Calling Stevie Van Zandt a renaissance man is a bit of an understatement.
Best known for playing guitar in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and playing Silvio Dante on the classic HBO television series “The Sopranos,” Van Zandt has also found time to: gig with, write songs for and produce numerous other musicians; DJ a syndicated radio show that eventually led to the creation of two satellite radio formats; engage in meaningful, hands-on work as a political activist; develop a cross-curricular. arts-based educational program called Teach Rock; and work as actor, writer, director and music supervisor on the Netflix series “Lilyhammer.” Before the pandemic shut down live performances, “Little Steven” had also recently found his way back to presenting his own songs while fronting a 13-piece version of his Disciples of Soul.
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And that list still leaves many of his projects and accomplishments out.
Such a full, busy life offers tremendous material for a memoir, and Van Zandt’s “Unrequited Infatuations” does not disappoint. Full of colorful language, colloquialisms, strong opinions, fantastic stories and enough digressions to make Holden Caulfield proud, the prose has a freewheeling, rapid-fire feel not unlike Van Zandt’s signature Underground Garage radio raps. He sums himself up well late in the book: “I need to work constantly. I simply cannot function at the normal speed of this planet. The minute I stop moving, I start dying. That’s the pattern of my life, and hard as I try, it never changes. I do what I have to do and then try to get it paid for after the fact...I don’t have some martyr complex. I come to win.”
Though not shy about being in the spotlight, Van Zandt most vigorously embraces his role as consiglieri. Two scenes in his chapter “The Killing Floor,” covering the years 1983 and 1984, illustrate just how far-reaching and unlikely his advisory roles can be. On the one hand, even though Van Zandt had left the E Street Band at that point to pursue a solo career, it is hardly surprising that Springsteen comes calling to discuss the possible ramifications of his soon-to-be-released “Born In The U.S.A.” album being a commercial blockbuster. And Van Zandt is self-effacing enough to reveal that he advised Springsteen to trash “Dancing In The Dark” and release “No Surrender” as the lead single, advice wisely not taken.
On the other hand, on a trip to Nicaragua with Jackson Browne, Van Zandt shrugs off an opportunity to meet then-president Daniel Ortega and requests to meet with his wife, Rosario Murillo, instead. Van Zandt boldly tells her that her husband is a “dead man walking” and proceeds to give her advice for helping Ortega improve his image and revise the then-new Nicaraguan constitution. Van Zandt’s political activism throughout his life proves to be similarly bold, specific and hands-on.
While generally affable, Van Zandt admits that “I have to be non confrontational, because I’m too extreme. My Calabrese blood has infinite patience until it doesn’t, and my Napolitano blood is always ready for a fight to the death over the slightest insult.” Much of “Unrequited Infatuations” details fruitful and inspiring collaborations with artists ranging from David Chase to Southside Johnny Lyon to Darlene Love. But woe to those who cross Van Zandt and exhibit behavior he sees as selfish or ill-informed. Such grievances are typically described briefly but cuttingly, as Van Zandt variously takes Paul Simon, Doyle Bramhall Jr., the Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere, and the Turtles’ Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan to task.
Van Zandt’s memoir really sings, though, when diving into the details of his various relationships and projects. A seasoned storyteller, Little Steven enthusiastically takes readers inside music and acting performances, recording and songwriting sessions, political and artistic negotiations. He never lingers on a subject for too long, providing just enough of the story to engage readers with the tales themselves and well as his considerate reflections about what such moments have come to mean to him. Pittsburgh readers will be especially captivated when Joe Grushecky makes an unlikely appearance in a story about hunting down Van Zandt’s grandfather’s 40-years-missing guitar.
In discussing songwriting and recording, Van Zandt surmises, “We may not always achieve greatness, but we should always be reaching for it. Isn’t that our best way to show gratitude for life itself?” “Unrequited Infatuations” shares the many ways Van Zandt’s first 70 years have been well-lived. Given his penchant for work, Little Steven may need to add a second volume just about what is still to come.
John Young teaches seventh grade language arts and plays in the rock band The Optimists.
First Published: October 14, 2021, 10:45 a.m.
Updated: October 14, 2021, 11:25 a.m.
