Steven Van Zandt (aka Little Steven, aka Miami Steve) is well known to rock and roll fans as a founding member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, as well as a longtime member of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Van Zandt played an integral role in crafting the sound of these iconic bands as both a musician and a producer. He’s beloved by devoted fans and fellow rockers as one of the architects of the New Jersey sound, characterized by its unique blend of rock and roll and soul. However, there’s much more to his story than the incredible music which he helped to create. Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, a new documentary currently streaming on HBO Max, is a comprehensive history of Van Zandt’s work as a musician, producer, actor, and activist. It’s an absorbing look at how Van Zandt became more politically aware, using his songs to fight social injustice and effect real change in the world.
The first part of the film details the story of Van Zandt’s younger days playing in local bands in his native New Jersey, as he crossed paths, shared stages, and forged friendships with Bruce Springsteen and “Southside” Johnny Lyon. It was the beginning of a lifelong personal and professional relationship between them. Van Zandt made profound contributions to Springsteen’s music, beginning with the album Born To Run, ultimately becoming an integral member of the E Street Band. He also wrote songs for, produced albums for, and played in, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, guiding the group through their initial success. If you’re an E Street or Jukes fan, there’s excellent vintage footage of both bands included in the film, and candid interviews and recollections about those early days with Van Zandt, Springsteen, and Lyon, as well as appreciations from fans like Peter Wolf, Richie Sambora, Eddie Vedder and writer-director Chris Columbus.
Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple also details Van Zandt’s role in the meteoric rise of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, showing how the group evolved from playing clubs and smaller venues to headlining shows at stadiums, culminating in the mega-hit album Born in the U.S.A. At the time, Van Zandt had started to feel a little dissatisfied with his role in the band, finding that his input and suggestions were becoming less valued by Springsteen and long-time producer Jon Landau. Ultimately, Van Zandt left the E Street Band, changing his stage name from Miami Steve to Little Steven. He began to forge a solo career with his own group, The Disciples of Soul. Their first album, Men Without Women, was very much in the vein of his work with Southside and The Boss, featuring deeply emotional songs such as “Lyin’ in a Bed of Fire” and “Forever.”
While touring overseas, Van Zandt had a fateful encounter with a fan (a story he colorfully relates in the film), which made him question what it means to be an American, and how our country is perceived by the rest of the world. For the second Disciples of Soul album, Voice of America, he began writing songs with more politically charged content, using his music as a window to illuminate the types of injustice he saw going on in the world. One of the songs that truly illustrates his role an advocate for change is the 1985 protest single, “Sun City.” Van Zandt gathered an international group of rock, soul jazz and rap artists to perform the song, which raised awareness about South Africa’s apartheid policy. The song’s powerful message resonates to this day, and the film goes into detail about the production of “Sun City” and how it helped contribute to the end of apartheid and the freeing of jailed leader Nelson Mandela.
Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple is an enthralling and entertaining film which, at two and a half hours, never wears out its welcome. This captivating documentary also takes a look at Van Zandt’s joyful reunion with Springsteen and The E Street Band, reviews his superb work as an actor on The Sopranos and Lilyhammer, and celebrates the rebirth of Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, who recorded a new album, Summer of Sorcery, in 2019. The film also honors his work as a passionate advocate for rock and roll’s legacy and its continuing importance, in his role as the originator of the radio series and Sirius XM channel, Little Steven’s Underground Garage, and as a proponent of teaching music and culture in our schools with the TeachRock program. Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple provides us with an intimate and in-depth portrait of the heart and soul of this rock and roll renaissance man, as both a performer and a human being.
-John Visconti
Photo: Steven Van Zandt, 2018 (Fuzheado via Wikimedia Commons)
WoW! Very cool.