Why did Bruce Springsteen get the nickname "The Boss?"

[Archae]

I'm in the process of recording to CD ten records by Bruce Springsteen, and am curious how he got that nickname.

BTW, I still think he sucks. :P

[HardWorkingDem]

1. If I'm not mistaken...

it comes from a similar like concept of someone being so good he/she is "boss"....and to those that "get" him, he is "THE" Boss...sort of like "THE Boss" of all those who are "boss"...

That's my interpretation....

[Dr Morbius]

2. He was amazing up until "Darkness on the Edge of Town".

After that was "The River" and the beginning of a long, slow, torturous slide to mediocrity. But really, at the early stages (first four albums), he was not just good but great.

[Bennyboy]

5. Still amazing.....

The Rising is as good as anything he ever did. So is the Seeger Sessions album and the tour flipped people out. Magic was great too. Yeah maybe more adult themed and his metaphors now run a bit deeper than cars and speed, but still he is one of the greatest.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. According to Wikipedia...

In the late 1960s, Springsteen performed briefly in a power trio known as Earth, playing in clubs in New Jersey. Springsteen acquired the nickname "The Boss" during this period as when he played club gigs with a band he took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay and distributing it amongst his bandmates.<6> Springsteen is not fond of this nickname, due to his dislike of bosses,<7> but seems to have since given it a tacit acceptance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen#cite_note-5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen#cite_note-6

[Bennyboy]

4. "I don't know how they call me the Boss,

when I got stuck carrying the amps" Winterland 12-15-78