A fabulous ruby-and-diamond bracelet designed for screen siren Marlene Dietrich and most recently owned by socialite Anne Eisenhower, the granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, could fetch $4.5 million when it hits the auction block at Christie's New York on June 7.



The bracelet was Dietrich's favorite piece of jewelry and she famously wore it in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1950 thriller, Stage Fright. In the film's trailer, Dietrich clasps the cuff while chatting with co-star Richard Todd in a pivotal scene. Hitchcock shot the film in black and white, so the intense color of the rubies had to be left to viewers' imagination. She also wore the bracelet to the Academy Awards in 1951.



It's difficult to classify the piece because it has a totally unique design.

Speaking with The New York Times in 1992 (the year Dietrich passed away at the age of 90 and Eisenhower anonymously won the piece at auction), Dietrich’s grandson Peter Riva revealed that author Erich Maria Remarque convinced his lover to "take all her bits of jewelry and make them into one fabulous piece."

In 1937, jeweler to the stars Louis Arpels conceived Dietrich's "Jarretière" bracelet from diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, a ruby bracelet and earring set, a couple of pins and more. The cushion-cut Burmese rubies are accented by round, rectangular and baguette-cut diamonds, all set in platinum.

The New York Times has described Dietrich’s Jarretière piece as a “modernist platinum cuff” featuring “an exaggerated, asymmetrical loop covered in cushion-cut rubies set atop twin buckle-like bands of… diamonds.”

If you were wondering, "Jarretière" means "garter" in French.

“This bracelet is legendary in a lot of ways,” Claibourne Poindexter, vice president and jewelry specialist at Christie’s, told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s bold. It’s very large in scale and has a wonderful curvature. She wore it so beautifully in Stage Fright and you get this appreciation for how sculptural the design is. It doesn’t really fit into any period. It’s not art deco jewelry. It’s not retro jewelry. It’s just sort of high glamour. It really is its own work of art.”

The first time it came to auction in 1992, Eisenhower purchased it for $990,000 — an amount that far exceeded its presale estimate of $300,000 to $400,000.

Eisenhower subsequently enlisted Van Cleef & Arpels to design a complementary necklace and earrings — both of which will appear at the upcoming auction.

Now, 31 years later, the Jarretière bracelet is expected to sell in the range of $2.5 million to $4.5 million, although it could sell for more due to a provenance that ties it to one of the most famous movie stars and a member of a pre-eminent American family.

Eisenhower, who passed away last year at the age of 73, was a New York-based interior designer, collector and philanthropist.

The Jarretière bracelet is the top lot from Christie’s upcoming June 7 sale in New York, titled “The Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower.”

“From Marlene Dietrich to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Anne Eisenhower collection traces the history of the last century through a single collector’s brilliant passion for fine jewels,” said Marc Porter, chairman of Christie’s Americas. ”Anne Eisenhower had a keen eye for the finest examples of the jeweler’s art, and her collection tells fascinating and interwoven stories of patrons and collectors.”

The collection will be on tour, starting in Los Angeles on March 23 and ending in New York City on June 6. Other stops on the tour will include Shanghai, Paris, Taipei, Geneva and Hong Kong.

Credits: Ruby bracelet photo courtesy of Christie's. Screen capture from "Stage Fright" trailer via YouTube.com.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you excellent tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, the husband-and-wife duo known as Johnnyswim performs "Diamonds," an inspirational song about enduring personal tragedy and coming out stronger on the other side.



Amanda Sudano-Ramirez and Abner Ramirez employ diamonds in the lyrics to symbolize the triumph of the human spirit.

They sing, "In the wake of every heartache / In the depth of every fear / There were diamonds, diamonds / Waiting to break out of here."

“‘Diamonds’ is a song about the realization that even the hardest times can somehow make life more beautiful,” Sudano-Ramirez told Entertainment Weekly, “just like the years of pressure that turn coal into a diamond.”

The catchy chorus repeats, "We're the diamonds, diamonds / We're the diamonds, diamonds / Rising up out the dust."

The 2014 release draws on the real-life experiences of the couple. They both suffered heartbreaking losses in 2012. Abner's mom passed away, as did Amanda's grandmother and famous mom — five-time Grammy winner and 1970s "Queen of Disco" Donna Summer.

