Bruce Springsteen

THERE'S NO question Bruce Springsteen fans will eat up each and every one of the 150-plus items that comprise "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," the exhibit that opens today and runs through Sept. 3 at the National Constitution Center. Sure, some of the pictures, notebooks, guitars and tour tchotchkes showcased here are somewhat prosaic and not especially interesting. But others are real grabbers. Here are 10 must-sees, and why you must see them:   1960 Corvette Why it's cool: A 1960 'Vette is cool under any circumstances.

ZOE STRAUSS is known as Philadelphia's pre-eminent street photographer, complete with a show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that runs through April 22. But she's also a major Bruce Springsteen fan. In fact, on March 4, Strauss will discuss the influence of Springsteen's music on her own work and life at the museum. The connection between Strauss and Springsteen makes sense. Both (especially early Springsteen) champion the working class, shining a light on communities that are not in the forefront of the American conscience.

Toward the end of the National Constitution Center exhibit "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," which opens on Friday, there's a section called Book of Dreams. To get there, you walk by the 1960 Chevrolet Corvette that Springsteen bought in 1975 after the success of Born to Run , and pass through rooms lined with fliers advertising gigs by early Springsteen bands like Steel Mill and Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. There are trophies like the 1994 best-song Oscar for "Streets of Philadelphia," and artifacts such as the jeans and T-shirt the Boss wore on the cover of 1984's Born in the U.S.A.

Fandemonium: Bruce Springsteen Name: Dallyn Pavey. Age: 53. Occupation: Restaurant and music publicist. Roots: Philadelphia and the Main Line. First show: 1974 at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr. How many shows? More than 100, and I'm seeing both sold-out shows Wednesday and Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. Why Bruce Springsteen? I have never seen anyone perform live like him. My previous work in radio allowed me to attend many concerts, and to this day no one compares to a live Bruce Springsteen show.

Does an exhibit on Bruce Springsteen have any place at the National Constitution Center?

'There have been contenders, but there is only one King.' - Bruce Springsteen Well, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell. It's down at the end of lonely street at Heartbreak Hotel. You make me so lonely baby, I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could die. - Heartbreak Hotel, 1956

Are you the region's biggest Bruce Springsteen fan? Are you headed to one (or both) of his shows next week at the Wells Fargo Center? Tell us about your love of the Boss. We'll post some of the best fan stories online at philly.com , and feature a fan in the Magazine section Tuesday. Go to philly.com/fandemonium .

A LOT OF memories will be cherished when the Spectrum is demolished to make way for an entertainment and shopping complex. On July 15, 1981, I sat in Section Z to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Late WMMR deejay Ed Sciaky introduced the Boss. I was hooked on Springsteen and have seen him perform 20 times since. Matt Engel, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Bruce Springsteen, whose music and lyrics have long celebrated the common man, with patriotism in mind, is the spotlight of the National Constitution Center's spring and summer events. Unless the Boss makes one of his famous impromptu appearances, there is not a big Day One promotion for Friday's opening of "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. " But "Six Nights With Bruce Springsteen" have been scheduled over the next several months.

RE STUART Caesar's letter "The Boss blows in the wind": Which Bruce Springsteen are you talking about? The "millionaire rock star" you're imagining never existed. Bruce's message has been consistent for 30 years. He wasn't a "flag-waver" in the '80s (though the Reaganites tried to co-opt him). Actually listen to the lyrics of "Born in the USA. " Bruce is far from anti-American. He's anti a government that tries to use fear and lies to push its agenda. Why aren't you? Jim O'Neill, Philadelphia

Johnny Marr The Messenger (ADA **1/2) Johnny Marr has built up so much goodwill over the years - as the guitar genius who gave musical shape to the Smiths, as a sideman with everyone from Tom Jones to Talking Heads - that it feels a bit mean to give The Messenger a lukewarm review. In fact, the 49-year-old jangle-pop master's first proper solo album is pleasant, polished, and full of the clean, understated playing that's been Marr's hallmark for decades.

