Adele Springsteen, mother of Bruce Springsteen, has died
Adele Springsteen, proud mom of Bruce Springsteen and a long-time Freehold resident, died Wednesday, Jan 31, Springsteen announced on social.
She was 98.
Springsteen shared a video of him and his mom dancing, in a private setting, to Glenn Miller's "In the Mood," with lyrics from his tribute to her, "The Wish," which was performed nightly in "Springsteen on Broadway."
"I’m older but you’ll know me in a glance," Springsteen posted. "We’ll find us a little rock ‘n roll bar and we’ll go out and dance."
Springsteen fans were saddened by the news, announced on the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 1
“Our hearts are breaking over the loss of Adele Springsteen,” said Howie Chaz, founder of the Spring-Nuts Springsteen fan club. “We all know how much she meant for our Bruce and all of the Springsteen family. If you don’t, just listen to 'The Wish.' She was the foundation and matriarch of that family. We genuinely feel that the Springsteen family loss is our loss as well. If you watch any video she was in, look at any photo of Adele, her smile just made you smile. Very sad day.
“On behalf of Spring-Nuts, our deepest condolences and sympathies to Bruce, Ginny, Pamela and all the Springsteen family during this difficult time. May her name be remembered as a blessing.”
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Freehold Mayor Kevin Kane expressed his condolences.
“On behalf of my colleagues on the Borough Council as well as all of the residents of Freehold Borough we express our sincerest sympathy and deepest sadness upon learning of the passing of Adele Zerilli Springsteen," said Kane in a statement. "Our prayers and condolences go out to Bruce and his entire family as we recall his mom and her days in our hometown.”
Adele Zerilli was born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. She and Douglas Springsteen, Bruce's father, married in 1948. Bruce was born on Sept. 23, 1949, and the pair would have two more children, daughters Virginia and Pamela.
Douglas had a series of blue-collar jobs in Freehold and elsewhere, including the former Ford plant in Edison. Adele was the family's steady breadwinner, working at the former Lawyers Title Building at 19 East Main St. in Freehold.
Bruce spoke of meeting his mom as a child after work in Freehold in “Springsteen on Broadway.”
“She'd be looking down at me with a look that for me, was like the grace of Mary,” Bruce said. “Made me understand for the first time how good it feels, to feel pride in somebody that you love and who loves you back.”
Bruce credited his mom and her sisters, Dora Kirby and Eda Urbelis, with imbuing the young Boss with his musical passion.
“My mom loved music, Top 40 music; the radio was always on in the car and in the kitchen in the morning,” wrote Bruce in his memoir, “Born to Run.” “From Elvis on out, my sister and I shuffled out of bed and downstairs to be greeted by the hit records of the day pouring out of the tiny radio that sat on the top of our refrigerator.”
Adele brought the future rock superstar his first guitar at Diehl's music on South Street in Freehold, and she kept a comprehensive scrap book of Bruce's budding career. It was displayed at the "Springsteen: His Hometown" exhibit at the Monmouth County Historical Society in Freehold.
Adele, who had moved to California with Douglas in 1969, was not an infrequent guest at her son's shows following Douglas' passing in 1998. She wore a seasonal outfit when she danced on stage with Springsteen at Convention Hall in Asbury Park in the early 2000s, and she hit the stage of the city's Stone Pony during a benefit show the Boss did there.
The public dances with her son became rare in recent years. Their last was in 2018 at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park as the Eddie Testa Band played “Some Kind of Wonderful,” originally by Soul Brothers Six, and “Eight Days a Week” by the Beatles.
Adele became something of a social media star in the days after her 96th birthday in 2021. The Spring-Nuts posted a widely shared video of her dancing at Bruce shows.
“That puts a smile on my face,” commented daughter Pamela.
Later, Patti Scialfa, Bruce’s wife and a member of the E Street Band, wished a happy birthday to “my ever smiling mother-in-law … mama Adele!!! 96 years old but forever young! (heart emoji).”
Rita Wilson, also a singer and wife of Tom Hanks, concurred.
“Happy Birthday Adele! Keep dancing!” commented Wilson.
Adele suffered from Alzheimer's disease in her later years. In "Springsteen on Broadway," Bruce said her radiant love of music and life never diminished.
“This is an essential part of mom’s spirit, it’s who she is,” Springsteen said. “It’s beyond language, and it’s more powerful than memory. It’s the embodiment. This is what she has put her trust in and lived her life by and which, despite all she has suffered, she carries on with to this moment, as if life’s beauty never deserted her. I love her.”
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen's mom, Adele Springsteen, dies at 98
