Lofgren joined Neil Young 's band at age 17, playing piano and guitar on the album After the Gold Rush . Young gave him this role despite his having virtually no experience on the instrument; Lofgren worked on his parts around-the-clock when recording was not in session. Lofgren maintained a close musical relationship with Young, appearing on his '' Tonight's the Night (Neil Young album)|Tonight's the Night album and tour among others. He was also briefly a member of Crazy Horse (band)|Crazy Horse , appearing on their Crazy Horse (album)|1971 LP and contributing songs to their catalogue.
Grin
Lofgren used the Neil Young album credits to land his band Grin a record deal in 1971. Lofgren had formed the band originally with bassist George Daly (Music Industry)|George Daly and drummer Bob Berberich, and the group played in venues throughout the Washington D.C. area before going to California. Daly left the band early on to become a Columbia Records A & R Executive and was replaced by bassist Bob Gordon, who remained through the release of four critically acclaimed albums of catchy, hard rock, from 1971 to 1974, with guitar as Lofgren's primary instrument. The single "White Lies" got heavy airplay on Washington, D.C.-area radio. Lofgren wrote the majority of the group's songs, and often shared vocal duties with other members of the band (primarily drummer Bob Berberich). After the second album Nils added brother Tom Lofgren as a rhythm guitarist. Grin failed to hit the big time, and were released by their record company.
Solo career, part I
In 1974 Grin disbanded. Lofgren's Nils Lofgren (album)|eponymous debut solo album was a success with critics; a 1975 Rolling Stone review by Jon Landau labeled it one of the finest rock albums of the year, and NME ranked it 5th in its list of albums of the year.cite web|url= http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1975.html |title=Rocklist.net...NME End Of Year Lists 1975 |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date=May 9, 1992 |accessdate=February 14, 2011 Subsequent albums did not always garner critical favor,Allmusic|class=album|id=r1826843|first=Joe|last=Viglione although Cry Tough was voted number 10 in the 1976 NME Album round up;cite web|url= http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1976.html |title=Rocklist.net...NME End Of Year Lists 1976 |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date=May 9, 1992 |accessdate=February 14, 2011 I Came to Dance|I Came To Dance in particular received a scathing review in the New Rolling Stone Record Guide .cite book|last=Marsh|first=Dave and John Swenson|title=New Rolling Stone Record Guide, The|year=1983|publisher=Random House/Rolling Stone Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-394-72107-1|page=302 He achieved progressive rock (radio format)|progressive rock radio hits in the mid-1970s with "Back It Up", "Keith Don't Go" and "I Came to Dance". His song "Bullets Fever", about the Washington Wizards#Miracle 1977–78 season|1978 NBA champion Washington Bullets , would become a favorite in the Washington area. Throughout the 1970s, Lofgren released solo albums and toured extensively with a backing band that again usually included brother Tom on rhythm guitar. Lofgren's concerts displayed his reputation for theatrics, such as playing guitar while doing flips on a trampoline .
In 1971 he appeared on stage on the Roy Buchanan Special, Public Broadcast Service|PBS TV , with Bill Graham . In 1973 he appeared with Grin on NBC on The Midnight Special (TV series)|Midnight Special , performing three songs live. In 1978 he wrote and sang the "Nobody Bothers Me" theme for a D.C. Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do advertisement, and also appeared in the notorious '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. In 1987 he contributed the TV Show theme arrangement for Hunter (U.S. TV series)|Hunter . In 1993 he contributed to The Simpsons , with two Christmas jingles with Bart. In 1995 he appeared on a PBS tribute to the Beatles along with Dr. John . From 1991–95 he was the CableAce Awards musical director and composer.
E Street Band
In 1984, he joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as the replacement for Steven Van Zandt on guitar and vocals, in time for Springsteen's massive Born in the U.S.A. Tour . Following the tour he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman , to promote his 1985 solo release Flip . The E Street Band toured again with Springsteen in 1988 on the Tunnel of Love Express . In 1989 Springsteen broke up the E Street Band, but Lofgren and Van Zandt rejoined when Springsteen revived the band in 1999 for their Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour|Reunion Tour , followed by The Rising (album)|The Rising and another The Rising Tour|massive tour in 2002 and 2003 , then again for the Magic (Bruce Springsteen album)|Magic album and Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)|world tour of 2007/2008 , and most recently in 2009 for the Working on a Dream Tour .
