10 Awesome Bruce Springsteen Stories That Prove He's The Boss

7. $2m Severance Pay For The E Street Band

Bruce and The E Street Band had a fantastic initial run, but that run had to send sometime. Little Steven Van Zandt had already left the band in 1984, before the massive Born in the USA tour. By the time October 18th 1989 rolled around, Bruce told the band that he wanted to pursue other endeavours, too. And so the band went their separate ways.

Not all of them were happy with the decision, since they felt there was still a lot to be done as a band (they were right) but Bruce sweetened things a little bit by reportedly offering each member of the band $2m in severance pay. It should also be noted that Bruce doesn't take a bigger percentage of the gate for live shows: each member of the band (including himself) gets paid the same.

Chalk up band parity as another reason why Bruce is, and always will be, The Boss.