Music
Garry Tallent
born 1949 · bassist, record producer
Founding bassist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, born in Detroit before his family moved to the Jersey Shore.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 76- Birth name
- Garry Wayne Tallent
- Detroit years
- 1949–1960s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Garry Tallent was born in Detroit in 1949 and spent his early years in Michigan before his family relocated to Neptune City, New Jersey, in the 1960s. On the Jersey Shore he took up the tuba and then the bass, and at Neptune High School he befriended future bandmates Southside Johnny Lyon and drummer Vini Lopez. Among his models were the Motown bassist James Jamerson, whose Detroit recordings shaped a generation of players, as well as Donald “Duck” Dunn and Paul McCartney. He began playing with Bruce Springsteen in 1971 and became a founding member of the E Street Band the following year, anchoring its sound for five decades. He later moved into record production, and in 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the E Street Band.
Highlights
- Born in Detroit in 1949
- Founding member of the E Street Band (1972)
- Influenced by Motown bassist James Jamerson
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the E Street Band, 2014
- Also active as a record producer