Bill Chinook / Bruce Springsteen


Has anyone ever heard Bruce Springsteen mention Bill Chinook? Bill was a "founder" of early E Street Band w/ some members joining up w/ Bruce's band. He was making that Asbury sound before Bruce, but I have never heard "the Boss" mention him. I may be partial to him because he settled up here in Maine way back in the 1970's and played often in the bars and dance halls. And released a couple excellent albums, Dime Store Heroes is one of my favorites.
128x128thepigdog
It's not Springsteen's fault that most Americans cannot think more deeply than their perception of the four word chorus of one of his songs.  He is a great artist by any measure, and the most influential musician that America has produced since Bob Dylan.    
i shoudn't wade into tis polemical fray, though i do find it surprising that people would disqualify springsteen's music on patriotic grounds--whether or not you agree with his politics, it's hard to fault the guy for expressing his opinion.  to me at least,  he's always registered as sincere and charitable, or at least as  sincere and charitable as a mega-rich rock star can be.  as for his music, he's a good-to-great writer--tuneful, insightful and funny--and i think "born to run" (esp. if you listen to his acoustic take on "tracks") is a great blues song. however, like bdp i personally find him hard to listen to--his voice grates and the band just don't swing.  i also agree that he's been badly served by his producers--his best records (btr, darkness, the river) all sound  dark, compressed and unnatural.
I was hoping someone out there would be familiar with Bill Chinook. A lot of the responses make me think Bruce would not mention such a strong influence on his music. For what it's worth my favorite is "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle", that is good stuff. 
The remasters of wild and innocent sound fantastic with the plangent process .  

Wild Billy's circus story becomes audiophile quality