Bruce Springsteen's mother, Adele Springsteen, dies at 98

Adele Springsteen, proud mom of Bruce Springsteen and a longtime New Jersey resident, has died, her son announced Thursday on social media.

Adele Springsteen died Wednesday. She was 98 years old.

In his post, Bruce Springsteen is seen dancing with his mom to Glenn Miller's "In the Mood." "Adele Springsteen - May 4, 1925-January 31, 2024," the Instagram caption reads. He also included lyrics from his tribute to her, "The Wish," which was performed nightly in "Springsteen on Broadway."

"I’m older but you’ll know me in a glance," Springsteen wrote. "We’ll find us a little rock ‘n roll bar and we’ll go out and dance."

Bruce Springsteen credited mom Adele for his musical passion

Adele Zerilli was born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. She and Douglas Springsteen, Bruce's father, married in 1948. Bruce was born on Sept. 23, 1949, and the pair would have two more children, daughters Virginia and Pamela.

Douglas had a series of blue-collar jobs in Freehold, New Jersey, and elsewhere, including the former Ford plant in Edison. Adele was the family's steady breadwinner, working at the former Lawyers Title Building at 19 East Main St. in Freehold.

In "Springsteen on Broadway," Bruce spoke of meeting with his mom after work as a child.

"She'd be looking down at me with a look that, for me, was like the grace of Mary," he said. "Made me understand for the first time how good it feels, to feel pride in somebody that you love and who loves you back."

Bruce credited his mom and her sisters, Dora Kirby and Eda Urbelis, with imbuing the young Boss with his musical passion.

"My mom loved music, Top 40 music; the radio was always on in the car and in the kitchen in the morning," wrote Bruce in his memoir, "Born to Run" "From Elvis on out, my sister and I shuffled out of bed and downstairs to be greeted by the hit records of the day pouring out of the tiny radio that sat on the top of our refrigerator."

Adele brought the future rock superstar his first guitar at Diehl's music on South Street in Freehold, and she kept a comprehensive scrapbook of Bruce's budding career. It was displayed at the "Springsteen: His Hometown" exhibit at the Monmouth County Historical Society in Freehold.

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Adele Springsteen was known for her dancing at Bruce Springsteen shows

Adele, who had moved to California with Douglas in 1969, was not an infrequent guest at her son's shows following Douglas' passing in 1998. She wore a seasonal outfit when she danced on stage with Springsteen at Convention Hall in Asbury Park in the early 2000s, and she hit the stage of the city's Stone Pony during a benefit show the Boss did there.

The public dances with her son became rare in recent years. Their last was in 2018 at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park as the Eddie Testa Band played “Some Kind of Wonderful,” originally by Soul Brothers Six, and “Eight Days a Week” by the Beatles.

Adele became something of a social media star in the days after her 96th birthday in 2021. The Spring-Nuts fan club posted a widely shared video of her dancing at Bruce shows.

Adele suffered from Alzheimer's disease in her later years. In "Springsteen on Broadway," Bruce said her radiant love of music and life never diminished.

“This is an essential part of mom’s spirit, it’s who she is,” Springsteen said. “It’s beyond language, and it’s more powerful than memory. It’s the embodiment. This is what she has put her trust in and lived her life by and which, despite all she has suffered, she carries on with to this moment, as if life’s beauty never deserted her. I love her.”