Big Man’s sons, family carry on Clarence Clemons’ legacy
The legacy of Clarence Clemons lives on.
That was Jake Clemons, nephew of Clarence, playing saxophone on “Careless Whisper” during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame salute to George Michael at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. R&B singer Miguel was on vocals. Highlights from the 2023 induction ceremony were broadcast on ABC Monday, Jan. 1. The ceremony aired Nov. 3 on Disney+.
Jake and his band played a moving show in October at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park that ended with him and his guitar in the middle of the audience in front of the stage.
Jake was on much bigger stages for most of 2023 with the E Street Band, playing his uncle’s sax. Bruce Springsteen led the band and audience in a tribute to Clarence and Danny Federici each show during “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”
The Boss stops the song when he sings, “the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band.” The crowd erupted each time, here and overseas. Springsteen and the E Street Band are scheduled to return to concert stages in 2024.
Clarence had that magical charisma. Audiences cheered for decades when the Big Man and his saxophone took the stage.
Clemons passed away due to complications of a stroke on June 18, 2011. He was 69.
A resolution proclaiming Jan. 11, his birthday, as Clarence Clemons Day in New Jersey was sponsored by former Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, and signed by former Gov. Chris Christie in 2014.
It reads, “Whereas, during the E Street Band’s legendary live concerts, Clarence Clemons’ saxophone solos were highly anticipated and he was always introduced last in the band introductions, to the delight of the concertgoers who greeted his every move with roars of approval.”
His children are also carrying on his legacy. His youngest son, Jarod, 25, will play the Wonder Bar with his band the Late Nights Saturday, Jan. 6. JT Bowen, who fronted Clemons’ side band, the Red Bank Rockers, will play Clarence’s hits, Jarod’s songs and Asbury Park classics, along with Billy Walton, Ian Gray, the Jake Thistle Band, Alex Fuhring, Dan Hogan, Destinee Monroe and more.
Clarence’s hits include “You’re a Friend of Mine” with Jackson Browne; “Freeway of Love” with Aretha Franklin; “The Edge of Glory” with Lady Gaga; and “Savin’ Up” and “Woman’s Got the Power” with the Red Bank Rockers.
His eldest son, Nick Clemons, 55, will lead the Big Man’s West Celebrates Clarence Clemons show Saturday, Jan 13, at the Headliner in Neptune. The Nick Clemons Band, Yasgur’s Farm, Jo Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul, Layonne Holmes, and more will play from 4 p.m. to midnight. Funds raised will go toward the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County.
Big Man’s West was the name of Clemons’ nightclub on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, opened for 18 months from 1982 to ‘83. Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Steve Forbert, Bo Diddley, and Springsteen and the members of the E Street Band all came through during its short but eventful run.
The building at 129 Monmouth St. was recently demolished. Still, the spirit of the Big Man remains in venues like the Wonder Bar and the Headliner, across the Jersey Shore and beyond.
“Nobody captured my audience’s imagination like Clarence,” said Springsteen each night during “Springsteen on Broadway.” “Standing side by side, we were badass, on any given night, two of the baddest asses on the planet. Clarence was as figure out of a rock ‘n’ roll storybook, and together we told a story bigger than any of the ones I had written. A story where not only did Scooter and Big Man bust the city in half, but we remade the city.”
The “city” was, and is, Asbury Park.
“We remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship would not be such a strange thing,” Springsteen said. “I still carry that story, the one the Big Man whispered in my ear, and I still carry the Big Man in my heart every night I walk out on stage.”
Go: Clarence Clemons Birthday Celebration, 7 p.m. Saturday, Wonder Bar, 1213 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, $25; wonderbarasburypark.com.
Go: Big Man’s West Celebrates Clarence Clemons, 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, Headliner, 1401 Route 35, Neptune, $20 in advance, $25 at the door; headlineroasis.com.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@ app.com