Steven Van Zandt wears many hats: guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, producer and arranger, host of the “Underground Garage” radio program, actor.
“People know me from something,” said Van Zandt, who uses the nom de musique of “Little Steven.” “But they may not know me as a singer and songwriter.”
In fact, Van Zandt has been making his own music intermittently since 1982, when he released “Men Without Women.” That LP marked his debut as frontman of a group called Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.
Four more albums, credited only to Little Steven followed in the next 17 years. Other projects (such as his role as Silvio on “The Sopranos”) have kept him busy for most of the past two decades.
Then in 2017, Van Zandt released “Soulfire,” a collection of new songs that lovingly nod to many of his musical influences, from doo-wop to the blues.
With a reconfigured Disciples of Soul, Van Zandt is currently on tour. His next stop will be Saturday, May 5, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
Van Zandt said that reviving the Disciples of Soul was completely unplanned. “I was talking with a friend of mine in London, and he asked me to throw a band together to play a blues festival last year,” Van Zandt said. “It sounded like fun.”
The performance was almost a revelation for Van Zandt. “I was surprised at how well the music held up,” he said. “This was music that had been a big part of my life. So I thought, why not do an album as a re-introduction?”
Some of the songs on “Soulfire” had been kicking around Van Zandt’s head for a while, he said. Others echo music he had previously written.
He singled out the doo-wop song, “Love on the Wrong Side of Town. “That was me revisiting the first song I ever wrote that I liked, which was ‘I Don’t Want to Go Home,’” he said. “I had written that one for the Drifters and Ben E. King.”
Van Zandt referred to his current concerts as “‘Soufire’ plus.” “We do the album, but we also do other things,” he said. “It’s like the history of rock ’n’ roll, with about 10 or 12 sub-genres.”
He also expressed pride in the musicians backing him. “These are the best of the best of the best,” he said. “These are people who are playing in a totally authentic way.”
A love of music was instilled in Van Zandt at an early age. He was born in Massachusetts in 1950. At age seven, his family moved to Middletown. He formed his first band, the Shadows, in 1964, after seeing the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
An active member of the Jersey shore music scene, Van Zandt helped found Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, writing and producing most of their early albums.
His friendship with Springsteen, which started in the mid-1960s, flowered into a musical collaboration with his contributions to the “Born to Run” album in 1975.
Among Van Zandt’s other project is the nonprofit Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and its TeachRock curriculum, which provides interdisciplinary lesson plans and materials to schools at no cost. “I hope that will continue long past me,” he said.
He also cited “Underground Garage” and its sister program, “Outlaw Country.” “We’re playing great music that typical radio is not playing,” he said. “‘Outlaw Country’ may be the only place where you can hear all three generations of Hank Williams.”
Never one to shy away from political matters, Van Zandt further mentioned his involvement in “Sun City,” an all-star benefit LP in the mid-1980s that addressed the apartheid system in South Africa.
“I’m proud of that,” he said. “Would South Africa have been liberated with it? Probably. But I like to think we helped shorten it.”
The underlying theme of Van Zandt’s musical career has been a deep love for rock history and a strong belief in the power of music to change the world.
“Our generation was very fortunate,” Van Zandt said. “I’m very grateful to have grown up in the Renaissance, when the greatest art was also the most commercial. My music is a reflection of that.”
IF YOU GO
LITTLE STEVEN & THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL
WHAT: Steven Van Zandt, longtime guitarist for the E Street Band, takes the frontman role for a band of musicians heavily influenced by soul, R&B, and vintage rock.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, May 5
WHERE: Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown
TICKETS: $59 to $129 ($279 for ticket and merchandising bundle; $579 for attendance at sound check, meet & greet with Van Zandt, ticket, and merchandise bundle.)
INFORMATION: 973-539-8008 or www.mayoarts.org
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
● Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul will appear at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on Saturday, May 5.
● The longtime guitarist for the E Street Band, Steven Van Zandt formed the first incarnation of the Disciples of Soul in 1982. His most recent CD, “Soulfire,” was released in 2017.
● Backed by a band of veteran musicians, Steven Van Zandt will perform his own songs and select covers from the worlds of soul, R&B, and vintage rock.
