Bruce Springsteen, 77, on the relationship between music and politics: "Rock or hip hop? They are expressions of freedom"
The legendary singer known as "The Boss" speaks frankly about the activism that music has always had in figures like Elvis, James Brown, or Curtis Mayfield
B ruce Springsteen remains tireless and combative despite the passage of time. At 77 years old, the legendary singer nicknamed " The Boss " maintains his commitment to many of the causes he championed when he first reached the big stages as a young man. A character he has not lost and that can be seen in an interview with the non-profit organization Home of the Brave where he talks about the inseparable relationship between music and politics .
Those years are long gone when he took to the stage like, for example, Elvis Presley. Although the American singer wanted to remember him and other talents of his generation: " Elvis, James Brown, or Curtis Mayfield changed the world as much as Woody Guthrie , simply because of what they conveyed and what they performed".
When culture raises its voice for a just world
Springsteen remembers when he started voting more than 50 years ago, in 1972, so long ago that he was still part of the first local band, "Steel Mill," in which he began his music career. It was a period when he was already taking part in charitable activities and in protests against the Vietnam War.
" If you grew up in the sixties, you grew up in a time when music had a voice in every sphere . It was part of what we felt was a cultural responsibility," he explains about what activism through music meant at that time. In fact, it was the way to call for a fairer world: "If you had a platform, you used it, and you also used it politically. At that time, it wasn’t controversial. It was what was expected ."
Bruce Springsteen doesn't believe that all singers should get involved in politics
The fact that with his songs he seeks for his followers to reflect on American identity and the responsibilities we have as human beings does not mean that he thinks everyone should do so. It is not an obligation for an artist, in this case singers, to have to give a political opinion on every issue.
" I’m not someone who necessarily believes that all artists have to be political. People use culture and exert cultural influence in many ways," he explained his point of view.
For that reason, like him, it is clear that the great singers of his generation managed to bring about social changes so profound without needing to develop a politicized body of work.
