Bruce Springsteen – Then and Now

Bruce Springsteen's latest album 'Wrecking Ball' is burning up the charts -- but it wasn't so long ago that he was just another New Jersey boy scraping out a living in area clubs.

As with many young musicians of his time, Springsteen was inspired to pick up music after seeing Elvis Presley on the 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Years later, when he was gigging with bands in those Garden State nightclubs, he was dubbed "The Boss" because he always handled the task of collecting the group's nightly pay and distributing it among the musicians.

Many of Springsteen's early albums -- like 1975's 'Born to Run,' the era during which the photo on the above left was taken -- are now considered classics. But it wasn't until 'Born in the U.S.A.' was released in 1984 that he truly became a household name, and since then, he's become synonymous with politically-charged music.

'Wrecking Ball' -- which you can check out song by song right here -- is Springsteen's 17th studio album. It shot to the top of the Amazon and iTunes sales charts on its first day of release earlier this week, proving the 62-year-old's appeal hasn't waned a bit. He may not sport long hair or knit caps nowadays, but his heart is still exactly where it's always been.