I heard a political message in rock music. A liberation message. A message of freedom. I heard it in Elvis' voice.

I had a ten-piece band when I was 21 years old, the Bruce Springsteen Band. This is just a slightly expanded version of a band I had before I ever signed a record contract. We had singers and horns.

There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.

You can beat on your chest, hell, any monkey can.

Walk tall, or baby don't walk at all.

You may not be able to hit all the notes. That's OK. You may not have the clearest tone. You may not have the greatest range. But if you can inhabit your song, you can communicate.

You need two things to remain very, very present. You need to continue to write well and engage yourself in the issues of the day. And you have to continue to make good, relevant records.