On This Day, Nov. 22, 1950 …
E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Born Steven Lento, he took the name Van Zandt after his mother remarried. The family then moved to New Jersey, where his musical career began.
While performing with his bands on the Jersey Shore he met Bruce Springsteen, which would lead to a musical partnership that continues to this day.
Prior to joining the E Street band, Van Zandt, who’s gone by the nicknames Little Steven and Miami Steve, co-founded Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. He also produced Southside Johnny’s first three records.
Although he’d worked with Springsteen for years, Van Zandt officially joined the E Street Band on guitar in 1975 and remained with the group until 1984, when he left to pursue a solo career. He rejoined the band in 1995, has been with them ever since and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2014.
A solo artist and songwriter in his own right, Van Zandt wrote the all-star anti-apartheid song “Sun City.” He also penned the track “I Am A Patriot,” which has been covered by Jackson Brown, Pearl Jam and more.
In 1999 Van Zandt launched an acting career, starring as Silvio Dante in HBO’s The Sopranos, and then in 2011 starred in Lilyhammer, Netflix’s first original series.
Van Zandt was recently the subject of an HBO documentary, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, which just earned a Grammy nomination.
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