For the four years that I was with him he wasn’t able to walk without crutches. He put a lot of “elbow grease” into washing those pans. A couple of his chores were to fold laundry and wash the large broiling pans. He loved to watch sports, especially NBA basketball and the NFL (his teams were the Miami Heat, and both the Dolphins and the Jets). We did enjoy going on fishing trips, but at home he liked to cook, watch movies and smoke cigars. When Clarence wasn’t out blowing his sax, he really was a homebody. What was he like the 99.5 percent of his time when he wasn’t doing that? What was he like offstage? I mean, the only Clarence that most people knew was the Clarence playing the sax on “Badlands” and other Bruce songs. He needed to hear those words to get through the night. She took him to “The Edge of Glory.” On the set, Gaga grabbed Clarence’s hands, looked into his eyes and said: “I believe in you seven days of the week, not just five.” I will never forget that. What were his experiences like on American Idol and filming the video with Gaga?Ĭlarence thought his collaboration with Lady Gaga was a new highlight of his professional life. He was so honored to be part of it.īruce Springsteen on Clarence Clemons: ‘His Loss is Immeasurable’ To me, Clarence’s sound brought so much soul and power to the songs they recorded. I remember Gaga saying, “Oh, my God, I might need to move to another planet. We barely made the last flight out of Ft. The phone rings on a Friday afternoon: “Lady Gaga wants you in Manhattan tonight at her studio.” We started packing right after he hung up the phone. He also seemed overjoyed to be on the Lady Gaga record. He was a compilation of love, strength, wisdom, willpower and spirituality. He pushed himself every step of the way, every day out of the four years we were together. His spirituality also helped him enjoy his life, despite his multiple ailments. To him, life without the ability to play his sax was similar to death. He would always say: “My purpose in life is to bring joy to people all over the world through my music.” He was music. What drove him to stay on the tour despite the pain? I spoke to him in February and he told me that the last Springsteen tour was “pure hell” because of his many ailments. He was real, he was humble and as sweet as any person can be and I was very attracted to that. I saw his soul and his spirit deep inside his eyes. He brought beauty and meaning into my life. That is when our love story became reality. Even after he left town, the roses never stopped coming in. He walked in, saw me and said: “Thank you for bringing beauty into my day,” and handed me a flower. We met in Mill Valley, California at the Piazza D’ Angelo restaurant. Remembering Clarence Clemons: His Life and Career in Photos Here is the complete e-mail interview with Victoria Clemons. In the piece, Clemons’ widow Victoria shares her memories of life with the Big Man. The new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands and available through Rolling Stone All Access on July 22nd, contains an in-depth tribute to Clarence Clemons, who died on June 18th.
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