Tom Moon: June 2011 Archives

There's never been a character quite like Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band saxophonist who died Saturday after complications from a stroke. An imposing figure of basketball height and linebacker torso, the the Big Man served Bruce Springsteen as conscience and commentator, a "Voice of God" and a sly operator from the deep backstreets, a wise soul whose intimidating presence became central not merely to individual songs but Springsteen's overriding myth of young souls desperate to escape dead-end circumstances.