his first marriage took place under the cover of night at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, Ore., of all places. Rumor has it that he maintained a home somewhere in the area for many years.
The union between Springsteen and the Oregonian, Julianne Phillips, did not last long, but the fallout begat Tunnel of Love, one of the most underrated Springsteen albums as far as I am concerned. It also freed Phillips up for her starring role opposite of Chevy Chase in the classic, yet underrated, 1989 romp Fletch Lives. A win-win for me out of a lose-lose for the couple.
Springsteen and current wife Patty Scialfa are the parents of three children, one of whom is a fellow Boston College alum, like me.
But, as for politics, I pretty much dismiss anything Springsteen has to say about it and focus on the music.
Like him or not, Bruce Springsteen is a cultural icon, an American institution, and a rock ‘n’ roll hero.
Bruce was certainly influenced by the music of those who came before him. He essentially grew up alongside rock ‘n’ roll...him being only slightly older than the genre itself.
But I am no Bruce Springsteen biographer. I kind of wish I were.
So, who was the man who accused The Boss of cribbing his motions and his actions?
The Man himself: Van “The Man” Morrison.
Especially with his early band, Them, if Morrison wasn’t among the progenitors of rock ‘n’ roll, he was certainly a main figure in the second wave, the so-called "British Invasion." (Leaving the fact of his Irishness out of the equation.)
I consider Van Morrison among my top-3 favorite musical acts of all time. A highlight of my own musical journey was seeing him in concert.
A few years back, I caught a Van Morrison show at a venue near USC in Los Angeles. To tell the truth, it was a good concert—not a great one.
I think Van had a little bit of the sniffles—but it was terrific to see a legend in action.
The Rolling Stones—along with The Beatles, one of the two major “British Invasion” acts of all-time and—who I saw at the 49ers stadium a few years after I saw Morrison in LA, also put on an amazing show.
I'd rank that Stones show as the best stadium show I've ever seen, regardless that these guys were in their 70s and 80s. Absolute rockers!
I love the Stones, but I generally prefer Sir George Ivan Morrison.
Now, if you want to add a little a lot of joy to your day—at no cost other than a mouse click—check out a young Van Morrison in the iconic concert film The Last Waltz singing Caravan.
Wait until the number's crescendo (starting around the 3:54 mark) and you may catch what Van is laying down about Springsteen ripping him off.
Either way, it's awesome.
Even though he is broadly known as a rock ‘n’ roll legend, Morrison doesn’t necessarily see himself as such.
“From the journalistic point of view, what I do is rock music, but what I actually perform and do on albums has nothing to do with rock. It’s not played like rock music. It’s a combination of gospel, blues, folk. I’m not really interested in pop or rock music.”
Morrison has a style all his own. Close to sui generis, but not quite.
There’s another style of music that I dig—I call it “Texas country.” Here we have an admixture of styles akin to what Van the Man refers to. It ain’t country like you hear on the terrestrial radio in 49 other states.
Texas Country is not the “Nashville sound” with its requisite formulaic song structure, often saddled with double- and triple-entendres. Nor is Texas Country the Western Swing of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys—the prototypical “western” of “Country and Western.”
It is something different.
My all-time favorite, Waylon Jennings, hailed from Littlefield, Texas, just south of the panhandle, northwest of Lubbock. In his early days, Waylon was a DJ at a Lubbock radio station and was more of a rock ‘n’ roller than a country artist—in the model of his peer and mentor, the great Buddy Holly.
In fact, "Ol' Hoss" played bass guitar in Holly’s band and even gave up his seat on the fatal plane flight that killed Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. (It took Waylon several years to recover from that episode.)
Alternatively considered “the Outlaw Movement” and “Red Dirt music” or by a handful of other such moderately descriptive monikers, under the vast Texas Country umbrella, you will find such diverse acts as a few more of my favorites: Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, Reckless Kelly, and Micky & the Motorcars.
Texas country is a genre that borrows from all types of music, much like the Van Morrison catalog does, but it is distinctive enough to be put in its own category.
How about something else that borrows from the world, but is genuinely Texan, and distinctive enough to be put in its own category?
That's right...Texas barbecue. Pit-roasted meats!
Your typical "Southern" barbecue, Carolina barbecue, Kansas City barbecue, or even Argentinian- or Brazilian-style barbecue are all great, delicious, and unique.
For my money, though, nothing beats authentic Texas barbecue. It is its own thing. Borrows from old world and new world cuisine, Texas barbecue remains definitively Texan.
I have eaten at famous and not-so-famous Texas BBQ joints in and around Austin and Houston. I crave the stuff.
On the West Coast, I’ve encountered several Texas-style barbecue joints. Very good…shout out to Buster’s…but they are not the same.
I've even tried my hand at pit-mastering meats, Texas-style. Decent results, but something was missing. Frankly, a lot was lacking.
There's only one place I know of that pit-smokes Authentic Texas Barbecue and ships it right to your door, nationwide—all from central Texas!
And … this is where Southside Market & Barbecue comes in.
Just by being a friend of this newsletter, they’re offering a 10% off sitewide with code TXBBQ10
Also…to prepare you, if you haven't been ordering from Southside Market on the regular—like you should—shipping costs are indeed higher than Amazon Prime, but for good reason…
Your food comes to you frozen, insulated, and packed in dry ice!
I’m a regular customer myself.
The best course of action, of course, is to load up on the best stuff, like the briskets or the Sausage Slammers.
But right now, and only until July 3, you can get the $35.00 Original Beef Value Package for just $10. That’s practically free. Load up.
https://olearybeef.com/southsidedeals/
Dig in.
Brian O’Leary