1949

September 23

At a hospital in Long Branch, NJ, Adele Springsteen gives birth to a baby boy, who will be named Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen.

1957

January 6

Eight-year-old Bruce watches Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show, and the first seed is sown for his future career.

1962

December 25

Bruce receives his first guitar as a Christmas present (by some accounts), but his hands are too small and he can't really use it yet.

1965

Bruce joins his first band, the Castiles, a five-piece rock band with Beatles and Rolling Stones influences. The band is mostly a cover band and performs at local malls and "battles of the bands".

1966

May 16

The Castiles record a single in the Bricktown Studio in New Jersey. It contains two songs written by Springsteen and singer George Theiss: "Baby I" and "That's What You Get". The single is pressed in five copies of which only two are known to be in existence today.

1968

The Castiles break up when most of the members begin to find other interests in life. Bruce, however, has his mind set on a musical career and forms a new band called Earth.

Bruce meets Steve Van Zandt for the first time.

Bruce briefly attends Ocean County College, but soon realizes he will never adjust to the educational system.

Bruce's parents move to California. Bruce himself remains in New Jersey staying at friends' houses and at a surfboard factory in Asbury Park. It is in Asbury Park he from now on will have his base and shape his musical style.

1969

Bruce forms a new band, Child, which quickly changes its name to Steel Mill when it turns out there is another band called Child. Steel Mill is Springsteen's most famous early band. Their style is characterized by long bluesy instrumental passages and Springsteen's lyrical experiments. The lineup changes a couple of times, but among the members are Danny Federici, Steve Van Zandt, Robbin Thompson, and Vini Lopez.

1970

January-February

Steel Mill drive cross-country to California to try and make a break on the West Coast. They play a few dates at the Matrix in San Francisco to critical acclaim and record a few demos in a studio. They are even offered a record deal, but turn it down and return home to the East.

1971

January 23

At the height of their popularity (Steel Mill's crowds were sometimes counted in the thousands for their outdoor gigs) Bruce breaks up the band after a final gig at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park.

Bruce spends the rest of 1971 experimenting with new band formations known under such names as the Bruce Springsteen Jam, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, and finally the Bruce Springsteen Band.

1972

Spring

The Bruce Springsteen Band in various formations continue to play gigs in New Jersey and Virginia before they too are disassembled. Bruce instead decides to play solo gigs in New York City cafes. It is around this time Bruce meets Mike Appel, who soon becomes his manager.

1972

May 2

Mike Appel takes Bruce to see Columbia talent scout, John Hammond, who discovered Bob Dylan, Bessie Smith, et al. Bruce plays a short set for him in his office, and Hammond is so impressed that he organizes a real audition that same night at the Gaslight Club in New York for other Columbia hotshots. The audition is a success and Columbia agrees on making a record contract.

1972

May 3

Bruce records the famous Hammond Demos at the CBS Studios in New York. It is Bruce alone in the studio with a guitar and a piano, and John Hammond himself at the mixing board. Four of the songs, "Mary Queen of Arkansas", "Saint in the City", Growin' Up" and "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" are later released on Tracks.

1972

Summer

Bruce and a hastily assembled band consisting mainly of Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez, Clarence Clemons, and David Sancious record Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ.

1972

November 12

According to Backstreets: the Man and His Music, this night sees the first show ever with the E Street Band. In addition to the above-mentioned people who recorded the Greetings album (minus David Sancious who won't join until June 1973), the band includes Danny Federici.

1973

January 5

Bruce's debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, is released in the US.

1973

Spring

Bruce and the E Street Band tour both the East Coast and the West Coast in support of the new album. In May and June they even play some gigs as the opening act for Chicago. These gigs, playing large arenas for crowds indifferent to his music, make Bruce vow never to play arenas again, a vow he would break only three years later.

1973

July-August

The band record The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

1973

November 5

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is released in the US.

1974

February 12

While touring extensively in support of the second album, Bruce decides to fire drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez from the band. A couple of weeks later he is replaced by Ernest "Boom" Carter.

1974

May 9

A show at Harvard Square Theater in Cambridge, MA, is attended by music critic Jon Landau, who is inspired to write his famous "I saw rock 'n' roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen" article. The article not only forms the basis of an aggressive promotional campaign a year later, but is also the first connection between Bruce and his future manager.