Jean and Stan, with Springsteen memorabilia. Photo by Mary Walton
By Kat Cavano and Mary Walton
Stan Goldstein’s fate was sealed with nine words. “The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.” It was Bruce Springsteen’s second big album. And for Goldstein, 51, hearing it marked the beginning of a lifelong passion. A Neptune native, 51-year-old Goldstein has attended over 300 Springsteen concerts. He has seen his idol in Paris, London and Barcelona, and has spent so much money on Springsteen that in his words, “I could’ve bought a house.”
He did buy a condo, however. Today he lives in the Embury Arms on Lawrence Avenue. His coffee table is stacked high with CDs and every inch of wall space is covered with memorabilia. There are testaments to the Beatles and his favorite sports teams. But Springsteen dominates. Why? you might ask. His answer seems as relevant today as it did four decades ago. “It was the coolest thing to hear a guy singing about Madam Marie. He was our local hero and we liked the music.”
Meanwhile, a young girl in Cherry Hill was similarly blinded by the light. Jean Mikle’s first Springsteen concert was in early 1978. She was overcome by “the passion, the commitment. When you’re younger and you get struck by music, it feels like a life-changing experience.” Not long afterward her mother died. In August of that year she had tickets to a second concert. Still in mourning, she hesitated, but decided to go. Listening to Springsteen gave her faith in the future. “I felt like I was going to be okay.”
Mikle and Goldstein discovered their mutual passion while both worked at the Asbury Park Press. Mikle, 50, is now a member of the Press’s investigative team and Goldstein is a copyeditor at the Newark Star-Ledger. Mikle also lives in Ocean Grove, on Cookman Avenue.
In 1999, on a whim, the pair advertised a free Rock & Roll Shore Tour on an online Springsteen fan site. They had no idea if anyone would turn up. To their surprise, about 60 people met them at The Stone Pony for a tour that wound around Asbury Park, to E Street in Belmar and to Springsteen’s childhood home, Freehold. Goldstein and Mikle now give about 12 to 15 tours a year, often to groups of Europeans who, according to Goldstein, are just “thrilled to be seeing this stuff.” The tour specializes in hidden landmarks like the Upstage Club, a psychedelic late night spot on Cookman Avenue where no liquor but plenty of music was served up.
Goldstein and Mikle are also the authors of Rock & Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore. Now in its third edition, the book allows readers to take an armchair tour of sites in Asbury Park, Long Branch, Red Bank, Freehold, and Belmar where Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny Lyon and Jon Bon Jovi have left their mark. Featuring never-before-seen photos from private collections, and personal anecdotes and stories, the book brings to life a time in history that many people may not have realized was happening right in their own backyard.
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