Springsteen Mourns E Street Keys Man

6:00 PM GMT 18/04/2008

He was the man whose keyboard part characterised Born In The USA, whose accordion defined Sandy, and whose solo on Hungry Heart added a sense of melodrama. Indeed, to many his playing lay at the very heart of the E Street Band’s rich and soulful sound, stretching back as it did to the late ‘60s when he and the young Bruce Springsteen played The Upstage Club in Astbury Park as punk kids. Hence, the death of E Street Band keyboard player Danny Federici on Thursday April 17 was announced with grave sadness which included a simple, heartfelt statement from Bruce on his own website.

The statement from Springtseen on www.brucespringsteen.net read as follows:

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together."

Aside from Bruce’s comments, the website eulogized Federici further and confirmed that the 58 year-old had been battling melanoma for the last three years, before passing away at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Federici’s last appearance with the E Street Band was during a special performance in Indianapolis when he appeared onstage during parts of the set. His death has seen Springsteen cancel his shows in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando on Friday April 18 and Saturday April 19 respectively.

MOJO would like to send our condolences to the Federici and E Street Band families. A full appraisal of Federici’s talent will appear in a future issue of MOJO magazine.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 PM GMT 18/04/2008