Bruce Springsteen: ‘I was oblivious to father’s health issues growing up’

Bruce Springsteen wasn’t aware of his family’s history of mental illness as a child.
The rocker took part in a moderated conversation Wednesday night (28Sep16) at an Apple store in New York City to promote his new memoir, Born to Run, which was released on Tuesday (27Sep16).
The Born in the USA singer’s memoir reveals intimate details of his relationship with his late father Doug – a blue-collar worker who struggled with drinking and mental illness, and later in life acknowledged his failings to his son.
In the book, Springsteen describes his childhood fear of his father as they struggled in a cash-strapped household in New Jersey and how completely unaware he was of his father’s health issues.
“As a child, it didn’t register,” he told moderator, Apple executive Eddy Cue, in the singer’s first-ever Facebook Live event. “When I was a kid, it was a deep mystery. I think my music is the first thing that centered me. It was medicinal… It rooted you.”
The rocker also revealed his own battle with depression in the memoir, in which he pondered if he will get so sick he’ll end up like his dad.
Springsteen sat down at the Apple store for a 45-minute-long conversation in which he explained his reasons for writing the memoir.
“I wanted to let people know what were the influences on my music,” he shared. “I wrote songs to figure out who I was,” before joking he wanted to put pen to paper before his memory failed him. “I am at that age where you are forgetting things already,” he laughed.
The rocker was supported at the event by old pal, Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine, who worked as recording engineer on Springsteen’s classics Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River before co-founding Interscope Records in 1989.
The 67-year-old singer is considered rock and roll royalty, but he admitted he does enjoy listening to musicians from other genres.
Springsteen singled out critically acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar, whom he described as “intense”, and Kanye West. He said, “He makes great records. They are creative, amazing records.”