"The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Surfers," by Jim Kempton, ran in the August 1979 issue of SURFER. Educated guess here: Kempton, the magazine's associated editor at the time, was on the East Coast to cover the world tour events, while Springsteen was either on break from the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour or recording The River in his home studio in Holmdel, New Jersey. Somehow—and all credit to Kempton for making it happen—SURFER got some New Jersey facetime with Bruce and sideman Clarence Clemons, who were both longtime, if lapsed, surfers. Or maybe Jim just picked up the phone and got lucky, who knows.

Jeff Hakman is flying to the East Coast the next time he plays. Mark Richards and Rick Rasmussen have made him surfboards. Bruce Raymond and Bernie Baker have long-distance contests on “who knows the heaviest Thunder Road lyric.” What are they all talking about? Bruce Springsteen, of course; the grassroots rock superstar, and to many people’s surprise, a fan of surfing.

Both Clarence Clemons and Springsteen himself surfed quite frequently in the late ’60s and early ’70s. “I got into surfing with Bruce when I first came down and started playing in the band," Clarence remembers. At that time, Bruce was living in the back of the [Challenger Eastern] surf shop, playing guitar, working on the boards, and writing songs. Because it was convenient and just about the only place we had, the band used to do a lot of rehearsing right there in the back of the shop.” Clemons became enthralled with surfing right from the start. “I had to ride a big board myself,” he recalls, “but the Boss (the band’s name for Springsteen), he got right into the shortboards and really loved it.”

Apparently Clarence was no slouch himself. "Clarence’s moves on his big board were as classic as his horn playing," says Vince Tronic of the Islander Surf Shop, long-time surf shop owner and friend of both Clemons and Springsteen. The Boss used to introduce him as "the big man, the Kahuna of Surf and Soul!” Between hectic sessions at the studio recording their new album, Clarence and Bruce stop in to visit with Vince and check out the waves at their favorite surf spot, the Hook, in Sea Bright. It was during these breaks that SURFER was able to talk to Bruce and Clarence about their surfing experiences.

"In the last couple of years, music has sort of taken precedence in my life," Springsteen admits. “I’ve been on tour and in the studio so much I just haven’t had much time to hit it. But I’m getting back into it now, that’s for sure.”

Clemons concurs: "I’m still the Kahuna of Surf and Soul. I love surfing. As soon as I can get Vince to shape me a board, I’m gonna get some surf sessions in.”

“Music is my main involvement now," smiles Springsteen. “But you know, when I was younger, the only things that I gave a damn about were girls, cars and surfing.” As Mark Richards said upon winning the Stubbies this year, “Let’s prove it all night."

Here's an excerpt from Clarence Clemon's autobiography Big Man, which came out in 2009.

That is not fiction. That is the truth. And in 1973 I surfed often and I surfed pretty well. So did Bruce and all the other guys in that famous David Garh photograph on the back cover of 

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

In fact, we had been out surfing that day.

We knew we had this photoshoot so we wanted to go inside and change. But Dave said. ‘'No, you look great like this,” so we ended up taking those pictures and then we went back out surfing.

You can feel summer when you look at that picture. You can feel the Jersey Shore. Everybody looks young and fit and sun-kissed. We all have that relaxed summertime attitude.

During the afternoon go-out, I took off on a wave that closed out in front of me. I shot the board forward and fell back into the water like I'd done a thousand times before.

That time my board went up into the air, got stopped by my leash, and came straight back down and hit me in the mouth.

We had a show that night at this club. There was no fucking way I was going onstage with my front tooth missing, so we went on this mad search for a dentist. Anyway, I think Bruce's mother or aunt or somebody got in touch with a guy who agreed to see me right away. I went over there and he put on this temporary cap. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I didn't look like an idiot.

The next problem didn’t occur until my first sax solo in the first song.

It might have been “Spirit in the Night,” I’m not sure. In any event, I went to blow into the horn and my front tooth came flying out of my mouth and into the audience.

“Hold it! Stop the music!” said Bruce. “We're not playing another note until we find the Big Man's front tooth!"

Somebody did find it. I think it landed in some girl's drink. I fished it out and jammed it back in, and we finished the show.

"THE ONLY THINGS I CARED ABOUT WERE GIRLS, CARS AND SURFING" BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN INTERVIEW (1979)

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