The "Jersey girl" who paid $250,000 after Bruce Springsteen sweetened a deal at a Grammy charity auction reportedly is Tracy Powell, sister of Steve Jobs' widow, Laurene. "It turns out that Laurene was at the MusiCares dinner on Friday with Tracy, and - according to people at their table – she egged her sister on to bid the big money," according to Showbiz411.com. Springsteen put on quite a performance at the event - after all sorts of singing was done by the likes of John Legend, Elton John, Neil Young, and Mumford & Sons.

Reg Presley, 71, lead singer of the Troggs on hit songs including the garage-rock classic "Wild Thing," died Monday at his home in Andover, England, after a yearlong bout with lung cancer. Mr. Presley and the Troggs scored their breakthrough hit in the early days of the British music invasion. The song, a cover of a version by Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones, was later picked up not only by garage bands the world over - the lead guitar riffs were easily copied - but also by icons like Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen.

WHEN THE senior generation of arena rockers (the Rolling Stones , the Who , Bruce Springsteen , Paul McCartney ) stops performing, how will we ever raise money in a charity concert? Who's going to perform with Bon Jovi ? Matchbox 20 ? Maroon 5 ? Will any bands from the '80s and '90s still be rocking when their fans hit their disposable-income years? Billie Joe Armstrong better straighten himself out because the charity concert of 2030 may depend on Green Day . Well, and the Stones.

1. "This Christmas," Donny Hathaway. The groovin' soul original we all remember Hathaway by, that every young artist still aims to cover, 40-plus years later. 2. "Santa Baby," Eartha Kitt. Oh, did the woman raise a fuss with this steamy and materialistic come-on! 3. "Baby, It's Cold Outside," Ray Charles and Betty Carter. While written in 1949 by Frank Loesser, this 1961 version was first to chart and remains "the standard. " Revealed Brother Ray's lecherous side. Arguably made Carter's career.

KEANSBURG, N.J. - And on the seventh day after the storm, President Obama called Gov. Christie from Air Force One and put Bruce Springsteen on the phone. Although the Democratic rocker has a notoriously frosty relationship with the Republican governor, Springsteen apparently appreciated the love Christie displayed last week for their battered home state. Not only did they chat from Obama's campaign trail Monday, according to the governor, but Springsteen gave him a hug at the Sandy benefit telethon Friday night.

ALTHOUGH IT'S UNCLEAR whether Britney Spears has ever read a novel, the Hollywood Reporter says she's in discussions to write one. Following many Americans' obsession with celebrity, the publishing industry has essentially given up on actual writers in favor of "names" - thus have come novels by Lauren Conrad , Bethenny Frankel , Snooki and more. Britney's book would reportedly be a fictionalized account of portions of her own life, from child star to jailbait to bald umbrella-wielding hot mess to judge.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band closed out the show with "Land of Hope and Dreams" on Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, the telethon broadcast live from New York on Friday night. The TV fund-raiser, produced by NBC and shown on a variety of outlets, including HBO, also featured Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Mary J. Blige, and a host of celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg and Jon Stewart. The telethon was hosted by Today 's Matt Lauer. It came together after Lauer took a tour Tuesday of a neighborhood in Rockaway Beach, Queens, that had seen 50 first-responder residents die in the Sept.

Bruce Springsteen , Jon Bon Jovi , Billy Joel , Sting , Christina Aguilera, and now Mary J. Blige will be among the acts performing on Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together , a one-hour telethon hosted by the Today show's Matt Lauer to be broadcast at 8 p.m. Friday. The event (on Comcast-owned NBC channels) will also feature NBC's Brian Williams and Jimmy Fallon (and The Roots ?), and will be shown on Bravo, CNBC, E!, G4, MSNBC, Style, SyFy, USA, and NBC.com.