American musician (born 1953)
Musical artist
David Sancious
(born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of
Bruce Springsteen
's backing group, the
E Street Band
, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on
Human Touch
(1992),
Tracks
(1998), and
Western Stars
(2019). Sancious is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known as a keyboard player and guitarist.
[1]
He left the E Street Band in 1974 to form his own band,
Tone
, and released several albums. He subsequently became a popular
session
and touring musician, most notably for
Stanley Clarke
,
Narada Michael Walden
,
Zucchero Fornaciari
,
Eric Clapton
,
Peter Gabriel
,
Jack Bruce
, and
Sting
among many others. In 2014, Sancious was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
as a member of the E Street Band.
Work with Bruce Springsteen
[
edit
]
Sancious began to learn classical piano at seven and by eleven he had taught himself guitar. He was only in his teens when he first became involved in the
Asbury Park
music scene. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he played in various bands that included Springsteen and future members of The E Street Band, as well as
Southside Johnny
and
Bill Chinnock
. These bands included Glory Road, Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom, The Bruce Springsteen Band and The Sundance Blues Band.
From 1970 until the spring of 1973, Sancious divided his time between his native New Jersey and
Richmond, Virginia
, where he worked at Alpha Studios as a studio musician doing jingles and sessions. While working in Virginia, he met fellow New Jerseyan
Ernest Carter
. During those years, Springsteen played numerous gigs in and around Richmond. In June 1972, Sancious played keyboards on Springsteen's debut album,
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
In July 1972, Sancious recorded some demos with Carter and E Street Band bassist
Garry Tallent
(who also divided his time between New Jersey and Virginia.) Producer/songwriter
Wes Farrell
owned the rights to these demos and in 1976 he released them under the title
David Sancious,
without Sancious's permission.
The E Street Band was named after the street where Sancious's mother lived. In the band's early days, Springsteen and his bandmates used her garage at 1107 E Street in
Belmar, New Jersey
as a rehearsal space.
[2]
Springsteen began touring with the band in October 1972, but Sancious did not join the band full-time until June 1973.
From June 1973, Sancious began to tour regularly with the E Street Band. He added an extra dimension to the band's sound. Equally influenced by
Mozart
or
Thelonious Monk
, he would frequently use
classical music
or
jazz
during intros or instrumental breaks. Springsteen's second album,
The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle
, was a showcase for Sancious' talents. His most notable contributions include an organ solo on "
Kitty's Back
" and an evocative piano intro on "
New York City Serenade
". He is also credited with the string arrangement on the latter song, and even played
soprano saxophone
on "
The E Street Shuffle
".
In February 1974, drummer
Vini Lopez
left the E Street Band and Sancious recommended his friend, Ernest Carter, as a replacement. Later in the year Sancious and Carter helped record
the title track
of Springsteen's third album,
Born to Run
before leaving the band. Ironically, the band formally adopted the "E Street Band" name only after the band member whose family lived on that street (i.e., Sancious) left the group.
Sancious was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band on April 10, 2014. Sancious also joined Springsteen and the current lineup (along with Vini Lopez) for a performance of three songs. He also played two songs with
Peter Gabriel
, who was inducted on the same night.
[3]
In June 2023, Sancious said that he is set to appear on a follow-up to Springsteen's 2022 album
Only the Strong Survive
and that Bruce has completed 18 songs for the album. Sancious said he expects to tour with Springsteen to support the album in 2024.
[4]
David Sancious and Tone
[
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]
In August 1974 Sancious and Carter left the E Street Band and formed their own band
Tone
with bassist Gerald Carboy. At various times the band would feature
Gail Boggs
, Brenda Madison,
Patti Scialfa
,
Gayle Moran
(from
Return To Forever
and
The Mahavishnu Orchestra
), former Brian Auger, and future
Santana
vocalist
Alex Ligertwood
.
[5]
Springsteen encouraged Sancious in his solo career and made sure music executives heard his demos, leading to a contract with
Epic Records
.
Tone's 1975 debut album
Forest of Feelings
was produced by
Billy Cobham
. Sancious' work with Tone was a radical departure from the music he played with Springsteen; Tone explored progressive rock, gospel chorus (Fade Away, Sound of Love), and instrumental jazz fusion and had more in common with
Return to Forever
than Sancious' former boss.
