Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Lisa MacIntoshLate E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons would’ve turned 75 today, and to mark the milestone birthday, a tribute show is being held at The Cutting Room in New York City as part of the Light of Day Winterfest charity-concert series. Among the many musicians taking part in the event is Clarence’s nephew and E Street Band successor, Jake Clemons.
Speaking with ABC Radio about how the concert came about, Jake notes that his uncle — for decades Bruce Springsteen‘s onstage foil — “always put a show together special for his birthday, and he would put some kind of charitable aspect around it, [so the] Light of Day [Foundation] decided to make a special showcase to honor his 75th.”
Jake reveals that the concert also will serve as a tribute to his aunt, Clarence’s sister, who recently died after a long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, a.k.a. ALS, a disease for which Light of Day is hoping to help find a cure.
“It’s a really fitting time to be able to celebrate Clarence’s legacy and also honor the loss that we’ve had recently,” says Jake.
The concert will include a full performance of Clarence and his side band The Red Bank Rockers‘ 1983 album, Rescue, by the group’s lead singer JT Bowen and his current band, The Soul Cruisers.
“I’m actually really excited about this,” Jake tells ABC Radio. “Unfortunately, I was not old enough at the time to have been able to experience what that sounded like [live] back then.”
The Clarence Clemons 75th birthday tribute begins at 6:45 p.m. ET.
In other news, Jake will celebrate the release of his first full-length album, Fear & Love, on Friday, sitting in with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, airing 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT on NBC.
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