Bruce Springsteen Mourns Death of “One of the Most Important People of My Young Life”

Bruce Springsteen has penned a heartfelt, warts-and-all tribute to Carl Virgil “Tinker” West, who helped promote and served as an early manager for several of the Boss’ early bands. According to a message Springsteen posted on Monday, May 26, West died “this week at the age of 89.”

Bruce described West as “simply one of the most important people of my young life.”

Bruce also noted in the book that West got the nickname Tinker “because there was nothing he couldn’t fix.”

“In 1970 when I had nothing, nowhere to live, was broke with nowhere to go, he recognized my talent and took me in,” Springsteen wrote in his tribute. “We lived together in one tiny room of his Wanamassa, New Jersey Challenger Eastern Surfboard Factory. His mattress was on one side of the room and mine was six feet away on the other.”

Bruce also reflected on West’s prickly demeanor.

“He was a natural born misanthrope,” Springsteen maintained. “He was not an easy man to know, live with, or be around. He was from California and was an old school frontier individualist asking no quarter and giving none. If you weren’t being useful he didn’t want you near him. If you visited the surf shop for more than ten minutes he’d shove a broom in your hand and tell you to start sweeping. He wasn’t joking.”

Springsteen Reminisced About Touring with Tinker

Also in his tribute, Bruce recalled some memorable times when he and went on road trips with West.

“I drove across the country many times with Tinker, first at twenty in his 1940’s Chevrolet flatbed truck with all our band equipment under a tarp in the back seeking our fame and fortune out west,” Spring shared. “The truck was old and huge with an unwieldy, grinding transmission and he insisted we drive straight through to Big Sur, our only gig, without stopping, for 72 hours. He also insisted I, without skills or license drive my share. That’s how Tinker taught you something. He just made you do it.”

He also remembered taking other cross-country trips with West later on “in an old Nomad station wagon” at Christmas time.

“[W]e’d find ourselves heading west on I-10 through dry desert and western mountain blizzards,” he recalled. “I’d be going to see my folks once a year in San Mateo and Tinker would be headed into San Francisco to see who, I cannot imagine. Did my old friend have parents? I can’t believe so. I believe he sprung near full grown from the mountains, valleys, and waves of a primitive and unknowable California.”

On His Relationship with West After Bruce Became Famous

As Springsteen’s career began to blossom, West introduced Bruce to Mike Appel, who signed the Boss to a management contract in 1972.

Springsteen noted in his tribute that after he became “a huge success over the years Tinker asked me for exactly nothing.”

He continued, “[West] was forever alone, working, off the grid and independent. I was always satisfied when I would be the recipient of Tink’s highest compliment. ‘Springsteen, you don’t f— around.’ No, I didn’t and neither did Carl Virgil West.”

Bruce’s Emotional Farewell to Tinker

Springsteen concluded his homage by sharing details of his final interaction with West.

“The last time I saw him he was in the hospital, near the end, dying from throat cancer,” Bruce wrote. “He smiled when he saw me, and I kissed one of my errant father’s goodbye. I hung out for a while, he pulled me close and his voice raspy and nearly gone whispered, ‘We sure had some adventures didn’t we?’ I answered ‘we sure did.’ When I was about to leave, I saw something I never thought I’d see in this life or the next. He cried. I loved him.”

More About Tinker

According to the Brucebase Wiki website, between March 1969 and February 1972, Tinker served as manager and sound engineer for several of Springsteen’s early groups. They included Child, Steel Mill, The Friendly Enemies, Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom, and The Bruce Springsteen Band. West also played congas with Springsteen’s groups as a few concerts.

Springsteen’s Current Tour Plans

Springsteen currently is on tour with the E Street Band in Europe. Their next concert is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27, in Lille, France. The trek, dubbed the Land of Hope & Dreams Tour, is plotted out through a July 3 concert in Milan, Italy.