Springsteen's first band was called the Castiles

Springsteen played in several groups in Asbury Park, including one massive jam band

Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom featured between 15 and 20 people on stage at any given time, including future E Street Band members like Steven Van Zandt and Jersey Shore mainstay Southside Johnny. The band was not entirely serious, sometimes featuring someone who "played Monopoly" rather than an instrument.

He signed to Columbia Records in 1972

Springsteen had been performing solo at various venues, including some famous folk spots in Greenwich Village. Columbia executives saw this performance of “Growing Up”—which would later appear on his first album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ”—and invited him to formally audition for the label before signing him.

A teenage Springsteen struggled with his father

Springsteen's father didn't understand why his son was interested in pursuing a music career, leading to a tense relationship that was often exacerbated by his father's struggles with mental illness. Embed: Podcast

Springsteen's nickname 'the Boss' began as a joke

Springsteen's E Street bandmates originally called him the "Gut Bomb King" because of his affinity for candy. He hated the name and jokingly began calling himself "the Boss" instead. When critics began digging into Springsteen's backstory after the success of "Born to Run," they unearthed the nickname.

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwriters

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwritersThe New Jersey native has sold over 150 million albums, won 20 Grammy Awards, and influenced several generations of heart-on-sleeve songsmiths. In 1999, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The song 'Hungry Heart' was written for punk icons the Ramones

After seeing the groundbreaking punk band in Asbury Park, Springsteen went home to write them a song. When his manager, Jon Landau, heard "Hungry Heart," he told Springsteen he couldn't give it away, especially after seeing the success of "Because the Night," another Springsteen composition that became a massive hit for Patti Smith.

Jon Landau reviewed a Springsteen show, then became his manager

Jon Landau reviewed a Springsteen show, then became his managerJon Landau, a writer for a Boston newspaper, saw Springsteen and his recently-named E Street Band perform in 1974 and wrote, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen." He would go on to coproduce "Born to Run" and work as Springsteen's manager for decades.

A legendary 1975 show in London introduced Bruce Springsteen to Europe

The November 18, 1975, show at London's Hammersmith Odeon was part of a much-hyped promotional campaign around "Born to Run." Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered, producing a show that superfans consider among the best in the Boss' legendary career.

An early Sex Pistols show is credited with inspiring other influential acts

When the Sex Pistols first ventured out to a small music hall in Manchester, only 40 people were in attendance. But, like the longtail influence of the first Velvet Underground album, the show's impact was massive: In the crowd that night were members of Buzzcocks, the Smiths, and Joy Division.

1984's 'Born in the USA' was a sensation, due in part to its music videos

The album was Springsteen's most pop-focused, with blaring synths and a pumping backbeat. It was a pop culture sensation, with five singles that reached the top 10, a massive arena tour, and several iconic music videos coinciding with MTV's rise. The record would eventually become one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska' was influenced by writer Flannery O'Connor

Springsteen became obsessed with the "Southern gothic" writer when he began working on the songs for "Nebraska," inspired by O'Connor's tragic characters and grotesque imagery.

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys were an influence on early punk rock

The Beach Boys' sunny sound profoundly influenced early punk acts, such as the Ramones, who took Brian Wilson's sugary hooks and ramped up the tempo. In the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, California pop-punk acts such as the Descendents, Green Day and Blink-182 continued the tradition.

The origins of the Rolling Stones

Founded by Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones emerged during the massive shifts taking place in the 1960s. From the start, they were the edgier version of the Beatles, and their complex reputation gave them a unique profile in the public eye.

Blues was a major influence on early rock

Early rock ‘n’ roll had a straightforward sound, relying mostly on guitar, bass, drums, piano, and saxophone playing up-tempo 12-bar blues. In subsequent decades, the form evolved and splintered into countless subgenres that used more diverse sounds, instruments, and lyrics.

How British youth resurrected overlooked American soul music

Motown released some of the 1960s' biggest soul records and changed the sound of pop music. The label also inspired countless smaller, regional labels that released songs by lesser-known artists that received limited attention. That changed with the rise of British Northern Soul, an underground scene that repurposed these obscure records (including several overlooked Motown releases) for all-night dance parties and, in the process, minted some unexpected American superstars.

The Clash's 'London Calling' cover parodied Elvis

The English band used Presley’s 1959 debut album as the template for the cover of its third record, an ambitious double album that explored rockabilly, reggae, ska, R&B, jazz and pop.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

The 'Movie Brats’ ushered in a new era of Hollywood

"The Movie Brats" is a name used to describe a generation of directors who blended classic cinema with the rebellious, crowd-pleasing spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. The figures most often associated with the tag are Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Brian De Palma.

Fearing the corruption of its youth, Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll in 1956.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

Joan Didion interviewed The Grateful Dead in 1967, before they became music icons.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

Ireland's Slane Castle has hosted over 1.5 million visitors for its rock concerts

The first act to play the legendary venue was Ireland's own Thin Lizzy in 1981. The band was joined by another promising young Irish band: U2.

The first cast members were relatively unknown 'enlightened amateurs'

“SNL” producers aimed to cast relative newcomers for the show’s first season, convinced that amateurs would infuse the show with the countercultural spirit Lorne Michaels envisioned.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

Parton released her first recording at age 13

The song was written at the age of 11 with the assistance of her uncle, Bill Owens, and was released by Goldband Records in 1959, when she was 13. The rockabilly song doesn’t sound much like the country music that would make Parton famous in the next decade, but it does hint at the power of her voice.

How Apple's GarageBand changed music

Apple's preinstalled, easy-to-use software GarageBand was first released in 2004. Since then, it's changed the way artists write and record music. The program's accessibility and ease of use have allowed beginner artists to experiment and find their voice, while major artists like Rihanna, Grimes, and Bjork have used the program to record hit singles and perform live. This article from the Red Bull Music Academy explains how the basic interface reshaped an industry.

Broadway hit 'Stereophonic' was inspired by Fleetwood Mac

The show follows a 1970s rock band while they're in the studio, tracking a new album, and mirrors many of the internal conflicts that led to Fleetwood Mac's 1977 record, "Rumours." The play was a massive hit, earning 13 Tony nominations (the most ever for a play). It won five, including best play.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Dylan's early records were socially conscious folk songs

Dylan's early records were modeled after his heroes Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, meaning they were often acoustic numbers filled with lyrical wordplay and political themes. "Masters of War," from 1963's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," is a perfect example of the form, railing against politicians and war profiteers.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.