Bruce Springsteen Recalls How His Wife Patti Scialfa Helped Him Stop Being a 'Lazy Musician' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Where wouldBruce Springsteenbe without his wife,Patti Scialfa?

In a clip from ABC News' upcomingBruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreetsspecial shared exclusively with PEOPLE, The Boss opens up about how Scialfa helped him stop being a “lazy musician” early in their marriage after tying the knot in 1991.

“I was running my father’s game plan when we first got together, and we first started to have children, and Patti really sort of reoriented me,” Springsteen, 75, tells George Stephanopoulos in a conversation at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, a.k.a where the “Born to Run” singer first met his wife.

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa in June 2021.Taylor Hill/Getty

Taylor Hill/Getty

“I was a lazy musician, sleeping ’til 11 o’ clock,” he recalls. “The kids were getting up and going to school without me, and all Patti said one night was, she said, ‘Well, hey, you don’t have to get up, but if you don’t get up you’re going to miss it. You’re going to miss it all. Just get up and make the pancakes tomorrow.’”

At “6:30 a.m.” the next day, Springsteen said, “I’m up, cursing, grumpy, bopping down the steps [and] made pancakes.”

George Stephanopoulos and Bruce Springsteen in September 2024.ABC/Michael Le Brecht II

ABC/Michael Le Brecht II

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“It’s a privilege to have this rare access to Bruce Springsteen,” said Stephanopoulos in a statement. “His music has inspired so many, and getting to sit down with him for such intimate conversations reveals the man behind the legend. I can’t wait for viewers to experience this special.”

Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets.ABC News

ABC News

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The special airs Oct. 20 on ABC and will stream on Hulu and Disney+ the following day.

The project precedes Hulu and Disney+’s upcoming documentary,Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which launches Oct. 25 on both platforms.

source: people.com