Bruce Springsteen’s mother, Adele Springsteen, has died at the age of 98 on January 31, 2024. The Grammy Award-winning artist took to Instagram on Thursday to announce the unfortunate news. Bruce posted lyrics from his song “The Wish,” which he wrote in honor of Adele in 1998. “I remember in the morning, Mom, hearing your alarm clock ring,” Bruce wrote, alongside a video of him and Adele dancing together on a sunny day — one of their favorite ways to bond throughout the years.
Adele had been living with Alzheimer’s for several years. Bruce opened up about her diagnosis, along with the positive effect music had had on her after several years of dealing with the disease, in 2018. “They grew up in the ’40s with the big bands and the swing bands, and they learned the Jitterbug and … it was in their bones, you know,” said Bruce in “Springsteen on Broadway” (via Facebook). “My mom is seven years into Alzheimer’s and she’s 93, but dancing and that desire and need to dance, it’s something that hasn’t left her. It remains an essential, primal part of who she is. It’s beyond language, it’s more powerful than memory. And when she comes through the door, I make share there’s music on.”
Unfortunately, Adele’s condition continued to worsen over the years. In 2021, Bruce updated fans on her condition, revealing that, while his mother never lost her love and connection to music, she’d lost the ability to speak, stand, and eat independently.
Bruce Springsteen was close with his mother, Adele
Adele Springsteen was one of the first people to acknowledge and invest in Bruce Springsteen’s musical potential. Adele took out a loan to finance Bruce’s five-figure guitar when he turned 16 years old — a sacrifice that inspired him to write “The Wish.” Once Bruce’s career took off, Adele showed her support in other ways, such as always being up for jumping on stage for a quick dance number. Over the years, fans have captured countless hours of footage of Bruce and his mother cutting up on stage — including this adorable video of them dancing to “Dancing In The Dark” in 2019. As you can probably tell by the applause, fans adored Adele just as much as Bruce did and still does. “That’s my mom!” he proudly shouted at the end of their number.
A fan also captured a video of Adele at one of Bruce’s shows in 2021. And while she wasn’t able to actually get up on stage with Bruce that night, she seemed just as happy to dance to her son’s music from the comfort of the audience. “I took this video at Met Life Stadium show #2. Ms Springsteen is always so into it,” tweeted a fan in attendance. “In many of these videos, her family tries to protect her, but she’s not having it. She wants all in! So euphoric and free. Impossible not to smile watching these,” they added.