The couple channeled their sadness into a passionate, upbeat anthem that earned critical acclaim that resonated with their growing fan base. "Diamonds" became the title track of Johnnyswim's first full-length album.

The Nashville-based duo met at a church service in 2001 and formed Johnnyswim in 2005 after reconnecting at a songwriting class that Abner was teaching. Their professional relationship evolved into a romantic one and the couple married shortly thereafter.

Please check out the video of Johnnyswim performing "Diamonds" in a live session for Dallas radio station KXT in 2014. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…

"Diamonds"
Written by Abner Pedro Ramirez, Amanda Sudano Ramirez and Britten Newbill. Performed by Johnnyswim.

In the wake of every heartache
In the depth of every fear
There were diamonds, diamonds
Waiting to break out of here.

Don't you think I hear the whispers
Those subtle lies, those angry pleas
They're just demons, demons
Wishing they were free like me.

We're the fire, from the sun
We're the light when the day is done
We are the brave, the chosen ones
We're the diamonds, diamonds
Rising up out the dust.

Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust

All your curses will surrender
Every damning word will kneel
They're just mountains, mountains
About to turn into fields.

We're the fire, from the sun
We're the light when the day is done
We are the brave, we're the chosen ones
We're the diamonds, diamonds
Rising up out the dust.

Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising, rising, rising, rising…

You've taken down
So many others
Oh but you'll know my name when you see
And in these ashes I'm stronger still
You'll learn to fear my pain, yeah you will.

You've taken down
So many others
Oh but you'll know my name when you see
And in these ashes I'm stronger still
You'll learn to fear my pain, yeah you will.
You'll learn to fear my pain, yeah you will, yeah you will, yeah you will.

We're the fire, from the sun
We're the light when the day is done
We are the brave, we are the chosen ones
We're the diamonds, diamonds
We're the diamonds, diamonds

We're the diamonds, diamonds
We're the diamonds, diamonds
Rising up out the dust.

Oh oh. Rising out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising out the dust
Oh oh…

Oh oh. Rising out the dust
Oh oh. Rising up out the dust
Oh oh. Rising out the dust
Oh oh…



Credits: Screen capture via YouTube.com / kxtradio.

David Anderson, a super-successful amateur diamond hunter and frequent visitor to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR, recently scored a 3.29-carat brown sparkler — the biggest find of 2023.



Over the past 16 years, Anderson has amassed more than 400 diamonds, including 15 weighing more than 1 carat. His other top finds include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond found in December 2011 and a 6.19-carat white gem discovered in April 2014.

Anderson said a story about the park on the Travel Channel gave him the inspiration to try his luck at the only diamond site in the world that’s open to the general public.

“My first trip here was in 2007," Anderson said. "After I found my first diamond, a 1.5-carat white, I was hooked!”



About the size of an English pea, with a light brown color and octahedron shape, Anderson's newest treasure was found on March 4 near the West Drain of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area.

The Murfreesboro resident said he was wet-sifting soil when an unusual stone caught his eye.

“At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny,” said Anderson. “Once I picked it up, I realized it was a diamond!”



Successful diamond hunters often choose to name their gems. In this case, Anderson affectionately called his diamond "B.U.D." — short for Big Ugly Diamond.

Of course, when it comes to diamonds, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and some people may see the brown diamond with a pitted surface and mottled brown color as something uniquely beautiful.

Park Interpreter Tayler Markham said the stone exhibits a "metallic shine typical of all diamonds found at the park, with a partially resorbed surface and lots of inclusions.”

Markham explained that all diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds State Park have gone through partial resorption during the eruption that brought them to the surface.

"Magma in the volcanic pipe melted the diamonds’ outer surfaces and gave them smooth, rounded edges," Markham added. "Larger diamonds like Mr. Anderson’s may have rough areas on the surface, but you can still find signs of resorption on the corners and edges.”

According to the Gemological Association of America (GIA), the kimberlite magma that brings diamonds to the surface from deep in the Earth can effect the external surface and internal features of a diamond. The diamond crystal can be dissolved to form secondary shapes by the partial removal of crystalline diamond in a geological process known as dissolution or resorption.

