Sad news travels far… Terry MacGovern, longtime assistant to Springsteen, passed away. More details as they come in. He was without a doubt one of the good guys, as strong and as loving as they come. The numerous challenges he has faced in the past few years would have crushed a lesser man. He always had a kind word, some biting Bitterman-style humor and his guy’s well being as job one. For at least 3 decades, he has been there and it doesn’t seem real that now he is not. Again we must rise to the challenge to carry his memory, his quality of work and character and his example of what it was to be a man into the future.
My thoughts go out to his family, the Springsteens, the whole bunch of us who had the honor of working with him and the thousands of people he touched with his special presence.
UPDATE:
Jersey Shore music veteran Terry Magovern dies
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/31/07
KELLY-JANE COTTER
MUSIC WRITER
Frank “Terry” Magovern, an influential presence on the Jersey Shore music scene for some 40 years, died Monday .
Magovern, of Rumson, was an early fan and supporter of Bruce Springsteen and many other musicians in Asbury Park’s seminal music scene. In the 1960s and ’70s, Magovern managed bars and booked bands in nearby beach towns, including D’Jai’s in Belmar, the Riptide in Point Pleasant Beach and the Captain’s Garter (later the Headliner) in Neptune. In the early ’80s, Magovern managed Big Man’s West in Red Bank, a club owned by E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons.
Magovern worked with Springsteen in myriad capacities, on tours and in the studio, but was most often described as a personal assistant to Springsteen. On the liner notes to Springsteen’s 1995 album, “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” Magovern is credited for “research.”
Magovern also worked with Clarence Clemons during the saxophonist’s time with the Red Bank Rockers.
Any musician, reporter or fan who spent time on the Springsteen circuit eventually ran into Magovern, whose imposing physical presence