Nils Lofgren was just 18 when Neil Young came scouting for someone to play on his 1970 album After The Goldrush. Between then and now he’s fronted his own band Grin, played with some formidable names and has been an integral part of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band since he joined in the 80s. (Loudersound)
“It wasn’t premeditated,” he told Classic Rock in this interview from 2009, in which he looked back at some of the musicians he‘d encountered, befriended and played with. “I just grew up to be a team player.”
Neil Young
Neil is a huge musical influence and mentor. One of the most exciting moments was the Tonight’s The Night tour in 1973. It was like a beautiful wake for Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry [Young’s guitarist and roadie, who died within months of each other from overdoses]. On the album itself we’d record everything live in the studio, while the band was still learning them. And Neil was brave enough to take it on the road. We were drinking tequila while we were making the record, then carried that on through the tour.
Keith Richards
Hendrix, Roy Buchanan and Jeff Beck were my three big heroes in the early days, but Keith Richards is the greatest at the thematic, three-note guitar thing. I used to walk around in the early days with pictures of Hendrix and Keith and put ’em up in the hotel rooms I’d be staying in.
I started meeting Keith backstage at Stones shows in the 80s. I was playing ping-pong one time and Keith was rushing by to do some big interview. He saw me, came running over, gave me a big hug and yelled at a photographer to take a picture. He took a couple of shots, and as Keith said goodbye and rushed off, he turned around and yelled at the photographer: “Make sure he gets that!” The photographer was terrified; he didn’t want to blow it with Keith. And, sure enough, that picture arrived at my house just after. These days Keith has that weathered look, but he’s dripping with life.
Bruce Springsteen
Somewhere in the late 70s I was living in LA and went to a Bruce show at the sports arena. His manager dragged me back to his dressing room, and it was the first time I realised how isolated and quiet Bruce likes to be before a show. He was just gathering his thoughts together. When the E Street Band needed a guitar player in 1984 I let Bruce know I was around. I was actually up at his home in New Jersey, visiting him for a couple of days. We spent a lot of time just sitting quietly at his home. He was a bachelor at the time, so we’d eat dinner, watch MTV and talk about music. When he asked me to join the band it was as monumental a gift as Neil Young calling and asking me to be on After The Goldrush. I got the job with Bruce about 30 days before the tour opened. By the twentieth show I suddenly didn’t feel like a rookie any more. It was a great thing to be a part of.
Ringo Starr
When I did the first two All-Starr Bands in 1989 and ’92 Ringo was like: “Look, I’ve got this massive thing called The Beatles, but I’m just a drummer. Yeah, it’s nice to be wealthy, but I need to go play.” I mean, how do you do that after you’ve been in The Beatles? But he found a way to do it. Ringo is as down-to-earth a musician as I’ve ever met in my life. I remember being on the road with him in Texas in 1989, and there was this giant mall where we went to lunch. Then we decided to see a movie. By the time we got there, there was a line of 80 to 100 people all wanting his autograph. But he sat there and signed everything.