Writes the GIA, "Left alone without dissolution, diamond will form a perfect octahedron or a cube. But with dissolution, diamond can change from an octahedron to other forms, such as dodecahedron (12 faces) or tetrahexahedron (24 faces), and even form “irregular” diamonds with no discernible shape.

As of this publication, 124 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year. Since the park opened in 1972, visitors have registered 35,250 diamonds.

Amazingly, even though the park has welcomed more than 4.6 million guests over that time, Anderson alone has accounted for more than 1% of that total.

According to the park's press release, Anderson typically sells his diamonds locally and plans to sell "B.U.D." as well.

Credits: Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

An adorable six-year-old is now a celebrity at Dogwood Elementary in Germantown, TN, after finding a lost engagement ring during a treasure hunt on the school grounds.



The treasure hunt was initiated by kindergarten teacher Ann Wallace in an effort to support her friend, first-grade teacher Sabrina Mink, who lost her engagement ring and wedding band at the school two days earlier.



On Saturday, March 4, Mink, her husband and her daughter prepared for a late afternoon outing at the playground of the school where Mink teaches. In the parking lot of the school, Mink took off her diamond engagement ring and wedding band before putting sunscreen on her daughter. She deposited the ring in her husband's T-shirt pocket for safekeeping.

A little after 7 p.m., Mink and her family were back at home when she remembered that her rings were still in her husband's pocket. When she went to retrieve them, she and her husband were terrified to see a giant hole in the bottom of the pocket and no sign of the rings.

“We panicked,” Mink told the Dogwood Elementary School website. “There were five of us that went back to the park that night with flashlights.”

They quickly found the wedding band in the parking lot, but the engagement ring remained elusive. They searched the parking lot and the playground and came up empty. A return to the scene during daylight hours on Sunday proved fruitless.

Mink posted a lost-ring message on the Facebook Germantown Bulletin Board and emailed the Dogwood Elementary School staff.



On Monday, Mink's fellow teachers searched the grounds as they walked to class. One first-grade teacher scanned the area with a metal detector.

Cleverly, kindergarten teacher Wallace told her class that they would be going on a treasure hunt during recess. Then young Scarlett Arnold asked her teacher what they were looking for.

“When Ms. Wallace said we were looking for a ring, I knew where it was,” the youngster told the Dogwood Elementary School website.

You see, Arnold had been at the playground on Saturday, as well.



“I saw it shining in the rocks, so I buried it like treasure,” she said.

“I didn’t believe her at first,” Wallace said, “but she brought it back. I was ecstatic for my friend.”

Arnold's mom told local TV station WREG that her daughter has a new nickname.

“I think when she’s walking down the hall, everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, the ring finder,’” the mom reported.

Mink was thankful that her colleague came up with the idea of a recess treasure hunt and mentioned the lost ring. It was serendipitous that the child who buried the treasure was in that very class.

“It was so sweet that everyone was trying to help,” Mink said. “The events that led me to lose [the rings] were so silly, and the events that led to finding it… you can’t make them up.”

The Dogwood Elementary School website reports that young Arnold was rewarded for her responsible thinking with a supply of Skittles.

Credits: Teacher and student photo via Dogwood Elementary School website (des.gmsdk12.org). Screen captures via wreg.com.

On Sunday night, as you watched the cast and crew of Everything Everywhere All at Once scoop up seven Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards — including best picture and best actress — were you wondering if the gleaming statuettes were made of pure gold?



Well, the short answer is "yes and no."

Depicting a knight holding a crusader's sword, the Oscar was designed in 1928 by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons and sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley. It is composed of 24-karat gold-plated bronze.

The sleek award stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs a hefty 8.5 pounds. If cast in 24-karat gold, the award would weigh 22.7 pounds, a mass equivalent to a large watermelon or two-year-old child. Gold is 2.7 times as dense as bronze.

Another reason the statuettes are not cast in sold gold is because of the prohibitive cost. At yesterday's gold spot price of $1,902 per ounce, each statue would require $690,000 worth of precious metal — and the Academy requires 60 statues each year.

The reporters at CNN did a wonderful job recounting the origin and evolution of the Oscars with an illustrated story on CNN.com.

CNN explained how the original statue was made from gold-plated bronze, but then changed to painted plaster during World War II, due to a scarcity of resources. In 1982, the bronze core was substituted for a pewter-based alloy, but changed back to bronze in 2016.

