Bruce Springsteen is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is both a solo artist and the leader of the E Street Band. During a career that has spanned six decades, Springsteen has received various accolades including an Academy Award, 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards. He has received several honors including with the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023.
Springsteen has become known for his poetic and socially conscious lyrics and lengthy, energetic stage performances. He has earned numerous awards for his music, including 20 Grammy Awards out of 51 nominations. Springsteen received his first Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Dancing in the Dark" (1985) followed by a win for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for his album Tunnel of Love (1988). He wrote and sung the song "Streets of Philadelphia" for the legal drama Philadelphia (1993) for which he won four Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Vocal Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media. He also won Best Rock song for "The Rising" (2003), "Radio Nowhere" (2008), "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (2009), and "We Take Care of Our Own" (2013). He won for Best Contemporary Folk Album for The Ghost of Tom Joad in 1997 and Best Traditional Folk Album for We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions in 2007.
Springsteen is also known for writing several songs for film including "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Jonathan Demme directed legal drama Philadelphia (1993) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. He wrote "Dead Man Walkin'", the title song for the Tim Robbins drama Dead Man Walking (1995) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also wrote, "The Wrestler" from the Darren Aronofsky psychological drama The Wrestler (2008) for which he won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song as well as a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. He wrote the song "Addicted to Romance" for the Rebecca Miller romantic comedy She Came to Me (2023) for which he was nominated for his third Golden Globe Award.
He is also known for his work on television. He has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special for his television special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001), Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program for the Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl Halftime Show (2009) and Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for the Netflix special Springsteen on Broadway (2019). On stage, he a Special Tony Award for his Broadway concert residency Springsteen on Broadway in 2018.
Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 71 million records in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling artists. Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Springsteen has also been honored by Rolling Stone Magazine with them ranking him No. 23 of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and Time Magazine listing him among the 100 Most Influential People of the Year in 2008.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1993 Best Original Song "Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia) 1995 "Dead Man Walkin'" (from Dead Man Walking)
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2008 Best Song "The Wrestler" (from The Wrestler) Critics' Choice Documentary Awards 2019 Best Narration Western Stars
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 2001 Outstanding Variety Special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 2009 Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl Halftime Show 2019 Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) Springsteen on Broadway
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1993 Best Original Song "Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia) 2008 Best Original Song "The Wrestler" (from The Wrestler) 2023 Best Original Song "Addicted to Romance" (from She Came to Me)
Grammy Awards Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards out of 51 nominations.
Year Category Nominated work Result 1981Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male "Devil with the Blue Dress"/ "Good Golly Miss Molly" / "Jenny Take a Ride" 1982 The River 1985 Record of the Year"Dancing in the Dark" Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male Album of the Year Born in the U.S.A. 1986 Record of the Year "Born in the U.S.A." 1988 Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance Tunnel of Love Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male "Brilliant Disguise" Best Rock Instrumental Performance "Paradise By The "C"" 1993 Best Rock Song "Human Touch" Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male Human Touch 1995 Best Rock Song"Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia) Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male Song of the Year Best Song Written for Visual Media Record of the Year 1997 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance "Dead Man Walkin'" Best Music Video, Long Form Blood Brothers Best Contemporary Folk Album The Ghost of Tom Joad 1998 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance "Thunder Road" 2000 Best Rock Song"The Promise" Best Male Rock Vocal Performance 2003 Album of the YearThe Rising Best Rock Album Song of the Year"The Rising" Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Best Rock Song 2004 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal "Disorder in The House" (with Warren Zevon) 2005 Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance "Code of Silence" 2006 Best Contemporary Folk AlbumDevils & Dust Best Long Form Music Video Song of the Year"Devils & Dust" Best Rock Song Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance 2007 Best Traditional Folk Album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions Best Long Form Music Video "Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run" 2008 Best Rock Album Magic Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance"Radio Nowhere" Best Rock Song Best Rock Instrumental Performance "Once Upon a Time in the West" 2009 Best Rock Song"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance 2010 Best Song Written for Visual Media "The Wrestler" (from the film 'The Wrestler') Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals "Sea of Heartbreak" (with Rosanne Cash) Best Rock Song"Working on a Dream" Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance 2013 Best Rock Performance"We Take Care of Our Own" Best Rock Song Best Rock Album Wrecking Ball 2018 Best Spoken Word Album Born to Run 2023 Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Only the Strong Survive Grammy Hall of Fame 2003 Grammy Hall of Fame Born to Run 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame Born in the U.S.A. 2021 Grammy Hall of Fame Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2018 Special Tony Award Himself
Miscellaneous awards AwardYearCategoryNominated workResult American Music Awards 1985 Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Himself Favorite Pop/Rock Song "Dancing in the Dark" Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video Artist Himself 1986 Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Himself 1986 Favorite Pop/Rock Album Born in the U.S.A. Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video Artist Himself 2016 Tour of the Year The River Tour 2016 Audie Awards 2018 Best Autobiography/Memoir Born to Run Brit Awards 1985 International Artist Himself 1986International Solo Artist 1987International Solo Artist 2003International Male Solo Artist 2006International Male Solo Artist 2008International Male Solo Artist 2010International Male Solo Artist 2011International Male Solo Artist 2013International Male Solo Artist 2020International Male Solo ArtistIvor Novello Awards2024 Academy Fellowship Himself Juno Awards 1985 International Album of the Year Born in the U.S.A. 1993 International Entertainer of the Year Himself MTV Video Music Awards 1985 Best Male Video "I'm on Fire" Best Stage Performance "Dancing in the Dark" Best Overall Performance "Dancing in the Dark" Viewer's Choice "We Are the World" 1986 Best Male Video "Glory Days" Best Overall Performance "Glory Days" 1987 Best Stage Performance "Born to Run" Best Stage Performance "War" 1988 Video of the Year "Tunnel of Love" Best Male Video "Tunnel of Love" Viewer's Choice "Tunnel of Love" 1992 "Human Touch" Best Male Video 1994 Best Male Video "Streets of Philadelphia" Best Video from a Film "Streets of Philadelphia" 1997 Best Video from a Film "Secret Garden"
Honorary awards Organizations Year Award Result Stig Anderson Music Foundation 1997 Polar Music Prize Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1999 Induction Songwriters Hall of Fame 1999 Induction New Jersey Hall of Fame 2007 Induction New Zealand 1999 The minor planet 23990 was named in his honor Rolling Stone Magazine 2004 Ranked No. 23 of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time Time Magazine 2008 100 Most Influential People of the Year John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2009 Kennedy Center Honors Forbes Magazine 2009 Ranked 6th in The Celebrity 100 Ellis Island Foundation 2010 Family Heritage Award MusiCares 2013 Person of the Year President Barack Obama 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom Woody Guthrie Center 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize President Joe Biden 2023 National Medal of Arts The Ivors Academy 2024 Academy Fellow Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 2025Legacy AwardAmerican Civil Liberties Union 2026Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science, and Sports
Other honors September 23, his birthday, recognized as Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey starting in 2023 Proclamation Monmouth University has held academic symposia in which scholars present on Springsteen's work, and the university houses the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music
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