Showbiz411

Bruce Springsteen is the new Person of the Year from MusiCares. Springsteen will be honored on February 8, 2013, two nights before the Grammy Awards. A bunch of artists he selects will perform his songs, and then Bruce and the E Street Band will put on a nine hour show to demonstrate their appreciation. (Just kidding! Only seven hours!) Springsteen follows Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Sting, Don Henley and many other big names in this endeavor. Hopefully, he’ll choose Patti Smith, the Pointer Sisters, Manfred Mann, and others who’ve had hits with his songs. That would be a riot. And of course that country singer who has a hit called “Springsteen” would be funny, too. Some other Bruce faves may turn up as well, like Sam Moore, Darlene Love, and Garland Jeffries. It will be quite a night. MusiCares raises money to help indigent musicians and those who need health and regular bills paid. With Obamacare, things should be a little better, but the vast majority of musicians don’t have health insurance and aren’t prepared for a crisis. MusiCares is ready to help them.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.