Hard to believe but Bruce Springsteen is now eligible for Medicare. The seemingly timeless rocker turned 65 years old on September 23.
Just as his music, which straddles the line between rock, folk and country, defies easy labels, Springsteen the man is giving new meaning to the term "senior citizen."
So says Chicago author June Sawyers, who's written four books on Springsteen, including a new e-book called "Workingman." I interviewed Sawyers on WGLT Radio, the National Public Radio affiliate in central Illinois.
Sawyers says "the language of Catholicism" seeps into many of Springsteen's lyrics. She also talks about how both New Deal populism and Catholic social justice teaching have influenced his work.
Sawyers chronicles Springsteen's early Catholic education, and why he now describes himself as a "runaway Catholic." And yet, Sawyers says, a careful reading of his lyrics shows "once a Catholic, always a Catholic."
I hope you enjoy the interview with Sawyers about the man called "the poet of the Jersey shore," "the rock and roll laureate" and simply, "The Boss." My conversation with June Sawyers is followed by an interview my colleague Willis Kern did for WGLT on a former Illinois State University student who just may be Springsteen's biggest fan.
You can listen here.
The Boss Turns 65
