Clarence Clemons Birthplace — Norfolk, Virginia

Clarence Clemons — the Big Man — was born on January 11, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia, and became the saxophone player whose sound defined the E Street Band's identity and whose physical and musical presence alongside Bruce Springsteen was one of rock and roll's great partnerships. Clemons grew up in a religious household and played saxophone in church before finding his way into the R&B bar band circuit of the Virginia and New Jersey coast. His first meeting with Springsteen — which both described as almost mystical, the door blowing open in a storm as Clemons walked into a bar where the band was playing — produced an immediate musical bond.

Clemons's saxophone on 'Born to Run,' 'Jungleland,' 'Thunder Road,' and dozens of other Springsteen recordings provided the emotional release that the songs built toward — the moment when the music finally broke through into something bigger than itself. His solo in 'Jungleland' is six minutes into the song and may be the single greatest saxophone passage in rock history. Beyond the E Street Band, he appeared on recordings by Aretha Franklin, Jackson Browne, and Lady Gaga, whose 'Edge of Glory' was the last major recording he made before his death in June 2011.

Norfolk, Virginia, has no specific Clemons museum or landmark, though the city's musical heritage — shaped by its naval base and the R&B culture of the mid-Atlantic coast — is the context for his origins. He is buried in Florida, where he spent his later years. The E Street Band has continued since his death with Jake Clemons, his nephew, playing saxophone in his honour.