Biography
Throughout his professional journey, keyboardist Danny Federici maintained a tight connection with Bruce Springsteen. Although Federici hailed from northern New Jersey, he had become part of the musician community performing at Asbury Park’s Upstage Club on the south Jersey shore by the late 1960s. His initial group, the Storytellers, also included Bill Chinnock. He next moved to the Downtown Tangiers Band, whose lineup featured drummer Vini Lopez. In summer 1969, Federici and Lopez formed the hard-rock outfit Child alongside Springsteen and bassist Vinny Roslyn. To sidestep a naming conflict with another act, the group soon changed its identity to Steel Mill. The band performed along the eastern seaboard and, during winter 1970, on the West Coast before dissolving in early 1971. Federici subsequently teamed with Springsteen in the expansive but short-lived ensembles Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band, yet Springsteen disbanded the latter in early 1972 to pursue solo acoustic performances. Around this time, Springsteen secured management and passed an audition for Columbia Records. With a recording contract in hand, he assembled a stable backing unit in spring 1972 to cut his debut album, consisting of himself on guitar and vocals, Clarence Clemons on saxophone, Federici on organ and accordion, David Sancious on piano, Garry Tallent on bass, and Lopez on drums. This ensemble eventually became known as the E Street Band. Its members appeared with Springsteen on the January 1973 release Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., and on the September 1973 follow-up, The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. In February 1974, Lopez was dismissed and replaced by Ernest “Boom” Carter. By August, Carter and Sancious departed; Max Weinberg on drums and Roy Bittan on piano arrived the next month. Violinist Suki Lahav also entered the lineup at that stage, staying until March 1975.
Although Springsteen earned critical acclaim yet modest sales for his opening pair of albums, his live performances with the E Street Band drew increasing praise ahead of the third record. Second guitarist Miami Steve Van Zandt came aboard in July 1975, locking in a configuration that held steady until Van Zandt’s 1984 replacement by Nils Lofgren. Released in August 1975, Born to Run achieved notable commercial success and elevated Springsteen to major stardom. Legal complications postponed the next project, but Darkness at the Edge of Town followed in June 1978 and The River arrived in October 1980, both becoming best-sellers. The world tour supporting The River ended in September 1981, after which the E Street Band stayed largely idle through the early 1980s even while Springsteen retained the members on salary. He excluded them from his solo album Nebraska in September 1982, yet they contributed to the June 1984 sessions for Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen then embarked on another world tour that extended through October 1985, during which singer/guitarist Patti Scialfa—later his wife—joined the group. Columbia issued the five-LP/three-CD box set Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band/Live 1975-1985 in November 1986. Federici and the remaining members took part in the October 1987 release Tunnel of Love, the concise Tunnel of Love Express Tour running February through August 1988, and the September–October 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour alongside other artists. Late in 1989, Springsteen ended the retainer arrangement, effectively dissolving the unit.
Federici, consistently one of the E Street Band’s most understated figures—Springsteen occasionally billed him onstage as “the mysterious Dan Federici” or “Phantom Dan—now you see him, now you don’t”—kept a low profile after the breakup, limiting himself to occasional session work. Alongside Bittan, Clemons, Lofgren, Scialfa, Tallent, Van Zandt, and Weinberg, he promptly rejoined Springsteen in early 1995 to record several new tracks for a Greatest Hits collection and also played on the subsequent studio album The Ghost of Tom Joad, even though Springsteen toured alone in support. Federici finally issued his own debut, Flemington, in 1997; V2 Records later reissued it with an added track under the title Danny Federici in 2001. In spring 1999, he reunited once more with Springsteen and the E Street Band for their longest tour to date, which continued until mid-2000 and was documented on the 2001 album Live in New York City. Although Federici never worked full-time as a session musician, he backed additional artists across the years, contributing to releases by Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary “U.S.” Bonds, Garland Jeffreys, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Evan Johns and His H-Bombs, and the BoDeans. Federici signed with V2 Records in 2004 and issued the smooth, jazzy Out of a Dream the following year.
Although Springsteen earned critical acclaim yet modest sales for his opening pair of albums, his live performances with the E Street Band drew increasing praise ahead of the third record. Second guitarist Miami Steve Van Zandt came aboard in July 1975, locking in a configuration that held steady until Van Zandt’s 1984 replacement by Nils Lofgren. Released in August 1975, Born to Run achieved notable commercial success and elevated Springsteen to major stardom. Legal complications postponed the next project, but Darkness at the Edge of Town followed in June 1978 and The River arrived in October 1980, both becoming best-sellers. The world tour supporting The River ended in September 1981, after which the E Street Band stayed largely idle through the early 1980s even while Springsteen retained the members on salary. He excluded them from his solo album Nebraska in September 1982, yet they contributed to the June 1984 sessions for Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen then embarked on another world tour that extended through October 1985, during which singer/guitarist Patti Scialfa—later his wife—joined the group. Columbia issued the five-LP/three-CD box set Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band/Live 1975-1985 in November 1986. Federici and the remaining members took part in the October 1987 release Tunnel of Love, the concise Tunnel of Love Express Tour running February through August 1988, and the September–October 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour alongside other artists. Late in 1989, Springsteen ended the retainer arrangement, effectively dissolving the unit.
Federici, consistently one of the E Street Band’s most understated figures—Springsteen occasionally billed him onstage as “the mysterious Dan Federici” or “Phantom Dan—now you see him, now you don’t”—kept a low profile after the breakup, limiting himself to occasional session work. Alongside Bittan, Clemons, Lofgren, Scialfa, Tallent, Van Zandt, and Weinberg, he promptly rejoined Springsteen in early 1995 to record several new tracks for a Greatest Hits collection and also played on the subsequent studio album The Ghost of Tom Joad, even though Springsteen toured alone in support. Federici finally issued his own debut, Flemington, in 1997; V2 Records later reissued it with an added track under the title Danny Federici in 2001. In spring 1999, he reunited once more with Springsteen and the E Street Band for their longest tour to date, which continued until mid-2000 and was documented on the 2001 album Live in New York City. Although Federici never worked full-time as a session musician, he backed additional artists across the years, contributing to releases by Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary “U.S.” Bonds, Garland Jeffreys, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Evan Johns and His H-Bombs, and the BoDeans. Federici signed with V2 Records in 2004 and issued the smooth, jazzy Out of a Dream the following year.
Albums
