steve van zandt

Background information Birth name Steven Lento Also known as Little Steven and Miami Steve Born November 22, 1950 (1950-11-22) (age 58) Origin Boston, Massachusetts,

United States Genre(s) Rock, Heartland rock Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Musician, Producer, Actor, Disc jockey Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Mandolin Years active 1975 – present Label(s) Columbia, Epic, BMG Associated acts E Street Band, Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul Website Official website Notable instrument(s) Fender Stratocaster

Vox Mark III

Rickenbacker 660/12

Steven Van Zandt (born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve. He is best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin, and as an actor on the television drama The Sopranos, on which he played Silvio Dante. Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early years 1.2 Band member 1.3 Songwriter, arranger, producer 1.4 Solo artist 1.5 Band member again 1.6 Actor 1.7 Radio host and Program Director 1.8 Musical Director 1.9 Personal life 2 Little Steven Discography 3 References 4 External links //

Biography

Early years

Van Zandt, an Italian American,[1] (Sambiase, Calabria) was born as Steven Lento in Winthrop, Massachusetts. 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.

Actor/playwright/producer Billy Van Zandt is Steven Van Zandt's half brother.[2] He is not related to brothers Ronnie (of Lynyrd Skynyrd), Donnie (of .38 Special), and Johnny Van Zant (also of Lynyrd Skynyrd), nor to folk musician Townes Van Zandt, nor to Caitlin Van Zandt (actress who played Allegra Sacramoni on The Sopranos).[3]

Band member

Van Zandt then grew up in the Jersey Shore music scene, and was an early friend and pre-E Street bandmate of Springsteen. In the early seventies, he was a journeyman guitarist (working as a sideman for the the Dovells) as well as a founding member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and several of Bruce Springsteen's early bands.

In 1975, during the recording sessions for Born to Run, Springsteen - at a loss (according to author Dave Marsh in the Springsteen biography Born To Run) for ideas on how to arrange the horn part for "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" - called on Van Zandt and his encyclopedic knowledge of soul music for help with the arrangement. Van Zandt then joined the E Street Band in the midst of their Born to Run tours.

In those early years, Van Zandt supplied a large amount of the lead guitar work for the band in concert, as can be seen on the 1975 concert DVD within Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition (later released as the CD Hammersmith Odeon London '75).

Van Zandt cites the