Bruce Springsteen's mother, Adele, has died at the age of 98, the singer announced in a devastating Instagram post on Thursday.
The 74-year-old Dancing in the Dark hitmaker Springsteen announced the death of his beloved mother by sharing a touching video of Adele dancing with him to the music alongside a caption composed of lyrics from his 1998 song The Wish – which he wrote for her.
“Adele Springsteen – May 4, 1925 – January 31, 2024,” he wrote.
“I remember one morning my mom heard my alarm clock go off. I would lie in bed and listen to you getting ready for work, and the sound of your makeup case on the sink.
“And the ladies in the office are all red lipstick and perfume and skirts rustling, how proud and happy you always looked coming home from work.”
“It's not a Sunday phone call or flowers or a Mother's Day card. It's not a house on the hill with a garden and a nice little yard. I've got my hot rod on Bond Street, and I'm older but you'll know me at a glance. We'll find us a little rock 'n' bar Roll and we'll go out and dance.
Adele was popular and loved by Springsteen's fans because she would often attend his shows and he would dance with her on stage.
During Springsteen's performance on Broadway in 2021, he said:My mother loves to dance. I grew up in the 1940s… [with] Big bands and swing bands, and it was a time when dancing was an existential act.
He continued: “She is 95 years old and has had Alzheimer's for 10 years, and it has taken a lot from us. But the need to dance has not left her.”
“She can't talk.” She can't stand. She can't feed herself. But when you see me, there's always a smile. Still smiling. And there is still a kiss. And there's a sound she makes when she sees me. It's just a sound but I know it means “I love you.”
“She put on Glenn Miller and started moving around in her chair […] She started reaching out to me, taking her in my arms again and dancing with her on the floor.
“This is an essential part of a mother's soul, which is who she is,” he said. “It goes beyond language and is more powerful than memory. It is embodiment.
“This is what she trusted and lived her life by, and which despite everything she has been through, she continues to do to this moment, as if the beauty of life had never abandoned her.” I love her.'
Adele Ann Zerilli was originally from the Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. She married Bruce's father Douglas Springsteen in 1948 after his cousin set them up. Douglas died in 1998 at the age of 73.
Bruce and his younger sisters Pamela and Virginia grew up in Freehold, New Jersey.
Adele worked as a legal secretary for 47 years while Douglas was a bus driver and World War II Army veteran. Douglas struggled with depression throughout his life, and Bruce also had his own crippling battle with mental health.
The family moved to California when Bruce was 19, and he remained in New Jersey to pursue his then-burgeoning music career.
“There are no words to describe it,” Adele told the San Mateo County Times in 1984. “What would you do if your child was smiling at you from every PEOPLE magazine in town?
“All of our kids are nice kids. We are so proud of them all.
Bruce detailed his turbulent relationship with his father, who was unable to tell his son that he loved him despite their relationship recovering somewhat before his death in 1998, in his memoir, Born To Run.
The best you can get is: “I love you, Pops.” [Switching to his father’s gruff voice.] “Me too,” he told Vanity Fair.
Even after he had a stroke and was crying, he kept saying, “Me too.” You could hear his voice breaking, but he couldn't get the words out.
“Lifelong beer expert. General travel enthusiast. Social media buff. Zombie maven. Communicator.”