Clarence Clemons

Death is not just the end, it's the beginning.

Everybody calls me Big Man.

The Philadelphia audiences, they're like our home crowd.

I always had this vision of what I wanted to do in life.

The night before a show, I don't sleep. Really. I've been doing this for 30 years, and the night before a show, I still don't sleep.

Cooking is an art form, a creative thing.

I visualize what I do before I do it. Visualizing makes me better.

I was a born rock n' roll sax player.

To me, the sax is rock n' roll, even though electric guitars kind of pushed it aside for a while.

Working out has always been a way of life for me.

When a fan says, 'Man, you saved my life; I heard 'Jungleland'... and I cried... and I felt joy in my life again,' that's my hall of fame.

There'll be no oiling up with this band. The oil has been there for years and it only gets better.

It's a matter of choosing what is most important to you and putting that first. Once you have recognized your true purpose in life, this becomes much easier.

I do read music, but I prefer playing from the heart.

Somebody said to me, 'Whenever somebody says your name, a smile comes to their face.' That's a great accolade. I strive to keep it that way.

I have faith in the judicial system.

I take my job as a rock and roll sax player very seriously. To do it the way that I must do it, I must be in good condition. The better shape you're in, the harder you can rock.

When you go backstage at a Bruce Springsteen show, you don't see a circus.

I'll never be rude to another news person. It's a tough job, a thankless job. You really have to get out there and grovel to get your story.

I'd rather somebody punch me in the face than drop my sax.

The calm mind allows one to connect with the inner self the Soul the very source of our being. Thats where the music lives. Thats where my music comes from.

Of course, you get exhausted. You want to pass out. I came close a couple of times. But you're filled with something, that feedback that comes from the audience.

I couldn't really trust anyone. Not completely.

In the mental calmness of a spiritual life, I have found that the answers to the whys in our lives are able to come to you. In my music I find the same thing.

I found out how great the E Street Band is. The reality of a band that you can't scoop aside, can't put in a corner.

Tell-all books are boring.

You had your black bands, and you had your white bands, and if you mixed the two, you found less places to play.

The first time I ever saw a black audience at our concert, we were in Zimbabwe.

Being involved in the well-being and advancement of one's own community is a most natural thing to do.

More than 50 percent of kids who play an instrument go on to college, yet music education programs at the inner city public schools who need them most continue to be hit hard with budget cuts.

The age thing is just a number.

Sometimes you just do things and let your natural self become a part of what you're doing.

Of course you get exhausted. You want to pass out. I came close a couple of times. But youre filled with something that feedback that comes from the audience.

I like health-conscious cooking, but growing up in the South, I do love southern cooking; southern France, southern Italy, southern Spain. I love southern cooking.

How many ways can you cut a steak? How many ways can a chord go? I've been in this business so long, I know how to cut it.

I grew up with a very religious background.

I'm a mellow fellow. Nothing much bothers me.

I've been thinking about a cookbook. I've been making notes and promising myself I'll do it some day. I have an idea for a cookbook and music together.

When you learn a Bruce Springsteen song, it's like learning to ride a bike. You don't forget it.

I know that one day I'm going to die. I want to accomplish as much as I can before I do.

I got into the soul music, but I wanted to rock. I was a rocker.

It takes a village to run the Big Man - a village of doctors.

As a horn player, the greatest compliment one can get is when a person comes to you and says, 'I heard this saxophone on the radio the other day and I knew it was you. I don't know the song, but I know it was you on sax.'

I've been pretty blessed. Sometimes it comes in disguise.

The calm mind allows one to connect with the inner self, the Soul, the very source of our being. That's where the music lives. That's where my music comes from.

I'm always in the market for my acting.

I'm blessed with nice legs, but I see lots of guys with big upper bodies and pencil legs.

I have no agenda - just to be loved.

Nobody played instruments in my family. My father got that bug and said he wants his son to play saxophone.

I hung out in the Baltimore area a lot. My biggest memory was playing football against Morgan. That was, like, 'Forget about it,' that was a really big thing. They used to kick our butts all the time.

Rock-and-roll, to me, is very serious because we deal with the young people. We deal with people who need something, and that's the same thing that a preacher does. He feeds you something that you need spiritually in your soul and in your makeup.

Through all the hardships and all the operations and all the hospitals, all that stuff each part of my life, there's been some goodness, some greatness that comes in here and helps me to be strong, to continue what I'm doing.

When I grew up, there was one music: rock n' roll. Somewhere along the line, there was a separation. I don't know why it happened, but it did happen.

Money is a hazard.

I'm a Gaga-ite.

Before the Berlin Wall came down, we played behind the Iron Curtain and sang, 'Born in the U.S.A.,' and I thought, 'We're all going to die. The man is going to get us all killed.' But then you saw all these kids with the American flag and German flags together and singing the song, and it was, wow, like 'We Shall Overcome.'

When I go out before a crowd, I ask God to give me inspiration to be the light.

It used to take a day to get over the partying. But I don't party anymore. I don't miss it, either.

When I walk on stage, it's the 'healing floor.' No matter how bad I'm hurting, I get out there and do it.

It's like Liverpool. Everybody went for the music. All the young musicians seemed to gravitate to Asbury Park.

It's love. It's two men - two strong, very virile men - finding that space in life where they can let go enough of their masculinity to feel the passion of love and respect and trust. Friendships are based on those things, and you seal it with a kiss.

God will give you no more than you can handle.

Now that I am much older, I have had a number of sax players tell me I was responsible for them playing sax. Some of them I have admired over the years.

I don't care about the gold records and all of that stuff. I care about what we do onstage, and the joy that we bring to people.

What you did, nobody wants to know about it, unless you did something exciting.

Going through all of this physical stuff, it's been a tough job. But I've loved every second of my life.

I'm like the Bionic Man.

Small clubs aren't as lucrative, but spiritually, they're my favorite places to play. It's a homey kind of thing. I refer to it as the Church of What's Happening Now.

It's a crazy world, so I meditate for 20 minutes. I also meditate for 20 minutes before a concert.

It's sad to see these old buildings go because they have so many memories, and it's a real personal kind of thing when you play these places. It's part of our history just gone.

I didn't think I'd ever be a Michael Jackson fan. But... watching him move, watching him dance, is so encouraging for me. Because, in my mind, I can do all that stuff.

We had to play both ways on the field, so I was offensive center and defensive end.

I look forward to working out every day.

When you die, we go back to the white energy of all the white energy: white heat that's flung against the sky and becomes a star.

I wanted an electric train for Christmas but I got the saxophone instead.

The word spiritual, not the word religious, is the key.

As long as my mouth, hands, and brain still work, I'll be out there doing it. I'm going to keep going 'til I'm not there anymore. This is what's keeping me alive and feeling young and inspired.

Of all the surgeries I've had, there's not much left to operate on. I am totally bionic.

All this pain is going to come back and make me stronger.

I never thought I'd be a, quote, 'rock & roll star.'