Bruce Springsteen Reveals the Romantic Inspiration Behind Jim Morrison Quote in ‘Road Diary’ Film
Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Bruce Springsteen has always been a master at mythologizing his own story, and his latest film “Road Diary” is no exception: It’s a tribute to the E Street Band’s 50-year history and their decades of touring, his 60-year friendship with guitarist Steve Van Zandt (who makes a crack about finally officially being named the E Street Band’s musical director after 40 years), the familial bonds between the bandmates, the crew and his longtime manager Jon Landau, and other sentiments that are well familiar to fans and get a thorough and moving presentation in the Thom Zimny-directed film, an artfully executed documentary of the band’s 2023 tour of North America and Europe. Those themes were aired at length at a Q&A sessions following that followed the New York screening of the film at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday night, Springsteen, Van Zandt, Landau and Zimny, but the most revealing moment came when moderator Jon Sykes of iHeartMedia asked him why the film prominently spotlights a quote from a Jim Morrison poem: “O great creator of being Grant us one more hour to perform our art and perfect our lives” What Springsteen said about the quote itself was less interesting than the story that came with it, which involves a Doors concert in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 30, 1968 that was attended by Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa and longtime E Street Band bassist Gary Tallent, but before any of them had met.