Danny Federici

About Danny

Danny Federici (born January 23, 1950) was an icon in American music. He was most known for being the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for the past 38 years.

Federici started to play accordion when he was seven years old, which he learned from watching The Lawrence Welk Show. When he mastered classical music and polka, his mother and father Jean and Daniel Federici booked him at parties, clubs and on the radio where he won many awards and accolades for his talented musical abilities.

Danny's fluid organ fills are a key component in the E Street sound, and sometimes take on a more prominent role, such as on the hit "Hungry Heart". His use of the electronic glockenspiel is also an easily recognized E Street element. Another notable performance is his accordion solo on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."

During the 1990s, Federici recorded a solo album of jazz instrumentals called "Flemington," after his hometown of Flemington, New Jersey. Danny followed this up with a smooth jazz album entitled "Out of a Dream" on V2 Records in 2005.

On November 21, 2007, it was announced that Federici would take a leave of absence from Springsteen and the E Street Band's ongoing Magic Tour to pursue treatment for melanoma. Springsteen stated at the time, "Danny is one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return."

Federici made his return to the stage on March 20, 2008, when he appeared for portions of a very memorable Springsteen and E Street Band performance in Indianapolis that got rave reviews. See "Dad's last show"

Danny lost his battle to melanoma on April 17th, 2008.

What he enjoyed most, besides making music, was spending time with his family, wife Maya, son Jason and daughters Harley and Madison. He also loved a good drive down the Delaware River's beautiful roads.