Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band may have lost saxophonist Clarence Clemons last year, but they’ve got a replacement in the family. According to E! Online, Springsteen announced that Clemons’ nephew, Jake Clemons, will take over on sax for the band’s upcoming world tour.
The new Clemons will alternate with Eddie “Kingfish” Manion on saxophone for Springsteen’s promotion of the new album “Wrecking Ball.” A talented musician, Clemons also plays guitar and piano and even performed at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1992.
But Clemons says it will be a long way before he can fill his uncle’s shoes.
“People have been saying to me, ‘It’s up to you now,’ ‘You carry the torch,’ ‘You are the legacy.’ But this job is not one to be fulfilled by any single person,” Clemons wrote on his blog. “Clarence was more than a saxophone player, he was an ambassador with a mission to spread Love and Joy to the world. It’s up to all of us now. We must all carry the torch. We must all be his legacy.”
The 69-year-old Clarence Clemons passed away in Florida last June, several days after suffering a devastating stroke.
Clemons isn’t the only new addition to the Springsteen lineup. The musician also announced that singers Cindy Mizelle and Curtis King, along with trombonist Clark Gayton and trumpeter Curt Ramm, will also join the expanded E Street band. All have collaborated with The Boss in the past, E! Online said.
