Thirty-five years as guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Lead role in The Sopranos as consigliere and strip club owner, Silvio Dante. These two roles of a lifetime are what most people know about Steven Van Zandt. While I was aware of his “other” music and social justice activism, I had no idea how good the former was and how significant the latter was. I’ve covered many a rock documentary in these pages and they all have surprised me with hidden facets of their subjects. But HBO’s Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple floored me. Little Steven made the world a better place.
Van Zandt grew up on the Jersey Shore and met Springsteen in Asbury Park when both were fronting bands and digesting the British Invasion. He was co-leader, guitarist, and songwriter for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes, a band that overlapped with Bruce and the E Street band in the mid-to-late ’70s. There’s powerful footage of the rock and roll soul of the Dukes punctuated by their Miami Horns section. Van Zandt re-arranged the horns on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” for Springsteen and began his first long stint with the E Street Band.
As expected, Disciple has superb footage from their first huge successful album and tour, Born to Run, to the worldwide domination of Born in the U.S.A. Van Zandt wasn’t feeling it anymore during the Born experience and quit the band at their height of popularity. Risky? More like insane. He started performing with a new band, The Disciples of Soul. (The concert videos make a compelling argument that the Disciples were very underappreciated.) Also, at this time he put his deep-rooted social activism into action. Inspired by Peter Gabriel’s “Biko,” he corralled 49 diverse musical performers from across the world into the United Artists Against Apartheid. Their Sun City album and single, along with the Jonathan Demme directed MTV video, brought global attention to apartheid in South Africa. The next year saw Congress override Reagan’s veto to impose sanctions on South Africa. A few years later, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and apartheid was history. It’s undeniable that Steven Van Zandt had a consequential impact on ending apartheid in South Africa. Remarkable.
In 1997, Van Zandt inducted The Rascals (“Good Lovin’”) into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. David Chase watched the ceremony and was so impressed that he created a character for Van Zandt in his upcoming HBO series. The Sopranos went on to become one of the most influential TV series of all time with Silvio steadfastly serving as Tony’s most reliable adviser and enforcer holding court at the Bada Bing.
What a life! But we’re not nearly done. The last section of the movie looks at his activities over the last twenty years (in addition to being an ever-present member of the E Street Band.) He wrote the highly successful Broadway musical The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream. He created and still curates two rock and roll radio channels. He’s a major benefactor for music instruction in schools. He’s written several children’s books. He has his own record label. (And there’s more in the trivia.) A renaissance man who even adds a trademark fashion style to his persona. You know what I’m talking about. The necklaces, bracelets, shades, scarves, full-length coats, and bandanas. Yeah, he’s simply one of a kind.
(Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple is still running on HBO and streaming on Max. Running time: 2:27.)
D² Rating ◼◼◼◼☐
Trivia: What is the name of Van Zandt’s long running and highly influential Sirius XM radio program?
Trivia: Van Zandt starred as a NYC mobster in what Netflix drama, it’s first original series? (Like many, I thought House of Cards was the first.)
Trivia Answers: Little Steven’s Underground Garage and Lillyhammer
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