Clarence Clemons, E Street 'Big Man,' dies

PALM BEACH, Fla., June 18 (UPI) -- Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Saturday in a Florida hospital a week after suffering a stroke. He was 69.

Clemons was born in Norfolk, Va., the son of a Baptist minister who at 9 years old received his firs saxophone, and he never looked back.

Clemons, known as "the Big Man" in the E Street Band, was recruited by The Boss in 1972 when Springsteen was signed by Columbia Records, contributing his signature sax sound to Springsteen's debut album, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J."

His work featured prominently on the albums "Born to Run," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The River," "Born in the U.S.A." and "Tunnel of Love."

"That night we first stood together, I looked over at C and it looked like his head reached into the clouds," Springsteen said in 1999 during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech. "And I felt like a mere mortal scurrying upon the earth, you know. But he always lifted me up. Way, way, way up. Together we told a story of the possibilities of friendship, a story older than the ones that I was writing and a story I could never have told without him at my side."

The E Street Band broke up in 1989, reuniting in 2000 and producing four more studio albums over the decade.

Clemons also released eight of his own albums and played for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ringo Starr, Joe Cocker and even made an appearance on Laga Gaga's most recent title hit, "Born This Way." He is survived by his wife, Victoria, and four sons.