THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ARCHIVES
AND CENTER FOR AMERICAN MUSIC
The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American
Music is located on the exquisite campus of Monmouth
University in West Long Branch. It now serves as the official
archival repository for Bruce Springsteen’s written works,
photographs, periodicals, and artifacts. The Center will
preserve and promote the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and his
role in American music, while honoring and celebrating icons
of American music like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank
Williams, Frank Sinatra and others.
Since 2011, Monmouth University has served as the home of
the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, which comprises
nearly 35,000 items from 47 countries, ranging from books
and concert memorabilia to articles and promotional materials.
The collection serves the research and informational needs of
music fans, scholars, authors and others with a serious interest
in the life and career of the Boss. A recently created Music Oral
History Project aims to document, celebrate, preserve and
make available the rich music history of the region by collecting
the stories of artists, club owners, promoters and others who
experienced it firsthand.
On January 10, 2017, a new partnership to create the Bruce
Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music was
announced. We envision a future that exponentially builds upon
our ability to provide scholars, students, researchers and fans
from around the globe public access to an expansive array
of archives and programming. The Center is the destination
for stimulating academic discourse and discussion, and will
provide entertainment, knowledge and insight into the works
of Bruce Springsteen and other legendary figures of American
music.
Bruce Springsteen is indelibly connected to New Jersey music
history and culture, and his relationship with the state and its
legion of fans makes Monmouth University a logical address for
the Archives. Springsteen often performed at then Monmouth
College in the 1960s and 1970s and much of his early fan-base
was composed of Monmouth College students. The Archives
are located in the town where Bruce was born, where he lived
while writing Born to Run and just a few miles from the Asbury
Park music scene where the E Street band took shape. Music
venues in and around Monmouth County also served as
incubators for early developing artists that quickly established
themselves as international rockers, many of them influenced
by Springsteen, such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury
Jukes, Bon Jovi, Nicole Atkins, Gaslight Anthem and Bouncing
Souls.
The Bruce Springsteen Archives are open by appointment
Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5 pm. For further
information go to https://www.monmouth.edu/springsteenarchives
and-center-for-american-music. Appointments
should be made in advance by emailing Eileen Chapman at
echapman@monmouth.edu.
ABOUT MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Monmouth University is the region’s premier private coastal university that offers a comprehensive array of undergraduate, graduate
and doctoral degree programs in a dynamic and personalized learning environment. Located in West Long Branch, New Jersey,
Monmouth University’s magnificent coastal campus is approximately one hour from both New York City and Philadelphia. Innovative
academic programs, individual faculty attention and nationally ranked Division One athletics make this private university a great
place to find your future. To learn more, visit us at www.monmouth.edu.
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