By now, I’m sure that you’ve all seen that Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for the E Street Band, has died.

Clemons seemed to be a character out of a storybook — or better yet, a widescreen movie about the triumph of a romantic gang of rock ’n’ roll renegades. Wildly popular among fans of the E Street Band, he was the sort of larger-than-life figure to whom legends accrued. Recognizing this, Clemons and Springsteen did much to play up those legends: “Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales,” Clemons’ 2009 autobiography written with Don Reo, combined genuine reflections with fiction in an attempt to capture the mythical quality of the musician.
Springsteen’s oft-told story of his initial meeting with Clemons felt Biblical: with a lightning storm raging outside, the Big Man tore the door off an Asbury Park club, strode onstage, and made magic. (Springsteen would later immortalize this meeting in “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out,” a song on “Born to Run.”)
Was this embellished? Most likely. But reality never seemed quite big enough to accommodate Clarence Clemons.

I can think of no better way to celebrate his life than with some of his music.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFAr2AbvvF8&feature=related]
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band burn down the house with “Badlands”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTJHhUeAfc]
Clemons’ near-mythical “Jungleland” solo.