he began wearing hats, and later, large bandanas, which has become his characteristic look. Actor Billy Van Zandt is Van Zandt's half-brother and actress Adrienne Barbeau is his ex-sister-in-law. He also has a half-sister named Kathi, who is a writer. Career Band member Van Zandt grew up in the Jersey Shore music scene, and was an early friend and pre-E Street bandmate of Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen met Van Zandt for the first time in 1965 when Springsteen went to the Hullabaloo club in Middletown. Van Zandt was performing a cover of the Turtles' "Happy Together" with the Shadows. They performed together in bands such as Steel Mill and the Bruce Springsteen Band. During the early 1970s, Van Zandt worked in road construction for two years, before returning to show business. In 1973, he toured with The Dovells. The tour ended in Miami on December 31, 1974 with Dick Clark's Good Old Rock 'n' Roll Show at the Deauville Star Theater. After going back to Jersey, Van Zandt continued wearing Hawaiian shirts because he did not particularly like winter, which was how he got the nickname "Miami Steve". He co-founded Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, in addition to The Miami Horns, who got their name from Van Zandt's nickname. Van Zandt helped establish the rhythm and blues oriented style of music that the band performed. He also produced Southside Johnny's first three albums. Overall, Van Zandt wrote a significant bulk of Southside Johnny's music which helped provide them with the success that they achieved. Van Zandt then started to switch between writing for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and touring with the E Street Band. He confirmed in an interview on The Howard Stern Show that he arranged the horns on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" in 1975 when Springsteen was at a loss, earning him a spot in the E Street Band shortly thereafter. In the Wings For Wheels documentary, Springsteen revealed that Van Zandt was partially responsible for the signature guitar line in "Born to Run," described as "Arguably Steve's greatest contribution to my music." Ultimately, Van Zandt officially joined the E Street Band on July 20, 1975 during the first show of the Born to Run Tour. In those early years, Van Zandt supplied a great deal of the lead guitar work for the band in concert, as can be seen on the 1975 concert DVD within Born