Bruce Springsteen’s Long Island glory days, from my father’s place to Nassau Coliseum

Bruce Springsteen was born and raised in New Jersey. However, The Boss has always had strong ties to Long Island. April 9-11, the 73-year-old rock icon will return to the UBS Arena for his first Long Island show since 2009.

Here are some of Springsteen’s most memorable performances on the island over the past 50 years.

my father’s place

Springsteen’s first gig on LI happened when Michael “Abby” Epstein, owner of My Father’s House, got a call from his partner, Jay Linehan, asking him to let his wife’s nephew, Mike A. Pell tried it out with a new folk singer he managed at the Roslyn Club. 1973.

“I don’t know anything about him,” Epstein said. “His old manager, Mike Appel, told me, ‘He sounds like Bob Dylan.’ ”

On January 18-21, 1973, as the opening act of the new age jazz group Paul Winter Consort, Springsteen arrived at the club on a bus filled with a group of kids from Asbury Park and his entire band .

“During the audition, Paul came up to me and said, ‘We’re not going to headline these guys. I’m going to turn on the show. He’s mad because Bruce isn’t a folk singer and he has a whole orchestra,'” Epstein explain. “The people there love Bruce, and I love him. We actually booked him back pretty quickly because obviously something happened on stage.”

Springsteen returned to my father’s house from July 31 to August 2, 1973. The July 31 show will be broadcast live on WLIR (92.7 FM). However, the Jersey rocker was nervous about the radio event.

“Backstage, Bruce said to me, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ I told him, ‘Don’t worry. Just focus on one fan in the audience and everything will be fine,'” Epstein said . “I nudged him onto the stage because he was terrified. But, there’s no question this kid is going to be a star.”

The show scored well with the crowd, who ate up his 60-minute performance.

“I was sitting in the front row absolutely hysterical,” said Heather Schoen, former WLIR director of news and public affairs. “I immediately became a huge fan.”

Wayne Belfer, 65, who grew up in Manhasset Hills, added: “He was a young, thin, insecure guy. He had a shyness. It’woo woo woo woo! ‘ The chant has not yet begun. Back then people just clapped politely after each song. ”

Stony Brook University

On September 30, 1973, Springsteen headlined Stony Brook University’s Pritchard Gym. It was a free student show, but since his popularity hadn’t skyrocketed, the venue wasn’t full. However, the show was notable because Springsteen’s acoustic guitar was stolen. His buddy Albee “Albany Al” Tellone, who was in Springsteen’s early bands (Friendly Enemies, Dr. Zoom, and Sonic Boom) and played alto saxophone on “The E Street Shuffle,” lent him a guitar, Until Appel bought him a new guitar for Christmas later that year.

Westbury Festival

By the winter of 1975, Springsteen had graduated from clubs and into the theater, where he performed with the E Street Band on their February 23, 1975, tour.

“Bruce previewed a bunch of songs [“She’s the One,” “Jungleland” and the title track] Before the “Born to Run” album came out,” said Gail Flug, 60, of Deer Park, who went to the show with her older brother when she was 12.”

The show is long, running over 2 1/2 hours, and tickets are only $6.75.

“He just kept playing,” said Flug, a radio personality with WBAB’s Fingers Metal Shop. “I remember my parents anxiously waiting for us to come out.”

CW Postal Academy

On December 12, 1975, Springsteen performed at CW Post College (now LIU Post) in Brookville, in a campus venue called the Music Hall, nicknamed “The Dome” because of the circular ceiling. The show is significant because it’s where his famous live cover of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” was recorded.

“The crowd was really having fun that night, merging with Bruce, who was obviously having a good time. There was a magic and innocence to that show,” recalls legendary New York DJ Dennis Elsas, formerly of WNEW-FM and currently on SiriusXM and Rebroadcast on WFUV-FM. “He chose to do ‘Here Comes Santa’ to town, and it blew my mind.” The song has become so synonymous with the blues that some believe he wrote it. Plus, you could tell the performance wasn’t rehearsed. His jokes with the band were all off the cuff. ”

Faith Rothblatt, 63, of the Great Neck remembers the show, where seats were first-come, first-served.

“When the band started playing ‘Rosalita,’ people ran down the aisle onto the stage and danced everywhere,” she said. “Back then you could put your hands and elbows on stage. There were no barriers or police barricades, just a few ushers in the aisles.”

Nassau Coliseum

After “Born to Run” made him a superstar, Springsteen became a stage performer in 1978 with “Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour.” This was the year he made his Nassau Coliseum debut when he headlined the Old Barn on June 3, 1978.

“I remember him laying on the piano and playing the guitar,” said Jane Caronti, 62, of Bayport. “Even if you’re not a Bruce Springsteen fan, you can’t help but blend in with the crowd. I can’t believe how much energy this guy had, and he still does.”

Perhaps Springsteen’s most legendary run at the stadium was the “River Ride” on December 28, 29 and 31, 1980. Fans had to go to the post office, get a money order, and mail in the number of tickets they ordered ($12.50 each). Those who were chosen got their votes or their money orders.

“I liked the December 29th concert best because Bruce had a loud voice, he played the guitar really well and the band was tight,” said Joe Ferente, who grew up in Woodmere and attended 12 Shows on the 29th and 31st of October. “It was the best blues concert I’ve seen out of 125. Plus he sang my favorite song, ‘The Incident on 57th Street.’ ”

For his New Year’s Eve show, Springsteen performed for four hours.

“When the clock struck midnight, they hadn’t even started the encore,” said David Zolo, 64, who used to work at Seaford. “They started playing Wilson Pickett’s ‘Midnight Hour,’ and then ‘Auld Lang Syne.'”

Ferrente added, “I remember Bruce pulling his girlfriend at the time, actress Joyce Hyser [star of 1985’s “Just One of the Guys”] Leaving the auditorium in the middle of the night to kiss her. ”

When Springsteen released his 1986 multi-platinum set “Live 1975/1985,” he included six recordings of these 1980 performances at the Coliseum.

“I once read that Bruce claimed Nassau Coliseum was his favorite arena because of the great acoustics,” said John Kiernan, 60, who used to work at Valley Stream.

Eight years later, Springsteen returned to the gym on April 1-2, 1988, with a couple of dates on “The Love Tunnel Express.”

“In my opinion, Bruce had too many stage props, like a ticket booth, when he entered the ‘Tunnel of Love. Like ‘Roulette’ and ‘Light of Dawn,'” Kiernan said. “On the way to the end of the concert, there was a big commotion in the parking lot. A helicopter lands, Bruce jumps in and leaves. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s not the Bruce who used to drive around in a van. ‘”

In the fall of 2005, Springsteen took his “Devils & Dust Tour” to the stadium on October 9. This time, he was flying solo onstage, entertaining the crowd all by himself.

“I love it almost as much as the whole band,” said Tom LaGrega, 66, of Massapequa Park. “Bruce has a lot of unique eccentric instruments and a bullet mic. He introduces extreme distortion in songs like ‘Johnny 99’. It’s amazing. I find it a touching spiritual experience that radiates real positive energy .”