Danny Federici, keyboard and accordion player for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band, lost his 3 year battle with melanoma on Thursday, April 17th, 2008.
I was lucky enough to see him one last time on the bands swing through Los Angeles, just weeks before he left the band and flew home to NYC for treatment. He made a brief appearance in Indianapolis with The E Street Band in March.
Federici and original E Street drummer Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez, were actually in a band together when they met Bruce and asked him if he’d like to join. From that, came a progression of bands including Child, Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and finally, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. You might say that without Danny and Vini, we’d have no Bruce as we know him today.
Federici was a huge part of the Springsteen sound, capturing the boardwalk and Jersey Shore atmosphere with his keyboard and accordion solos. The best examples I can think of is Sandy (4th of July, Asbury Park).
He was often overlooked when people talked about The E Street Band because he was so quiet, always in the background doing his job, but the band never would have been the same without him. Bruce called him “Phantom Dan” because he just blended into the shadows, yet he was always there.
The family and friends of Danny Federici have asked that donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. http://www.thedannyfedericimelanomafund.com/
Danny Federici will be missed, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get use to looking over to the left side of the stage and not seeing him there in his black t shirt, huddled behind his mass of keyboards, creating that unique soundscape. He could make anyone, even a guy from Southern California, feel like they were sitting on the hood of a Dodge outside of Madam Marie’s, waiting for Sandy to show up, take his hand and stroll down the Jersey Boardwalk on a warm Jersey night.
Enjoy the walk Danny.