In that year, the UAP (Urban Art Projects) workshop in Rock Tavern, NY, worked with the Academy to create a new version of Oscar that would incorporate the best elements from the original design and those of the more recent incarnations.

UAP uses a lost-wax method to cast the awards in bronze. In the finishing phase, the bronze castings are meticulously checked for minor flaws, polished and plated — first in copper and nickel and finally in 24-karat gold.

“By the time you get to the end," UAP general manager Jake Joyce told CNN.com, "the final Oscar is much smaller than the original because they’re always grinding and sanding and polishing and taking away metal.”

Trailblazing actor and filmmaker Douglas Fairbanks hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929 at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The award ceremony became must-see TV starting in 1953. Sunday's broadcast was seen in 200 territories worldwide and attracted 16 million viewers in the US alone.

Credit: Oscar statuettes by Amdrewcs81, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Actress Eva Amurri and new fiancé, chef Ian Hock, recently re-enacted their romantic Paris engagement in Westport, CT, so Amurri's kids could share the love.



Amurri, who co-parents her three children with ex Kyle Martino, explained on Instagram how excited the kids were when they learned that Hock was taking her to Paris.

"The two big kids kept on asking me if I thought Ian would propose in Paris," she wrote. "Marlowe, especially, has been asking us to get married for over a year, and she told me “I think it’s gonna happen in Paris, mom!!! You have to call me if he gives you the ring!!!”

And he did. In an Instagram Story, Amurri displayed her new emerald-cut diamond engagement ring in a series of photos from the City of Love.



The daughter of actress Susan Sarandon and director Franco Amurri told her fans that she was "absolutely dying" over the ring, and gave a shout out to her new fiancé and the ring's designer.

Amurri wrote, "Ian designed it with @cms_custom and OMG Christina you outdid yourself!!!!!"



The platinum and 14-karat gold ring features a large center stone accented by square baguette side stones and secured in a basket setting with an open gallery.

Amurri explained that after she and Hock were officially engaged, they called the kids to share the news.

"They were SO excited, and they wanted to know all the details," Amurri wrote on Instagram. "We told them we’d redo it for them when [we] came home."

In a video posted to Instagram, the couple shared the heartwarming scene, as the three kids — sons Mateo (2) and Major (6) and daughter Marlowe (8) — watch intently as their mom shows them photos and videos of the garden in Paris where the engagement took place.



Then, in the family's living room, Hock got down on one knee and proposed to Amurri. She said "Yes," and they kissed.



Then Hock pulled a ring box from his pocket and placed the ring on Amurri's finger. The kids cheered and Major was so excited, he jumped on Hock's back. Then each kid got to try on their mom's new ring.



The family capped the celebration with a toast. Their drink of choice was red, sparkly soda.

"This morning, we relived our engagement all over again, with our three favorite people, and it was so dreamy," Amurri wrote on Instagram. "This engagement isn’t just ours, but theirs as well. Feeling so grateful for this love."

Amurri is an actress, blogger and founder of the Happily Eva After lifestyle collection.

Credits: Photos and screen captures via Instagram / thehappilyeva.

In preparation for King Charles III’s coronation on May 6, Queen Mary's crown has been removed from public display at the Tower of London so it can undergo a few alterations that reflect Queen Consort Camilla's "individual style."



Traditionally, the British Queen Consort would commission a new headpiece for the grand event, but “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency," Camilla decided to repurpose the crown originally designed in 1911 for Mary of Teck, the wife of King George V.

The newest incarnation of Queen Mary’s Crown will see the addition of three famous diamonds — the Cullinan III (pear-shaped, 94.4 carats), Cullinan IV (cushion-shaped, 63.6 carats) and Cullinan V (heart-shaped, 18.8 carats). Each of these diamonds were cut from the magnificent 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever found.

Discovered in South Africa in 1905, the enormous rough diamond was transformed by Joseph Asscher of the Amsterdam-based Asscher Company into nine major diamonds, each of which was given the name Cullinan and a Roman numeral.



In this photograph, the top row shows the Cullinans II, I and III. On the bottom row are the Cullinans VI, VIII, IV, V, VII and IX.