Another album,
Transformation (The Speed of Love)
, followed in 1976, and a third album,
Dance of the Age of Enlightenment
, was recorded. However a dispute between Epic and Sancious' new label,
Arista Records
, over ownership rights meant it was shelved.
[3]
It would not be released until 2004 (when it briefly appeared as a Japanese bootleg CD). One more Tone album,
True Stories
, came out in 1978 but the band subsequently broke up.
Sancious released two solo albums,
Just As I Thought
(1979) and
The Bridge
(1980), and then put his solo career on hold. On Sunday, December 14, 1980, during the ten minutes' silence organized in memory of the recently murdered
John Lennon
, Sancious performed an extended improvisation based upon Lennon's
Across the Universe
. Commissioned by New York radio station
WNEW-FM
, the solo piano performance was broadcast live, with no audience present, from the empty stage of the
Capitol Theatre (Passaic)
.
Session and touring musician
[
edit
]
In the 1970s, Sancious toured and recorded with
Stanley Clarke
, playing guitar and keyboards in a band that included
John McLaughlin
and
Billy Cobham
.
In 1977 Sancious guested on the debut album by
Narada Michael Walden
. This was the first of several collaborations with the producer/songwriter. In the 1980s Walden regularly used a group of session musicians that included Sancious,
Randy Jackson
, and Corrado Rustici. These musicians recorded sessions with, among others,
Aretha Franklin
,
Patti Austin
, and E Streeter
Clarence Clemons
, all produced by Walden. Rustici also established himself as a producer, most notably with fellow Italian,
Zucchero Fornaciari
. Sancious, Walden, and Jackson played on Zucchero's
Rispetto
, produced by Rustici. This was the first of several albums Sancious would record with Zucchero.
During the early 1980s, he linked up again with
Billy Cobham
as a member of
Jack Bruce & Friends
and played with the band on
The Old Grey Whistle Test
and
Rockpalast
. He was then reunited with
Alex Ligertwood
when both were members of
Santana
.
In 1982, Sancious recorded and toured with
Jon Anderson
of
YES
. Jon's,
Animation
(1982) album features David extensively. On Jon's Spring and Summer 1982 US Animation tour, David played piano and synthesizer on several
YES
tunes as well as
Jon Anderson
tunes. Anderson included one of David's solo works in the set. "The Play and Display of the Heart" (track 3 on David Sancious & Tone's
Transformation (The Speed of Love)
album) was a regular showstopper. You can hear an entire Animation concert at
Wolfgang's Vault
[6]
By 1986, Sancious was a member of Peter Gabriel's touring band and he played with the singer during the
Amnesty International
Human Rights Now! Tour
. This led to a mini-reunion with Springsteen and the E Street Band, with Sancious sitting in on several occasions throughout the tour. He also recorded some new sessions with Springsteen which were later released on
Human Touch
and
Tracks
.
[3]
He also recorded and performed with two of that tour's other headliners,
Sting
and
Youssou N'Dour
. He played keyboards on Sting's
The Soul Cages
and
Ten Summoner's Tales
albums and toured with Sting in support of both.
[3]
Other session and touring work Sancious has done includes
Living Colour
,
Seal
,
Bryan Ferry
,
Julia Fordham
,
Robbie Dupree
,
Natalie Merchant
,
Eric Clapton
,
Jon Anderson
of
Yes
, and
Hall & Oates
.
Sancious released
Nine Piano Improvisations
(2000) and
Cinema
(2005).
In 2005 Sancious would be interviewed for, and featured in, the
Wings for Wheels
documentary included on the
Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition
re-release of the Springsteen song and album. Sancious teamed up with guitarist and singer /songwriter
Francis Dunnery
in 2006 to play keyboards and make several live appearances for Dunnery's
The Gulley Flats Boys
. In 2007, Sancious released
LIVE in the now
, a selection of recordings of live performances by Sancious featuring drummer Joe Bonadio on several tracks.
In 2007 and 2008 Sancious toured with Zucchero Fornaciari during the "Fly" and "All the Best" world tours.
