Springsteen and illustrator Frank Caruso, who collaborated on the children’s book “Outlaw Pete,” were interviewed together by Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” last year.
An appearance by Bruce Springsteen on his friend Jon Stewart’s last “Daily Show,” airing tonight at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central, isn’t officially confirmed. But I wouldn’t bet against it.
Backstreets, the No. 1 magazine and web site devoted to following all things Springsteen, views it as definitely happening. It tweeted the following message Wednesday afternoon, not mentioning Springsteen by name, but leaving no doubt about whom it was writing:
You REALLY won't want to miss the final Daily Show with Jon Stewart tomorrow night.
— Backstreets Magazine (@backstreetsmag) August 5, 2015
Also, Springsteen expert Stan Goldstein — who is rarely wrong, and often has Springsteen information before it is general knowledge — tweeted earlier Wednesday:
Look for Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band to be on Jon Stewart's final show on Thursday.
— Stan Goldstein (@Stan_Goldstein) August 5, 2015
“The Daily Show” is usually a half-hour, but Stewart said on Wednesday night’s show that the finale will be longer than usual.
Stewart, who grew up in Lawrenceville, and Springsteen have a long history together. Most prominently, perhaps, Stewart gave the speech when Springsteen received Kennedy Center Honors in 2009. (See video below). Also, Stewart interviewed Springsteen for Rolling Stone magazine in 2012; Springsteen has been a guest on “The Daily Show”; and the two men were the featured performers at a benefit concert for the Gateway Schools at the Nokia Theater in New York in 2010.
Also, put yourself in Stewart’s shoes. Who do you think he would most want to be on his last show?
After reading the quote below — something Stewart said to Springsteen when Springsteen appeared on “The Daily Show” in March 2009, around the time of the start of his Working on a Dream Tour — how could you think it would be anyone other than Springsteen?
“People always talk to me about, ‘Who are your influences? What makes you do what you do?’ I can say, I draw a line — I do what I do because of Bruce Springsteen, and I’ll tell you why: You introduced me to the concept of The Other Side. ;You introduced me to the concept of: You go through the tunnel and you take a chance, and you can work to get away from your circumstance. And by working to get away from your circumstance you can make something better of yourself, but there’s no guarantee. (…) But you know what? The joy of it is chasing that dream, and that was my inspiration for leaving New Jersey and goin’ to New York. And bless you, my friend. You’re the Man. So I just wanted to thank you personally from the bottom of my heart for giving me something to put into the dashboard as I drove a U-Haul van through the Holland Tunnel.”
Note that Goldstein mentioned that it wasn’t just Springsteen, but Springsteen and The E Street Band, that will be appearing. It would be very unusual for Springsteen to reconvene the band, which is not currently on tour, for a TV show appearance. Perhaps that’s what inspired the upper-case “REALLY” in the Backstreets tweet. The band has not appeared together, anywhere, since May 2014.
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