Camilla chose to add the three historic Cullinan diamonds to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II, as they were part of her personal jewelry collection. Elizabeth wore the Cullinan III and IV as a brooch and playfully called them "Granny's Chips" because she inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary. According to naturaldiamonds.com, the current value of Granny’s Chips is more than £50 million ($59 million).

The Queen Consort's jewelers are also making physical modifications to the crown. Four of the crown's eight detachable half-arches will be removed to create "a different impression to when the Crown was worn by Queen Mary at the 1911 coronation," Buckingham Palace noted.



Queen Mary reportedly purchased the Art Deco crown from royal jewelers Garrard & Co. with her own money, hoping that it would someday become an heirloom worn by future queens consort. The crown weighs 1.3 pounds and is set with 2,200 rose-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds.

Buckingham Palace reported that this will be the first time since the 18th century that a Queen Consort will be utilizing an existing crown. The last time it happened was in 1727, when Queen Caroline, consort of George II, wore Mary of Modena's crown.

Credits: Queen Mary's Crown photo by Cyril Davenport (1848 – 1941), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Queen Camilla photo by Carfax2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cullinan diamonds photo by Plate X, The Cullinan (1908)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Queen Mary and King George V at her coronation in 1911, photo by W. & D. Downey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A volunteer-in-training at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Haithabu in northern Germany startled his mentors when he unearthed a spectacular pair of 800-year-old gem-set pendant earrings on just his third day using a metal detector.



Nicki Andreas Steinmann's instructor had assigned him to scan a quadrant in an area that is now a working farm, but was once part of a Viking trade center and settlement from the 8th to 11th centuries. Haithabu had been destroyed and abandoned around 1066, ending the Viking era in the region.

About 200 years later, a traveler likely buried the Byzantine-style gold earrings, along with silver coins and other gold jewelry, in a fabric bag and never came back to claim them.



The pendant earrings, which are in remarkably good shape considering they've been buried for eight centuries, each featured 19 colored gemstones of varying sizes. Many of the larger stones are still secure in their bezel settings. The earrings measure about 5 cm in diameter and display an openwork filigree motif.

After Steinmann and his mentors reported the find to state officials, the State Archaeological Department of Schleswig-Holstein (ALSH) conducted a controlled excavation of a 4-square-meter area.

The archaeologists recovered a gilded brooch made to look like an Islamic coin, two gilded rings set with stones, a ring fragment, a gilded perforated disc, a ring brooch and 30 silver coins minted during the reign of Danish King Valdemar II, between 1202 and 1241.

Officials at ALSH noted that it's unclear whether these items were personal property or stolen, if they were meant to be delivered to someone else, or if they were buried for ritual reasons or because of an imminent threat.

According to Live Science, amateur and professional archaeologists have been working together for decades to investigate the Haithabu site in the region of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites are places that are listed as having special cultural or physical significance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Credit: Photos courtesy of the Archaeological State Office of Schleswig-Holstein.

On Friday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed into law a bill designating the Mississippi Opal as the Magnolia State's official gemstone.



On Twitter, the Governor posted two photos captioned with the proclamation, "Mississippi officially has a state gemstone! I was happy to sign legislation declaring it to be the beautiful Mississippi Opal, the only naturally occurring gemstone in our state."



The state's First Lady, Elee Reeves, is seen modeling a Mississippi Opal pendant in one of the pics. The governor's tweet emphasized his wife's support in ferrying the legislation through the state's House and Senate, where the bills passed unanimously.

“The green Mississippi Opal is as beautiful as our state and it will be an excellent representation of our unique geological history,” noted Governor Reeves. “Thank you to our First Lady and the folks at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for working to elevate this issue.”

“There’s no doubt that Mississippi is home to lovely people, places, and natural resources,” First Lady Reeves said. “I’m incredibly excited to have the Mississippi Opal as our official state gemstone. This gem is a perfect example of the beauty found in the state we love.”

Geologist James Starnes is credited with discovering the Mississippi Opal less than 20 years ago when he and his team at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) were mapping the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in Claiborne County, near Vicksburg.



The geologists believe Mississippi Opal was formed millions of years ago from volcanic ash. The gem is unique because it displays opal-like flashes ranging from red to orange to green.

