Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti sing ‘Tougher Than the Rest’ in emotional duet after her cancer reveal
Bruce Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, gave fans an inspiring and emotional performance on the Jersey Shore Sunday.
The legendary rocker, 74, and his longtime E Street Band member and wife, 71, performed a tear-jerking duet at the Sea.Hear.Now musical festival in Springsteen’s hometown of Asbury Park. The couple sang Springsteen’s 1987 song “Tougher Than The Rest,” a poignant choice given Scialfa’s recent blood cancer reveal.
In a new documentary about the Boss and his band, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Scialfa shared that she has been battling multiple myeloma since 2018.
Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa perform during the Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey. WireImage
Scialfa joined Springsteen’s E Street Band in 1984. WireImage
The Boss and Scialfa sang “Tougher Than The Rest.” WireImage
A type of blood cancer, “multiple myeloma forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Healthy plasma cells help fight infections by making proteins called antibodies. Antibodies find and attack germs. In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells build up in bone marrow.”
“Touring has become a challenge for me,” Scialfa said in the film, which premiered Sept. 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Scialfa and Springsteen in 1988. John Atashian/Getty Images
“This [disease] affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go. Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage, and that’s been a treat,” she added.
Her performance Sunday was one of those treats — for her, but also for Springsteen and the crowd.
Springsteen and Scialfa at the Golden Globe Awards in January. Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images
“We got my beautiful wife, Patti Scialfa, is with us!” Springsteen said, welcoming her onstage. Scialfa was all smiles as she joined her husband. The pair got up close and personal, sharing a mike and swaying with one another during their emotional rendition of “Tougher Than The Rest.”
Springsteen and Scialfa embraced at the end of the song to applause from the crowd before she left the stage.
Springsteen and Scialfa Sunday in Asbury Park, New Jersey. WireImage
Scialfa’s current condition is not known. She did not attend the premiere of “Road Diary” at TIFF, making her performance at the Sea.Hear.Now festival all the more significant.
Springsteen headlined the two-night event six years after he made a surprise appearance alongside Social Distortion at the first Sea.Hear.Now festival. Fans were astonished when he was announced as the leader of the festival’s lineup in March, prompting tickets to sell out almost immediately.
