Clemons Improving

“Yesterday, it did not look good at all,” a Clemons friend told the Springsteen magazine Backstreets on Monday. “Today … miracles are happening. His vital signs are improving. He’s responsive. His eyes are welling up when we’re talking to him. He was paralyzed on his left side, but now he’s squeezing with his left hand.”

News that Clemons, nicknamed “the Big Man,” had a stroke was first reported Sunday night by Showbiz 411. In the past year Clemons had both kneereplaced and undergone spinal fusion surgery, Rolling Stone said.

The 69-year-old Clemons, who has worked with Springsteen on and off since the early 1970s, is the man behind the E Street Band’s signature sax sound, notably on the Born to Run album. Clemons recently collaborated with Lady Gaga, appearing on her Born This Way album and hitting the “American Idol” stage with Mother Monster.

“When the change was made uptown / and the Big Man joined the band / from the coastline to the city all the little pretties raise their hands,” featuring a signature Clemons sax blast in the middle, are lyrics from the Born to Run album’s tune “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” — not a hit single commercially but for years a Springsteen concert staple. When band members are introduced, Springsteen always saves “the Big Man” for last.

Members of the E Street Band had been advised to head to Florida as fast as possible, according to Showbiz 411. Clemons is the oldest member of the group.