Bruce Springsteen says what it takes to be a truly great artist

Bruce Springsteen talked in an interview with Conan O’Brien about what it takes to be a truly great artist. The host told Springsteen that he believes that “to be a truly great artist you need some components – anxiety, especially in your youth; an obsessive nature, plus a complicated relationship with a parent.”

Bruce Springsteen said what it takes to be a truly great artist, in his opinion:

“Well, I believe that most successful, obsessive artists, have something very special eating at them, and that’s what makes them interesting to us. There is an undescribable problem at their center that they’re constantly trying to sort out. It’s not completely ‘sort-out-able,’ but you can’t find elements of clues that bring you closer to the source. And this is how people are using their craft. This is how you can’t take your eyes off them or your ears.”

“Those people have had someone in their life who has told them they are the second coming of Christ and at the same time someone in their life who’s told them they are absolutely worthless. And they believed them both.”

“So consequently, you’re in the process of trying to retrieve the unconditional love that you experienced by the parent who told you you were holier than thou and trying to prove to your other parent how deeply wrong they were.”

“This, I believe, is a psychological makeup of the most interesting artists, I would say. Like Sinatra, DeNiro, Brando, Dylan, Hank Williams, all of those people I believe have some piece of this in their creative equation. I think it’s essential – I think that historical conflict in your family is very, very critical. Then add 10 years of Catholic education, and the furnace is starting to burn.”

Bruce Springsteen recently released the new album “Letter To You” with the E Street Band: