Here's wishing Max Weinberg, longtime drummer of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, a very happy 70th birthday today.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, "the Mighty Max," as he's known, replaced Ernest "Boom" Carter in the E Street Band in 1974, before Springsteen recorded his classic Born to Run album. Weinberg has contributed the majority of Springsteen's albums since then, including Bruce's latest studio effort, 2020's Letter to You.
Weinberg also has played on albums by many other well-known artists, including Meat Loaf, Ian Hunter, Bonnie Tyler, Gary "U.S." Bonds, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes.
In addition, Max famously served as leader of the Late Night with Conan O'Brien house band, The Max Weinberg 7, and led The Tonight Show's band during Conan O'Brien's brief stint hosting that program.
In recent years, Weinberg also has led a touring cover band called Max Weinberg's Jukebox. Max's son, Jay Weinberg, also is a drummer; he's occasionally filled in for his dad in the E Steeet Band and has been a member of the popular metal band Slipknot since 2014.
Reflecting on reaching the milestone age, Weinberg tells popular Springsteen fan site Backstreets, "I feel better at 70 than I did at 30 for some reason. We're vaccinated…and starting to perform again. I'm looking forward to an active Fall 2021 of playing drums, when we all hope it's 'safe to go in the water.'"
Regarding touring, Max Weinberg's Jukebox currently is slated to begin playing shows again this summer, starting with a July 9 concert in Hopewell, Virginia.
You can check out all of the scheduled dates at MaxWeinberg.com.
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