The bill's expedited run through Mississippi's legislature — and its ultimate signing by the governor — is attributed to the combined efforts of the MDEQ, the North Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society, the Mississippi State Board of Registered Professional Geologists and Mississippi's First Lady.

The bill emphasized how the designation of the Mississippi Opal as the state's official gemstone would encourage pride in the state's rich natural heritage.

Starnes believes the Mississippi Opal’s elevated status will “encourage folks to take interest in the state’s geology.”

Specimens of Mississippi Opal are currently available for public viewing at both the Museum of the Mississippi Delta in Greenwood and the Oren Dunn City Museum in Tupelo.

Credits: Images via Twitter / Governor Tate Reeves.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, music legend Bruce Springsteen performs “Jersey Girl,” a tender ballad about a working-class New York City guy who falls head-over-heels in love with a gal from New Jersey. The smitten Springsteen has no time to hang out with the boys because, tonight, he's gonna take that ride across the river to the Jersey side.



He sings, “You know she thrills me with all her charms / When I’m wrapped up in my baby’s arms / My little girl gives me everything / I know that someday she’ll wear my ring.”

When Springsteen released “Jersey Girl” as the B-side to his 1984 hit “Cover Me,” it was already a fan favorite. Three years earlier, he began performing it during encores of his River Tour. The song generated so much emotion from the concertgoers that it became a set list staple — frequently opening or closing his shows. “Jersey Girl” was selected as the final track of Springsteen’s 1986 box set Live/1975-85 and was the final song performed by Springsteen at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium before its demolition in 2009.

The Boss’s fans may be surprised to learn that even though Springsteen was born in Colts Neck, NJ, and his rocker wife, Patti Scialfa, was born in Deal, NJ, “Jersey Girl” was actually penned by Californian Tom Waits in 1980. Waits revealed in an interview that he wrote the song with his future wife and Jersey Girl, Kathleen Brennan, after she came into his life and “saved him.” Waits included the song on his 1980 album Heartattack and Vine.

A master storyteller and poet, Springsteen rarely releases covers of other artists’ songs, but “Jersey Girl” remains an exception. He recognized the main character in the Waits composition as the same guy from his own “Sandy” and “Rosalita.”

In August 1981, Waits and Springsteen — both of whom would later enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — performed “Jersey Girl” together at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Born in 1949, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was inspired to pursue a music career after watching the Beatles’ perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The 15-year-old Springsteen bought his first guitar for $18.95 at a Western Auto Appliance store.

He played small venues with a number of bands throughout the late ’60s and then caught the attention of a Columbia Records talent scout in 1972. Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., was released in October of that same year.

Springsteen has sold more than 150 million records worldwide. He’s earned 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award for Springsteen on Broadway. In 1999, he was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We hope you enjoy the audio track of Springsteen’s live performance of “Jersey Girl.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along...

“Jersey Girl”
Written by Tom Waits. Performed by Bruce Springsteen.

I got no time for the corner boys
Down in the street making all that noise
Or the girls out on the avenue
‘Cause tonight I want to be with you

Tonight I’m gonna take that ride
Across the river to the Jersey side
Take my baby to the carnival
And I’ll take her on all the rides

‘Cause down the shore everything’s all right
You and your baby on a Saturday night
You know all my dreams come true
When I’m walking down the street with you

Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la
Sha la la la I’m in love with a Jersey girl

You know she thrills me with all her charms
When I’m wrapped up in my baby’s arms
My little girl gives me everything
I know that someday she’ll wear my ring

So don’t bother me man I ain’t got no time
I’m on my way to see that girl of mine
‘Cause nothing matters in this whole wide world
When you’re in love with a Jersey girl

Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la
Sha la la la I’m in love with a Jersey girl

I see you on the street and you look so tired
I know that job you got leaves you so uninspired
When I come by to take you out to eat
you’re lyin’ all dressed up on the bed baby fast asleep

Go in the bathroom and put your makeup on
We’re gonna take that little brat of yours and drop her off at your mom's
I know a place where the dancing’s free
Now baby won’t you come with me

‘Cause down the shore everything’s all right
You and your baby on a Saturday night
Nothing matters in this whole wide world
When you’re in love with a Jersey girl



Credits: Photo by Manuel Martinez Perez, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.