Little Steven
| Steven Van Zandt | |
|---|---|
Van Zandt at the 2011 MIPCOM, in Cannes
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Steven Lento |
| Also known as | Little Steven, Miami Steve, Silvio |
| Born |
November 22, 1950 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Origin | Middletown Township, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Rock, heartland rock |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Columbia, Epic, BMG |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | undergroundgarage |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Rickenbacker 660/12 Guild X-79 |
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Steven Van Zandt (born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, radio disc jockey and actor, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has also acted in television dramas such as The Sopranos (1999–2007) and Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt also had his own solo band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul in the 1980s. In 2014, Van Zandt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.
Steven Van Zandt was born on November 22, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts. Steven Van Zandt was born as Steven Lento and is of South Italian descent (his grandfather was from Calabria and his grandmother's parents were Neapolitans).
His mother, Mary Lento, remarried when he was young and Steven took the last name of his stepfather, William Van Zandt. The family moved from Massachusetts to Middletown Township, New Jersey, when he was seven.
Steven Van Zandt found his love for music at an early age, when he learned how to play the guitar. During the mid 1960s, Steven played in his first band as a teenager. Van Zandt later cites that Dave Clark Five was an early influence.
Actor/playwright/producer Billy Van Zandt is Steven's half-brother.
Van Zandt grew up in the Jersey Shore music scene, and was an early friend and pre-E Street bandmate of Bruce Springsteen. In the early seventies, he was a journeyman guitarist working as a sideman for The Dovells and several of Springsteen's early bands.
He co-founded the band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Van Zandt helped establish the rhythm and blues oriented style of music that the band performed. He also produced Southside's first three albums. Overall, Van Zandt wrote a significant bulk of Southside's music which helped provide them with the success that they achieved.
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Wikipedia