Bruce Springsteen Honors Wife Patti Scialfa Onstage at Her N.J. Hall of Fame Induction: ‘My Secret Weapon’

Bruce Springsteen is honoring his wife Patti Scialfa as she joins an illustrious group of New Jersey icons.

The musician, 74, paid tribute to his wife of 32 years when she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame on Sunday. The surprise appearance comes after Springsteen was forced to cancel a string of shows due to a painful stomach ailment and has been largely out of the public eye.

Taking the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center for the 15th annual induction ceremony, Springsteen said it was “good to be here tonight for my kid” as he introduced his singer-songwriter wife, who grew up in New Jersey, as the Class of 2023 novice.

Recalling meeting Scialfa, 70, in the 1980s at the historic Asbury Park music club The Stone Pony, Springsteen told the crowd, “I met Patti at the Stone Pony. Where else? She was sitting in with the house band, Cats on a Smooth Surface, and I heard that voice of hers and I was like, ‘Who’s that girl?’ I went to find out.”

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa.

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All about Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen’s wife and bandmate

“We went out for cheeseburgers at The Inkwell in my ’60 Corvette. and a lot of cheeseburgers were expected,” Springsteen, who was inducted into the NJ Hall of Fame in 2008, added of their first date.

The singer went on to describe his other half, who joined his backing band, the E Street Band, in the early ’80s as “a street-smart, fascinating, lovely, sexy, beautiful redhead with a sound all her own. ”

“The E Street Band was good at a lot of things, but singing harmony wasn’t one of them,” he said. “When I met Patti, I felt like I had found my secret weapon. In 1984, I asked her to join the E Street Band.”

Tony Orlando, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and Patti Scialfa.

Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty

Bruce Springsteen surprised his wife Patti Scialfa by including footage from their honeymoon in the movie ‘Western Stars’

Springsteen also joked that Scialfa would have been even more successful if she hadn’t married him while talking about her albums and being an “overwhelming” songwriter with “skillful lyrics.”

“She went on to record and produce with Steve Jordan, her second album, 23rd lullaby of St and the third record, Play as it lieswhich he is again co-producing with Steve Jordan and Ron Anello, both of which are wonderful works that would be much more widely known,” he said.

“She’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted into the E Street Band in 2014. She just finished her fourth album and it’s coming out next year,” Springsteen continued.

Bruce Springsteen.

Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty

“[She did] Broadway with me 2017, he graced my stage with his wonderful voice. During the 20 months of our run, she was the highlight of the show, all while being a parent of three now 30-year-olds and becoming a grandmother.”

“So this is long overdue, I love her. She is a Jersey girl through and through,” he added. “Congratulations, honey!”

“It was really a lot of compliments, all in a row,” Scialfa said as she thanked her husband as she joined him on stage. Then she joked: “I’ll record it. . . say this before I go to sleep or ask him to repeat it.”

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The duo, who married in 1991, then walked off stage together as Springsteen put his arm around his wife’s back.

In September, the “Born to Run” singer announced that he was in the middle of treatment for a peptic ulcer and would have to postpone his tour dates for that month. However, later in September, Springsteen pushed back the remainder of his 2023 tour dates with The E Street Band to 2024.

The news was announced in a statement by the rock legend on social networks.

“Bruce Springsteen has continued to recover from his peptic ulcer over the past few weeks and will continue to receive treatment through the end of the year as advised by his doctor,” the statement read. “With this in mind and out of an abundance of caution, all remaining Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band tour dates in 2023 will be postponed until 2024.”

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Source: HIS Education