Forty years after the release of his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, Bruce Springsteen continues to sell out arenas and spark a level of fan fervor that eclipses even today’s most popular recording artists. Acclaimed music writer Clinton Heylin explores the meteoric rise of Springsteen and his legendary band in E STREET SHUFFLE: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Through conversations with Springsteen’s companions and collaborators, and access to never before seen shows and tapes, Heylin traces The Boss from the funky early days and the breakthrough of Born to Run, from the lo-fi Nebraska to the heights of Born in the USA, which would make him one of the most famous rock musicians ever. Yet beneath the rocket to stardom is a story of an obsessed songwriter beholden only to his muse, holed up in studios recording and then throwing away tens of songs while his label waited anxiously to receive something they could release. Far from the smiling, strutting star that he would become, Heylin’s Springsteen is a brooding introvert, trying to pair the lyrical flights of a singer-songwriter with the muscle of a bar band. The evolution of that band would be instrumental in shaping his sound, a true collaboration, though one that would diminish in time as Springsteen retreated further into the obsessive perfectionism that would prove both his most valuable asset and most debilitating flaw.

A must-read for any voracious fan of The Boss, E STREET SHUFFLE is both an eye-opening exploration of the creative process of one this country’s greatest songwriters, and a fresh look at his best music through the lens of his remarkable, beloved bandmates