Bruce Springsteen has one of the most iconic, widely recognized nicknames in contemporary music history: The Boss. That doesn’t mean he loves it. In fact, it looks like he kind of dislikes it.
On an episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast (as People notes), Springsteen said, “‘The Boss,’ which dogged me my whole life, still does. I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve given up and gotten used to it, I suppose.”
Springsteen also explained that the nickname started from his band and crew: “‘Hey, boss.’ You know? ‘Are we getting paid this week?’ ‘Sure.’ And then some DJ heard it and started using it on the radio and it, you know, went viral, as they say. And so there it is.”
In Peter Ames Carlin’s 2012 biography Bruce, E Street Band member Stevie Van Zandt said, “I remember people calling him that and not taking it seriously. Not ’til I started calling him the Boss. Then they took it seriously because I was a boss, too. So when I started calling him the Boss the vibe was, ‘If Stevie’s doing it, there’s something to this!’”
Meanwhile, Springsteen is set to be portrayed in an upcoming biopic by Jeremy Allen White, and he’s impressed by the actor’s vocal abilities.