JACKI LYDEN, Host:
Clarence Clemons' saxophone blasted across the 1980s musical landscape like a siren.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE A FRIEND OF MINE")
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE A FRIEND OF MINE")
LYDEN: Clemons re-recorded this 1985 hit, "You're a Friend of Mine," for a live album in 2003. He talked to NPR after its release.
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M: This album is special for me 'cause it does capture me at my best live.
LYDEN: Standing at 6 feet 5 inches with bulging biceps, Clemons was known as the Big Man. But he was the man behind Bruce Springsteen in the E Street band. And when Springsteen was inducted into the 1999 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he paid tribute to Clemons.
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M: The night I met Clarence, a sound came out of his horn that - it seemed to rattle the glasses behind the bar and threatened to blow out the back wall. And I knew I'd found my sax player.
LYDEN: Clemons' saxophone spiraled across musical genres, from the Grateful Dead to Aretha Franklin to Lady Gaga.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LYDEN: In a 1995 interview, Clemons said:
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M: When you die, we go back to the white energy of all the white energy, white heat that's flung against the sky and becomes a star. Death is not just the end, it's the beginning.
LYDEN: Clemons died last night from complications associated with a stroke he suffered a week ago. He was 69 years old.
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LYDEN: You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.