‘Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales’ by Clarence Clemons & Don Reo
Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales (2009)
Clarence Clemons & Don Reo
(Grand Central Publishing)
This in-depth look at the life and times of the late E Street sax man Clarence Clemons [1942-2011] was published in 2009. From his Virginia childhood to his glory days with Bruce (who wrote the foreward), it’s eye-opening, oftentimes profane, funny and informative. Like Beneath The Underdog, the Charles Mingus auto-biography, it’s filled with anecdotes and opinions, personalized to the point where it’s like sitting at the bar swapping tales—or swapping lies—with the man himself. Comedian Chris Rock says, “if you want to get really close to a big black man without getting punched in the face, this book’s for you.” Gannett News Service called it “an appealing pseudo-memoir.” And that’s the key. It’s even in the title. The reader really doesn’t know what’s exactly true. But it’s entertaining. Clemons and his good buddy Reo make up fantasy vignettes just for fun. The late Kinky Friedman of The Texas Jewboys called this book “funny, soulful, outrageous, wonderful, beautiful and mystical,” going on to suspect that Reo himself is an invented character, too wise to be real.
Memorable scenes include the time Clemons is sitting with Ringo Starr in a hotel room when he gets the call that Bruce is breaking up the band; their disastrous prison gig at Sing-Sing; a secret shared by actor Robert DeNiro that Bruce and Clarence kept for 20 years; best of all a recounting of the last few hours of recording Born To Run when all the pressure bubbles over. Don’t forget, Bruce’s first two albums were flops and his world was riding on that third album’s success.
Critics weren’t kind to this book 15 years ago when it first came out. They claimed there was too much Reo and not enough Clemons. Still, it’s a rollicking trip down memory lane and the recesses of the creative mind. There’s an old saying: never let the truth get in the way of a good story. There’s plenty of good stories here.
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