Patti Scialfa
Patti Scialfa |
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Vivienne Patricia "Patti" Scialfa ("Skal-fa") (born July 29 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for being a bandmate, and later wife, of rock star Bruce Springsteen.
Early life
Scialfa was born in affluent Deal, New Jersey. She was the middle child to Joseph Scialfa and Patricia (nee Morris) Scialfa. She has two half brothers, and two half siblings from her father's second marriage. Unlike her future husband, she came from a comfortable background; her family was well provided for. Her father and mother were successful local entrepreneurs, starting from a single television store and entering into real estate development. She was writing songs from an early age, and first worked professionally as a back-up singer in New Jersey bar bands after completing high school. She stated in a Lear's Magazine interview in 1994 that she had little talent in life for anything but music, and went to college as a way to further her ambitions as a singer and performer while also satisfying parental expectations. She has a music degree from New York University, which she earned after transferring from the University of Miami's highly-respected jazz conservatory.
Music career
While still in college she was submitting original material for other artists to record; however, none of her songs were recorded and she worked as a busker and waitress in Greenwich Village after graduating. Together with Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell, she formed a street group known as Trickster. She struggled to make her way in the songwriting and recording industry in New York and New Jersey for many years before playing at Kenny’s Castaway in Greenwich Village, as well as Asbury Park's The Stone Pony, which got her notice and eventually recording work with Southside Johnny and David Johansen.
In 1984, she joined the E Street Band three or four days before the opening show of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, either because Springsteen wanted to expand the emotional range of the band (Marsh, Glory Days) or because Nils Lofgren contracted mononucleosis, which made it impossible for him to sing his backing vocals;[1]. In 1986, she appeared on the Rolling Stones' Dirty Work album, leaving her unique vocal mark on "One Hit (To the Body)" as well as other tracks. She worked with Keith Richards on his first solo disc Talk is Cheap. Steve Jordan, who co-produced the Richards' record, was a friend of Scialfa's from her Greenwich Village days.
Scialfa has made three solo albums, 1993's Rumble Doll, 2004's 23rd Street Lullaby and 2007's Play It As It Lays. Her first two albums received four-star reviews from Rolling Stone, 2007's got three and a half. However, she has failed to produce a successful radio single. Her records are a mix of confessional songwriting, impressive vocal range, and traditional country, folk and rock music. Springsteen and fellow E Street bandmates like Lofgren and Roy Bittan contributed backing work. Following the release of her second album, Scialfa played a series of club dates along the East Coast and she was also the opening act of the post-final night of the Vote for Change tour.
Private life and public image
According to some of Springsteen's biographers, Scialfa and Springsteen were briefly involved during the 1984 Born in the USA tour, ending shortly after Springsteen met future wife Julianne Phillips.
During the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour Scialfa took a center role in the sexually-charged stage performances, such as for "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)", thereby displacing Springsteen's traditional on-stage foil, saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Springsteen and Scialfa were later shown in tabloid photographs on a hotel balcony. Springsteen was married at the time to model Julianne Phillips.
Springsteen's divorce was finalized in 1989. On June 8, 1991 Springsteen and Scialfa married. They have three children: Evan James (born 1990), Jessica Rae (1991), and Samuel Ryan (1994).
When Springsteen decided to officially retire the E Street Band in 1989, and record and tour with a new session band, Scialfa suffered the fallout.[2] Clarence Clemons, for one, not so inconspicuously suggested that bands "shouldn't let girls join" when asked by Rolling Stone magazine for an explanation behind Springsteen's decision[3] This remark seemed directed at Scialfa's influence over Springsteen, à la Yoko Ono's over John Lennon or Linda McCartney's over Paul McCartney. Yet when Springsteen temporarily reformed the band in 1995 to record new material for his Greatest Hits album, and then reunited the band again from 1999 through 2004, any lasting bitterness faded.
The Springsteen-Scialfa union weathered the initial media attention and their partnership in music and life is seen as one of the strongest in the entertainment world. Nevertheless, Scialfa has been forced to tolerate, if not overcome, the impression that her own career as a lead singer is a result of her marriage to Springsteen and not a result of her own talent. She might be best known as the woman who inspired Springsteen to write (the bawdy) "Red Headed Woman". He also dedicates his famous cover of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl" to her in concert (although his initial performances of the song pre-date his relationship with her).
Scialfa, Springsteen, and their children live in Rumson and Colts Neck in New Jersey. Scialfa is most recently a member of Springsteen's Seeger Sessions Band (where she is reunited with Lisa Lowell). On that Seeger Sessions Band Tour, as on tours since 1999-2000's Reunion Tour, she sometimes misses shows or stretches of shows to return home and take care of the couple's children. As Springsteen once told a Rotterdam audience in 2003 during The Rising Tour, when she began a five-show absence, "Patti sends her regards, she couldn't be here. The kids need her more right now than the band"[4]
During the Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007 Magic Tour, Scialfa achieved a breakthrough of sorts when for the first time one of her songs, "Town Called Heartbreak", was played in its entirety during the set.[5]
Notes
- ^ Patti Scialfa - Interview. Acoustic Storm.com. Available online at: http://www.acousticstorm.com/interview.php?id=74
- ^ Scialfa and keyboardist Roy Bittan both appeared on Human Touch and Lucky Town, and Roy Bittan was included in the subsequent tour with the new band. Scialfa's guest appearance on the MTV Plugged special aside, Scialfa did not participate in the tour.
- ^ Simmons, Sylvie Rolling Stone Clarence Clemons - Profile and Interview. 1995. Clemons is asked about the quote and claims he has overcome his initial disappointment with Springsteen's decision in 1990 and Patti Scialfa's role in it. Available online at: http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=1900 (subscription fee required)
- ^ Backstreets (website). Available online at: http://www.backstreets.com/setlists2003R.html
- ^ reuters news wire. 3 Oct 2007. Springsteen performs "Magic" in tour open.
