Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen, aka "The Boss", born 23 september 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, is an American rock musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter. Springsteen has released 25 albums that have sold over 120 million copies, and most have been critically acclaimed with a few exceptions in the early 1990's. He has during his tours are mostly played with the now legendary band E Street Band but he has also toured solo and with other musicians. Springsteen has in its lyrics taken the pulse of American society and revealed its weaknesses, where they are vulnerable people who ended up on the back of the American dream can rarely get out of their misery. Some songs are also about his own childhood in New Jersey and broken love. The songs have a great variety of cheerful rock songs and wistful and melancholy ballads. Among his awards are the Academy Award (1993), Polar Prize (1997) and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999).