Jake Clemons releases Juneteenth song, Springsteen saxophonist
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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band take the stage in Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band take the stage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on March 16, 2023.
Chris Jordan, Asbury Park Press
Some are born to run, others are “born like me”.
Jake Clemons, saxophonist with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, will release the single “Born Like Me,” a powerful statement about race, civil rights and an unbalanced social structure that turns away from people of color. “Born Like Me” will be released on Wednesday, June 19, or Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed.
“‘Born Like Me’ is one of my most profound artistic efforts to date, both as a song and a music video,” Clemons said in a statement. “The song was written at a time when the outrage over the unjust executions of our American brothers and sisters was caught on camera and highlighted against a broad media backdrop.
“A time when the reality of such painful discrepancies in our justice system came into focus, when voices could be heard on the streets calling for more humanity.”
Clemons, a native of Virginia, is the nephew of the late Clarence Clemons.
“The stories of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s final moments among the living have led me to describe the harshness of their earthly departure,” Clemons said. “This is what happened to people who were ‘born like me.'”
The track features singer Allison Russell and guitarist Tom Morello, a founding member of Rage Against the Machine. An interpretive black-and-white video features modern dance from the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts, Clemons’ alma mater.
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“I firmly believed that a powerful representation of youth coupled with sincere artistic excellence was important to telling the story, and there is no better source for that than the Governor’s School of the Arts,” Clemons said.
Clemons, who lives in Montreal, is currently on tour with the E Street Band. He will play solo shows on Thursday, August 8, in Halifax, Canada, and on Saturday, August 10, in Prince Edward Island, Canada. For more information, visit jakeclemons.com.
“I firmly believe that each of us is connected,” Clemons said. “All of humanity is ultimately one beautiful family, and we must love and protect every part of it to be complete.”
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Jersey Shore native Chris Jordan covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Reach him at [email protected].
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