Nils Lofgren has spent nearly 50 years playing at the sides of rock legends Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr. So, why don’t people know who he is?
On June 21, 1951, Nils was born in Chicago, IL. His family moved and he grew up in the Washington, DC, area. He was another precocious music talent, who started 10 years of classical accordion lessons when he was 5. At 15, he turned to rock and learned to play guitar. In 1968, Nils was playing in a DC band called Grin, when he met and became friends with Neil Young. Young invited him to come out to California and work with him. It’s not clear whether Neil expected Lofgren and his band to show up at his Topanga Canyon house and crash on the floor for a few months, but that’s what happened.
Nils was ever present, and ever practicing at Neil’s home and studio. He was invited to join Young’s band when he was 18, and played guitar and piano on After the Gold Rush (1970). Nils had never played piano before, but Neil correctly assumed his accordion training would enable him to do the job. After the album was finished, Young gave Nils an old Martin D-18 acoustic guitar. it remains the most treasured instrument in his collection. Nils also joined Young’s lifelong side band, Crazy Horse, and played on its self-titled 1971 album. He parlayed these credits into a recording contract for Grin. The band produced 4 albums of solid, but hit-less music, and were dropped by their record company and broke up in 1974.
So began a solo career that has produced two dozen albums. The first was critically acclaimed by Jon Landau, then writing for Rolling Stone. Landau soon became Bruce Springsteen’s manager, and they were both impressed with Nils work. That would prove fortuitous. Nils continued to play on Neil Young’s albums and tours (Tonight’s the Night, Trans, In Berlin and Unplugged), and also played on Lou Reed’s The Bells (1979).
In 1984, Steve Van Zandt left the E. Street Band. The first call Bruce Springsteen made was to Nils. He replaced Little Steven as lead guitarist and co-vocalist for the Born in the USA tour, and has been in the band on album and on tour ever since. When Van Zandt rejoined the band for the 1999 Reunion tour, Nils began stretching his contributions to Springsteen’s music. In recent years, he can be heard playing slide, Dobro, banjo and pedal steel, in addition to lead riffs and rhythm guitar. Nils also played on Patti Scialfa’s 23rd Street Lullaby album and tour.
In 1989 and 1993, Nils toured with Ringo Starr as part of his All Star Band.
In 2008, Nils put out The Loner: Nils Sings Neil, a beautiful collection of covers of Young’s best known songs. They are performed acoustically, with that Martin D-18, piano and voice.
Nils was inducted into the rock HOF as a member of the E. Street Band in 2014.
A trained gymnast, Nils is also known for his flips and trampoline feats on stage while playing guitar -- and never missing a note.
Happy Birthday, Nils Lofgren!