[3]
In 2009, Sancious toured Australia, New Zealand, and Japan on keyboards with
Jeff Beck
, who was accompanied by
Vinnie Colaiuta
on drums and
Tal Wilkenfeld
on bass. In 2010, Sancious toured the UK with Francis Dunnery "Fearless Tour", Tony Beard on drums, Jamie Bishop on bass & Dorie Jackson vocals.
In 2016, Sancious played with
Peter Gabriel
and
Sting
on a co-headlined tour.
[7]
Discography
[
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]
With Bruce Springsteen
[
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]
David Sancious and Tone
[
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]
David Sancious
[
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]
- Forest of Feelings
(1975)
- David Sancious
(1976)
- David Sancious ? The Chelsea Demos
(1977) (unauthorized bootleg)
- Just as I Thought
(1979)
- The Bridge
(1982,
Elektra/Musician
)
- Nine Piano Improvisations
(2000)
- Cinema
(2005)
- LIVE in the now
(2007)
- Eyes Wide Open
(2020)
With Jack Bruce and Friends
[
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]
With Santana
[
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]
- Beyond Appearances
(1985) ? rhythm guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, guitar. Co-writer of song "Brotherhood".
David Sancious / Zucchero
[
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]
- Snackbar Budapest
(soundtrack) (1988)
With Eric Clapton
[
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]
With Stanley Clarke
[
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]
With France Gall
[
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]
- Live at the Olympia in Paris
(1996)
- Concert Prive M6
(1997)
With Zucchero Fornaciari
[
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]
- Rispetto
(1986)
- Blue's
(1987)
- Oro Incenso & Birra
(1989)
- Zucchero
(1990)
- Live at the Kremlin
(1991)
- Miserere
(1992)
- Diamante
(1994)
- Spirto DiVino
(1995)
- The Best of Zucchero
(1996)
- Shake
(2001)
- Zucchero & Co
(2004)
With Peter Gabriel
[
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]
With Sting
[
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]
With Jon Anderson
[
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]
With Francis Dunnery
[
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]
With Robbie Dupree
[
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]
- Robbie Dupree with David Sancious
(2003)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Henderson, Alex.
"Biography: David Sancious"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
May 6,
2010
.
- ^
"How The E Street Band Got Its Name"
.
Rockandrollgps.com
. January 14, 2015
. Retrieved
February 8,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Greene, Andy (August 19, 2020).
"David Sancious on His Journey From the E Street Band to Tours With Sting, Peter Gabriel"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
December 18,
2023
.
- ^
Taysom, Joe (June 15, 2023).
"Bruce Springsteen has recorded another album of soul covers"
.
Far Out Magazine
. Retrieved
June 16,
2023
.
- ^
Wien, Gary (2003).
Beyond the Palace
.
Trafford Publishing
. p. 75.
ISBN
9781412003148
. Retrieved
August 6,
2014
.
- ^
"The World's Largest Collection of Live Recordings at Wolfgang's"
.
Concerts.wolfgangsvault.com
. Retrieved
January 21,
2020
.
- ^
"US Rehearsals Begin"
.
TonyLevin.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2021
.
External links
[
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]
|
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|
Studio albums
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Live albums
| |
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Bruce Springsteen
Archives
|
- Apollo Theater 3/09/12
(2014)
- The Agora, Cleveland 1978
(2015)
- Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975
(2015)
- Nassau Coliseum, New York 1980
(2015)
- Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey 1984
(2015)
- LA Sports Arena, California 1988
(2015)
- Schottenstein Center, Ohio 2005
(2015)
- Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome 2013
(2015)
- Arizona State University, Tempe 1980
(2015)
- The Christic Shows 1990
(2016)
- HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY, 11/22/09
(2016)
- Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO, 8/23/08
(2017)
- Olympiastadion, Helsinki, July 31, 2012
(2017)
- Palace Theatre, Albany 1977
(2017)
- Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY 1977
(2017)
- The Summit, Houston, TX December 8, 1978
(2017)
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Soundtracks
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Compilations
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Box sets
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EPs
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Video releases
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Concerts
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Singles
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Live
performances
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Related articles
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(Ahmet Ertegun Award)
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