Solo career, part II
Lofgren continues to record and to tour as a solo act, with Patti Scialfa , with Neil Young, and as a two-time member of Ringo Starr 's Ringo Starr All-Starr Band|All-Starr Band . Many of the people he worked with on those tours appeared on his 1991 album, Silver Lining . During the 2000s he got his own "Nils Lofgren Day" in Montgomery County, Maryland (August 25). In 2006 Lofgren released Sacred Weapon , featuring guest appearances by David Crosby , Graham Nash , Willie Nelson and Martin Sexton . In 2006 he recorded a live DVD Nils Lofgren & Friends: Acoustic Live .
On June 23, 2006, Lofgren performed at a benefit concert for Arthur Lee (musician)|Arthur Lee at New York's Beacon Theatre (New York City)|Beacon Theater , along with Robert Plant , Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter , Yo La Tengo and Garland Jeffreys . In 2007, he appeared playing guitar as part of Jerry Lee Lewis ' backing band for Lewis' Last Man Standing Live concert DVD. He released The Loner– Nils Sings Neil , an album of acoustic covers of Neil Young songs, in 2008.
In September 2008, Lofgren had hip replacement surgery for both of his hips as a result of years of playing basketball, "performance 'flips' on stage, and age."cite news |url= http://www.411mania.com/music/news/94981/Springsteen-Guitarist-Talks-About-The-Super-Bowl.htm |publisher= Billboard (magazine)|Billboard |title=Nils Lofgren on John Madden, the Cardinals and a brand new set of hips... |date=January 2009 Lofgren has stated on his website that he feels he will be in good condition.
Other work
Novelist Clive Cussler lives close to Lofgren's Arizona home, and collaborated on a song with him, which they co-wrote, and recorded, titled, "What Ever Happened to Muscatel? "cite web|url= http://www.nilslofgren.com/store07.html |title=Nils Lofgren Merchandise |publisher=Nilslofgren.com |date= |accessdate=February 14, 2011
In 2010, Lofgren – a self-described "huge sports fan" – wrote a long open letter to ESPN and the rest of the sports reporting community, condemning their favorable treatment of Michael Vick 's return to football stardom.cite web|url= http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story? id=5876114 |title=Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick incites outrage and concern – ESPN |publisher=Sports.espn.go.com |date=December 3, 2010 |accessdate=February 14, 2011
Musical equipment
Lofgren primarily uses a variety of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender guitars and Fender Amplifiers|amplifers . http://www.uberproaudio.com/content/view/455/38/ Nils Lofgren Guitar Rig Gear and Equipment Uberproaudio.com Retrieved: May 16, 2009 http://www.fender.com/artists/artist.php? id=273 Fender artist – Nils Lofgren / Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band fender.com Retrieved:2010-07-19
Guitars
col-begincol-2
Fender Stratocaster – Including two 1961 which he often uses.
Fender Jazzmaster s
Gibson Les Paul – 1952 Goldtop.
Gibson SG – Cherry red. Used on Johnny Bye, Bye during the E Street Band's Magic Tour.
Gibson Flying V – Used during Grin's reunion tour in 2001.
BC. Rich Mockingbird
Epiphone Les Paul – Used on tours with Ringo Starr .
C. F. Martin & Company|Martin D-18 – Given to Lofgren by Neil Young .
Gretsch|Gretsch Black Penguin
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Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster Black. Used on Born To Run during the "Magic" Tour.
Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson L-10 acoustic
Spector|Spector ARC6
Takamine Guitars|Takamine acoustic guitars
Resonator guitar|Owens/Zeta Resonator Guitars
Pedal steel guitar|Carter Pedal steel guitars
During performances of the song "The River" on The E Street Band 's Working On A Dream Tour, Nils would use a custom Fender Stratocaster double-neck guitar, with one 12-string neck, and one standard six. The 12 string was tuned B-G-Bb-F-D-Eb, and the six string A-G#-Bb-Bb-Bb-F#.
http://www.nilslofgren.com/History07.html History at nilslofgren.com
http://www.shinesilently.com/nilsalbums.htm shinesilently.com/nilsalbums Discography on UK fan site
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4776|label=Nils Lofgren
imdb name|id=0530460|name=Nils Lofgren
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2008/nov/11/nils-lofgren-vetiver-alan-mcgee Alan McGee on Lofgren and Vetiver
Neil YoungBruce Springsteen Persondata | NAME =Lofgren, Nils | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1951-06-21 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Lofgren, Nils Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock keyboardists Category:American accordionists Category:Steel guitarists Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Illinois Category:Slide guitarists Category:Crazy Horse (band) members Category:The E Street Band members Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Epic Records artists Category:A& M Records artists Category:Rykodisc artists Category:American session musicians Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Pedal steel guitarists Category:Musicians from Maryland
