It took an admittedly long time for Howard Stern to become a Bruce Springsteen fan. This is somewhat surprising given how popular Bruce Springsteen was during Howard's incredible rise as a radio legend. Still, Howard gravitated towards other artists. Specifically, Howard a massive Rolling Stones fan (he finally had Mick Jagger on his show recently) and is probably about the biggest Beatles fan there is. But the music of Bruce Springsteen just wasn't Howard's thing. That is until a few years ago when Howard saw Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show and was absolutely blown away. Since then, Howard has done everything he could to get Bruce on his show for an interview. But that is unlikely to happen. That's because Bruce and Howard have had a little bit of beef.
Howard is no stranger to conflicts with celebrities, but he's also built some pretty strong relationships in Hollywood. This is especially true of musicians. While Howard knows John Lennon would've hated him, he and Sir Paul McCartney are quite close. Then there's Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters who hold Howard in a very special place in their hearts. They even credit the self-proclaimed King Of All Media with making their most famous song a hit. But Howard got on Bruce's bad side and things have never quite recovered. Here's what went down between The King Of All Media and The Boss...
Updated On November 2nd, 2022: Bruce Springsteen finally made his Stern Show debut on October 31st, 2022, seemingly putting an end to the conflict that existed between him and the iconic radio host. During their two and half hour conversation, Springsteen revealed much about his history, songwriting process, and plans to retire. But Springsteen also shed light on the evolution of his relationship with Stern, attributing it to the former shock jock's personal and creative growth over the past two decades.
Howard Loathed Bruce's Music Until He Got Older, But By Then The Damage Had Already Been Done
For years, Howard claimed that he just didn't quite get Bruce Springsteen's music. The topic was often brought up on The Howard Stern Show, particularly because Howard's longtime producer, Gary 'Ba Ba Booey' Dell'Abate was, and remains, one of Bruce's biggest fans. Gary would often talk about the countless Springsteen concerts he's been to or the most prized Springsteen records in his vinyl collection. Each and every time, Howard would poke fun at Gary for his obsession as did the rest of his staff who often made Ba Ba Booey songs out of Springsteen hits. But on other occasions, Howard would be far more vicious about his negative feelings for Bruce Springsteen's music live on-air.
But this all changed when he went to Bruce's broadway show in 2018 and claimed that it was "one of the most moving nights" of his life. The show gave Howard a brand new appreciation for Bruce's music and he was able to appreciate it now that he has gotten older. Additionally, Howard was able to go backstage and compliment Bruce to his face. According to Howard, the two had a very nice conversation that encompassed more than just Bruce's music. In fact, Howard and Bruce were able to connect on a personal level... but it still wasn't enough to get Bruce on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show.
Why Bruce Won't Come On The Howard Stern Show
Howard has managed to anger a lot of celebrities by voicing his opinion. But he's also managed to gain forgiveness and even build strong relationships with those once deemed his enemy. This is because Howard has a very solid reputation off the air and is actually open to a lot of growth and evolution. For instance, Howard was once locked in a bitter battle with Rosie O'Donnell, but now the two are friends off-air, and on-air she's one of his best guests. But Bruce Springsteen apparently wasn't happy with some of the things said about him. At least, this is what Reddit fans believe. Although it's also been something that Howard has claimed to Rolling Stone when he was promoting his book, "Howard Stern Comes Again".
"I suspect some of the things I said about him on the air in my earlier years turned him off to me in terms of doing the show," Howard explained. He also said that he believed that Bruce was finally going to let bygones by bygones by coming on his show to promote his Netflix special. But this didn't turn out to be the case. In the same interview, Howard said that he didn't want to chase Bruce. “I don’t go out and solicit, I just sat patiently waiting for Bruce like a spurned lover. I sat there waiting night after night.”
Howard had some cause to believe that Bruce was going to come on the show after their positive interaction backstage at Bruce's Broadway show and after years of Gary begging Bruce's management to book him on the show.
Bruce Springsteen has had a couple of interactions with some of the people in the Stern Show. For once, Gary has been trying to get him on the show for years. Given the fact that Gary is just about the biggest Springsteen fan there is, it's safe to say that all of these interactions have been pretty positive. The same is true for Bruce Springsteen's relationship with Howard's ex-co-host, Artie Lange. In a podcast, Artie explained that Bruce contacted him after his suicide attempt. Artie had met Bruce a couple of times through Bruce's cousin who worked with the troubled comedian for years. When asked if Bruce knew who Artie was when they first introduced, Artie claimed that Bruce absolutely know that Artie was on The Howard Stern Show.
Fans shouldn't completely count out an appearance of Bruce on The Howard Stern Show in the future. Sometimes Howard has ha to wait years for someone to come on his show despite him making positive ground with them or showing them that he's changed his tune. Fans of The Boss and The King Of All Media certainly hope that that day comes sooner rather than later.