Though Bruce Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, has been a part of the E Street Band since 1984, touring is difficult for her now. In a new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Patti revealed that this is because she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2018. Amid her ongoing cancer battle, Patti joined her husband and the E Street Band onstage at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on September 15, 2024.
Bruce and Patti performed an emotional rendition of "Tougher Than the Rest."
In the documentary, Patti, 71, explained why performing has been difficult for her. "This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go," she said. "Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that."
Bruce, 74, was a headliner at the music festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He performed for about three hours, and at one point, welcomed his wife on stage.
"We got my beautiful wife, Patti Scialfa, is with us!" Bruce said to the audience, welcoming his wife onstage for the inspiring duet.
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Bruce and Patti have been married since 1991. They share three children: Evan, 34, Jessica, 32, and Sam, 30. Both Bruce and Patti were born in New Jersey, making the performance at the Sea.Hear.Now music festival extra special.
In 2017, Bruce Springsteen told Variety that "Tougher Than The Rest" is one of his favorite songs to perform with his wife. "It’s one of those songs that really feels like it’s hers and mine now," he told the publication at the time.
He also spoke about how some of his wife's talent goes unnoticed. "She’s a very distinctive, underrated singer and songwriter," he said at the time. "She’s made some excellent records that I think, because of her connection to me, have gone a little under-noticed and underrated."
Although they've worked together for many years, Bruce told the publication that it wasn't difficult to keep their professional lives separate from their personal lives.
"When she comes onstage with the E Street Band she’s an E Street band member, and when we walk offstage we’re husband and wife," he said at the time.
