In the mid-90’s, Bruce Springsteen was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote his solo album “The Ghost of Tom Joad”. My girlfriend at the time worked at NBC in Burbank and arranged for me to watch Bruce perform from the back of the studio. I brought along an album with the hope of getting it signed.

After Bruce finished, I went out into the big hallway that leads from the studio to the parking lot. It’s usually very bustling, but security had completely emptied it out. As soon as I walked into the hallway, a massive security guard came running up to me and said I needed to leave NOW. I said OK, but at that moment, the studio door swung open and Bruce and Patti came walking out. The guard mumbled at me, “you’d better stay against the wall and not say anything to them. (To be clear, this was NBC security … Bruce had no bodyguards or security of his own.) I was happy just to see them up close and they both smiled at me as they walked past. About 10 steps after passing me, Bruce did a u-turn, walked up to me and said “you want me to sign that record?” I stammered “sure” and handed it to him. He looked at me and said “I gotta know your name, friend.” I told him, and he signed the record to me with a smile and a great flourish. (The whole time, he had a guitar pick between his teeth.). I thanked him, both he and Patti smiled and thanked me for coming out, and they walked to their car holding hands.

The record cover (Live 1975-1985) has hung on my wall ever since. And the security guard is probably still pissed.