Garry TallentBass
Garry Tallent moved to the Jersey Shore in his teens and quickly became enmeshed in the burgeoning Asbury Park music scene. Two of his high school classmates were “Southside” Johnny Lyon (of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes) and future Springsteen drummer Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez—but his connections didn’t end there. Tallent was the only non-African American member of Little Melvin & the Invaders, who counted among their members one Clarence Clemons; he played with Lopez and Danny Federici in several bands; he joined up with Steve Van Zandt in the Jaywalkers; and he performed in another group called Glory Road with keyboardist David Sancious.
His connection with Sancious led to a role in Springsteen’s outfit Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom, which eventually morphed into the Bruce Springsteen Band. When that configuration split up, Tallent relocated to Richmond, Virginia (along with Sancious, Southside Johnny, and several other Asbury Park musicians), but when Springsteen needed a backing band for his first album with Columbia Records, he called Tallent and Sancious to come back home. Shortly after that, the E Street Band was born—and as of 2023, Tallent is the one and only remaining member from the original line-up.
Tallent played tuba in his high school band but, wanting to play rock & roll, he noticed bass players were scarce. He taught himself the instrument by listening to the records of the time: James Jamerson, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Paul McCartney, and Bill Wyman were some of his early influences. Tallent has said that it was his understanding of the tuba’s role in an orchestra that helped him figure out the job of a bass player and develop the style that later earned him the nickname “the foundation of the E Street Nation.” (The tuba would come in handy later, when he picked up the instrument for “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” on The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.)
Tallent has a long history with country music, having recorded with such giants as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and the supergroup The Highwaymen; he even played on the groundbreaking collection Wanted! The Outlaws, the first country album to be certified platinum. After the E Street Band went on hiatus in 1989, Tallent moved to Nashville and launched a successful career as a producer and a session musician, founding a recording studio and a record label. Over the years, he has produced the likes of Marshall Crenshaw, Steve Forbert, the legendary Gary “U.S.” Bonds, and his old friend Southside Johnny, and he has released two solo albums, Break Time (2016) and More Like Me (2019). Tallent is a noted aficionado of early rock & roll and, together with Southside Johnny, shares a carefully curated collection of over 10,000 vintage LPs and 45s. In 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.
Tallent played tuba in his high school band but, wanting to play rock & roll, he noticed bass players were scarce. He taught himself the instrument by listening to the records of the time: James Jamerson, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Paul McCartney, and Bill Wyman were some of his early influences. Tallent has said that it was his understanding of the tuba’s role in an orchestra that helped him figure out the job of a bass player and develop the style that later earned him the nickname “the foundation of the E Street Nation.” (The tuba would come in handy later, when he picked up the instrument for “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” on The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.)
Tallent has a long history with country music, having recorded with such giants as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and the supergroup The Highwaymen; he even played on the groundbreaking collection Wanted! The Outlaws, the first country album to be certified platinum. After the E Street Band went on hiatus in 1989, Tallent moved to Nashville and launched a successful career as a producer and a session musician, founding a recording studio and a record label. Over the years, he has produced the likes of Marshall Crenshaw, Steve Forbert, the legendary Gary “U.S.” Bonds, and his old friend Southside Johnny, and he has released two solo albums, Break Time (2016) and More Like Me (2019). Tallent is a noted aficionado of early rock & roll and, together with Southside Johnny, shares a carefully curated collection of over 10,000 vintage LPs and 45s. In 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.