Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Stevie Van Zandt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Van_Zandt

Steven Lento was born on Nov. 22, 1950, in Winthrop, Massachusetts. He is best known by his stage name of Stevie Van Zandt, adopted from his grandfather. He is an Italian-American  radio DJ, musician, songwriter, music arranger, producer, actor. His nicknames include Little Miami Steve and he is best known for being a member of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, where he plays guitar and mandolin. He also acts on the side, playing Silvio Dante on the HBO show The Sopranos.



He grew up in the Jersey Shore neighborhood, nowadays popularly known as the Shore, made famous by the MTV show Jersey Shore. He joined the E-Street band in 1975, and was partially responsible for the song Born to Run. He lists his musical influences as the Dave Clark 5 and Paul Shaffer. In 1984, Van Zandt left the E-Street band officially,and after a few albums as a solo man, he rejoined the band which was reformed in 1995. When the band played at the 2009 Super Bowl, Van Zandt and Springsteen got the most face time during their rendition of Glory Days. In 1999, Van Zandt took on the role of level-headed, deadly mob consigliere and strip club owner Silvio Dante on the HBO show The Sopranos. That is where he met the woman who would soon be his real life wife. Maureen Van Zant is an actress who occasionally played his wife Gabriella Dante. His trademark look consists of gypsy like clothes and a bandanna on his head. It is to cover up a permanent hair loss recieved from a car accident long ago where he hit his head on the windshield. However, on the Sopranos, he wears a pompadour toupee to cover up his hair loss.

Ever since 2002, he has been the host of a radio show called Little Steven's Underground Garage, which frequently gives airplay to musicians from the 1950s and on, and garage rock band. He also has a show on the Sirius radio network. One of the hosts of the show, called Underground Garage, includes former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog-Oldham, rock singer Joan Jett, punk rocker Handsome Dick Manitoba. but he is not to be confused with Steve Van Zandt, who does Steve and Jackie in hte Morning, a show on WROW out of Albany, New York

He is currently married to Maureen Santoro(now Maureen Van Zandt), who played his Sopranos wife Gabriella Dante. At the wedding, the wedding band from the Godfather film played, and they married on Dec. 31, 1982, with Bruce Springsteen as best man and Little Richard as the reverend. And at the reception, Percy Sledge sang his hit When a Man Loves a Woman.

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