Danny Federici, 1950-2008

Danny Federici, keyboardist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, played the first note of "Backstreets." That's him on the accordion on "Fourth of July, Asbury Park." And on the swirling storm of organ on "Born to Run."

Federici died today in New York, from melanoma. One of the greatest rock bands of all time, in its original form, is gone forever. Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, Steve Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Roy Bittan, and Gary Tallent have lost a friend. My sense of loss is nothing in comparison, but I feel there's a part of my youth that will never be complete again. This is the band roster I've been able to rattle off -- like THAT -- for almost 30 years.

A lot of superlatives and imagery about Greatness get thrown around when it comes to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, but what matters is that every time I saw them, they gave it their all. Four-hour shows, night after night. A week, sold out, at the L.A. Coliseum in 1985. I've never seen anyone work harder. The fourth and last time, in 1999, I remember noticing how amazingly tight they sounded as they rolled into "Thunder Road."

Bruce and the band will go on, with someone else's help, but it'll never be quite the same again.