Danny Federici

Danny Federici, all the way to the left in the above photo, was Bruce Springsteen's friend and musical collaborator for four decades. He passed away yesterday in New York after a three year battle with melanoma.

Having seen "Phantom Dan" behind the keyboards at many E-Street concerts, most recently this past fall on the Magic tour, I, like countless other fans, am deeply saddened by this loss. As anyone who's been to a Springsteen show can passionately attest, it's an electric family revival hearing this material performed live.

Here's the goodbye at Danny's last show with the E-Street Band, on November 19th, 2007 ,before he took a leave of absence last fall for cancer treatment:




I had just seen them in concert, with Danny, a week earlier in DC. I'm wearing my 2007 tour baseball jersey in memoriam today at work. I dare HR to say something to me (it is casual Friday).

A clip from Danny's surprise brief return to the stage last month in Indianapolis:




"So let's take the good times as they go
And I'll meet you further on up the road"

RIP, Danny. Thanks more than I and hundreds of thousands of other E-Street fans could ever say for your significant contributions to some of the best music I've heard and performances I've ever seen.