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Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
as a member of the E Street Band.


Early life

Scialfa grew up in
Deal, New Jersey Deal is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, settled by Europeans in the mid-1660s and named after an English carpenter from Deal, Kent. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 900, an increas ...
on the
Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
.Stewart, Allison
"Patti Scialfa's Glory Days; With 'Lullaby,' the Boss's Wife Steps Into the Spotlight"
'' The Washington Post'', June 20, 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2012. "Scialfa (pronounced SKAL-fah) grew up in the affluent suburb of Deal, N.J., and attended the prestigious jazz program at the University of Miami before moving to New York."
She was the middle child of Joseph Scialfa and Patricia (née Morris) Scialfa. Her father was of Sicilian ancestry and her mother is from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She also has half-siblings from her father's second marriage. Her father was a successful local entrepreneur, who started a television store and became a real estate developer.


Asbury Park High School

Scialfa began writing songs at an early age. She graduated from Asbury Park High School in 1971. Following high school, she first began working as a back-up singer for New Jersey bar bands.


University of Miami and New York University

She began college at the University of Miami's jazz conservatory at the
Frost School of Music Frost School of Music is the music school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1926 to 2003, it was known as University of Miami School of Music. Academics and programs The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was on ...
, later transferring to New York University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in music. In 1994, she told ''
Lear's Magazine ''Lear's'' was a monthly women's magazine, intended for women over 50. It covered celebrity interviews, women's issues, and many progressive issues. Its slogan was "For The Woman Who Wasn't Born Yesterday". It was published from 1988 until early 1 ...
'' that she had little talent for anything but music and that she attended college as a way to further her ambitions as a performer while also satisfying parental expectations.


Music career

While in college at the University of Miami and later at New York University, Scialfa began recording original music for other artists. However, none of her songs were recorded. After her college graduation, she worked as a busker and waitress in Greenwich Village. Together with
Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly The Sessions Band. Biography Tyrell wa ...
and Lisa Lowell, she formed a street group known as Trickster. For many years, she struggled to make her way in the songwriting and recording industry in New York City and New Jersey before playing at Folk City and Kenny's Castaways in Greenwich Village and The Stone Pony in
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188
. Scialfa had a brief role in The Stone Pony's house band
Cats on a Smooth Surface Cats on a Smooth Surface is an American rock group, that starting in 1978 and throughout the 1980s was the house band at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey In the years 1981 and 1982, the band's lineup consisted of Bobby Bandiera on lead gu ...
. These gigs won her notice and, eventually, recording work with Southside Johnny and David Johansen. In 1984, Scialfa joined the E Street Band, three or four days before the opening show of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. In 1986, she appeared on the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
' '' Dirty Work'' album, leaving her vocal mark on "One Hit (To the Body)" as well as other tracks. She worked with Keith Richards on his first solo album ''
Talk is Cheap ''Talk Is Cheap'' is the debut solo album by English musician Keith Richards, the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released during a long-standing falling out with Mick Jagger, ''Talk Is Cheap'' received positive r ...
''.
Steve Jordan Steve, Stephen, or Steven Jordan may refer to: Music * Steve Jordan (guitarist) (1919–1993), American jazz guitarist * Steve Jordan (drummer) (born 1957), American drummer, studio musician * Steve Jordan (accordionist) (born Esteban Jordan) (1939 ...
, who co-produced the Richards record, was a friend of Scialfa's from her Greenwich Village days. Scialfa's music industry friendships with Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell are long-standing, pre-dating their mutual work as background vocalists and musicians on the 1987
Buster Poindexter David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
album, featuring a Soca song by
Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
, " Hot Hot Hot"). Lowell and Tyrell have since worked on various Springsteen-Scialfa recording projects and Tyrell, a violinist, has recorded and toured with Springsteen and the E Street Band. Scialfa has recorded three solo albums, 1993's ''
Rumble Doll ''Rumble Doll'' is the debut full-length album from singer-songwriter Patti Scialfa. It features twelve tracks, eleven by Scialfa and one co-written with Mike Campbell. It also features a number of guest stars in production and playing roles, n ...
'', 2004's '' 23rd Street Lullaby'' and 2007's '' Play It As It Lays''. Her first two albums received four-star reviews from '' Rolling Stone'', while the third received three and a half stars. Her records are a mix of confessional songwriting, impressive vocal range, and traditional country, folk and rock music. Springsteen and fellow E Street bandmates, like Nils Lofgren and Roy Bittan have contributed to her albums. Following the release of Scialfa's second album, she played a series of club dates on the
East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
and was the opening act of the post-final night of the
Vote for Change The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed ...
tour. In 2009 and again in 2011, Scialfa confirmed that she had written most of the songs for her fourth album and was trying to find the time to record it.


Personal life

Scialfa first met
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
in the early 1980s at The Stone Pony, an
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188
bar where Springsteen and his band regularly played. In 1984, Scialfa postponed recording her solo record to join Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. Tour. After the tour, Scialfa started a short-term relationship with actor Tom Cruise. In August 1988, Springsteen's first wife Julianne Phillips filed for divorce, and Scialfa and Springsteen started living together afterward in New Jersey and later in New York City before relocating to Los Angeles, where they started a family. Springsteen and Phillips's divorce was finalized in 1989. On July 25, 1990, Scialfa gave birth to the couple's first child, Evan James Springsteen. Scialfa and Springsteen married on June 8, 1991 at their Los Angeles home in a ceremony attended by family and close friends. Their second child, Jessica Rae Springsteen, was born December 30, 1991, and their third child, Samuel Ryan Springsteen, was born January 5, 1994. The family returned to New Jersey in the early 1990s and now lives in Colts Neck, New Jersey. They also own homes in Wellington, Florida, near West Palm Beach, and Los Angeles. On July 17, 2022, Scialfa and Springsteen became first time grandparents with the birth of their granddaughter Lily Harper Springsteen, daughter of their son Sam.


Discography

* ''
Rumble Doll ''Rumble Doll'' is the debut full-length album from singer-songwriter Patti Scialfa. It features twelve tracks, eleven by Scialfa and one co-written with Mike Campbell. It also features a number of guest stars in production and playing roles, n ...
'' (1993) * '' 23rd Street Lullaby'' (2004) – (#152, US ''Billboard'' 200) * '' Play It As It Lays'' (2007) – (#90, US Billboard 200) * Contributed a song called "Children's Song" to the charity album ''Every Mother Counts'', the song is a duet with her husband, Bruce Springsteen (2011) * "Linda Paloma" (from the album ''Looking into You: A Tribute To Jackson Browne''), a duet with Bruce Springsteen (2014).


Notes


External links


Official website
* *
Patti Scialfa at MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scialfa, Patti 1953 births Living people American street performers American acoustic guitarists American women singers American rock guitarists American rock songwriters American rock singers Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes members Bruce Springsteen American people of Northern Ireland descent Asbury Park High School alumni American people of Italian descent Jersey Shore musicians Singer-songwriters from New Jersey New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey People from Deal, New Jersey People from Rumson, New Jersey E Street Band members University of Miami Frost School of Music alumni People from Wellington, Florida Guitarists from New Jersey 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists The Sessions Band members