The Guitarist Bruce Springsteen Credited For Fixing The Dirty Business Of Rock And Roll

Many guitarists made a name for themselves in rock music history with their guitar playing styles. Moreover, some of them chose to become prominent with their sound while the others lost themselves in the sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle.

Bruce Springsteen has been among artists who want to be known for their musical achievements rather than controversies or scandals. According to the renowned musician, there is also a guitarist in the scene who fixed the dirtiness of rock and roll and turned it into something more spiritual.

Bruce Springsteen Said Pete Townshend Took Rock & Roll’s Dirty Business Away

In 2015, during the 11th MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in New York, Pete Townshend received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from his friend and rock icon Bruce Springsteen. Before presenting the award, Springsteen revealed his thoughts about Townshend and touched upon how the guitarist influenced him.

MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert raises funds for MusiCares Foundation, which has programs including addiction recovery, housing, and emergency financial assistance for the musicians. The Stevie Ray Vaughan Award is given to musicians who support addicts struggling to recover during the event.

In his speech, Bruce Springsteen stated that he grew up with the Who’s music and found himself in their songs. He praised Townshend’s guitar playing and described him as the greatest rhythm guitarist. Springsteen then said Townshend took the dirty business of rock & roll, made it spiritual, and turned it into a quest.

During his speech, Bruce Springsteen said about The Who and Pete Townshend the following:

“As I grew older, the Who’s music seemed to grow with me. The sexual frustration, the politics, identity. These things coursed through my veins with every concurring Who album. I always found myself there somewhere in their music. ‘The Seeker,’ the seeker is the guy in ‘Born to Run.’ There’d be no ‘Down in jungle,’ ba da ba, ‘land,’ without Pete’s slashing bloody attack on his instrument.

Pete is the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time. He plays such incredible rhythm, and he showed you don’t have to play any lead. It’s a fantastic thing to behold. Pete managed to take the dirty business of rock & roll and somehow make it spiritual and turn it into a quest.”

Springsteen then continued:

“He may hate this, but he identified the place where it was noble, and he wasn’t afraid to go there. I took a lot of that with me as the years passed by. So, Pete, I’m here to say congratulations, well deserved, and thanks for not just ‘Who’s Next,’ and for ‘Who Are You,’ but for who I am. Congratulations, Pete.”

You can watch Bruce Springsteen’s speech below.