Steven Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s.
Van Zandt in June 2018
Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen during the Working on a Dream Tour in Valladolid, Spain, in August 2009
Van Zandt onstage during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2012
Van Zandt at the dedication of the Alan Freed memorial, celebrating the legacy of Alan Freed, at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in May 2016
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", he has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, a genre combining mainstream rock music with poetic and socially conscious lyrics that feature narratives primarily concerning working class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, which sometimes last over four hours.
Springsteen in 2012
Springsteen attended Freehold High School in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, where a former teacher described him as a "loner who wanted nothing more than to play his guitar". He graduated in 1967, but felt so alienated that he skipped his graduation ceremony.
The Stone Pony, a live music club and bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where Springsteen and other E Street Band members played regularly in the 1970s; in the early 1980s; Springsteen met his second and current wife Patti Scialfa at The Stone Pony.
Springsteen and the E Street Band in February 1977