Shayne Kaye/Flicker
Springsteen & The E Street Band at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC Nov. 26, 2012

TRENTON – So, what are you doing on Sept. 23? You might want to ask your boss to give you the day off so you can celebrate “Bruce Springsteen Day” in New Jersey.

After seeing Springsteen’s Tony Award-winning Broadway residency show, Bergen County Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle introduced an Assembly joint resolution in the NJ Legislature Monday, Jan. 27 to designate the annual holiday in recognition of his contributions to the state.

Springsteen, 70, who was born in Long Branch on Sept. 23, 1949 and grew up in Freehold, is a member of the NJ Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of 2008, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has won 20 Grammy Awards.

Earning the nickname, The Boss, Springsteen has sold more than 120 million records as the musical spokesman for the working class and the “storyteller of the American Dream,” Huttle told a NJ Advance Media reporter Brent Johnson.

“Every song tells a story of the struggles and dreams of the people of New Jersey,” she said.

Both houses of the Legislature would need to approve the resolution to put it on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for his signature, which is not out of the realm of possibilities. Murphy has already signed legislation naming Nov. 17 as Danny Devito Day. There are also other NJ celebrity name days, including Frank Sinatra Day, Meryl Streep Day and Whitney Houston Day in New Jersey. All have been induced into the NJ Hall of Fame.

You can read the legislation here. Show it to your boss to ask if you can get the day off, and then let us know how you would celebrate Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey.

Categories: Downbeach

Nanette LoBiondo Galloway

Award winning journalist covering news, events and people of Atlantic County for more than 20 years.