Springsteen keyboardist Danny Federici dies at 58

Danny Federici, keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen, died yesterday in New York City after a three-year battle with melanoma.

Federici, 58, was a founding member of the E Street Band and for four decades created memorable solos and background textures on Springsteen's greatest recordings.

He played organ on the anthem "Born to Run," piano on "Born in the U.S.A.," and accordion on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." Federici's solo on "Hungry Heart" became the centerpiece on Springteen's first top 10 hit.

Federici started his musical career as a classical accordion player. In an interview, Federici said he was encouraged his mother "who wanted me to be friends with Wayne Newton and play the Vegas thing."

But classical accordion - and it's classic reperatory of Russian, German, and Italian folk songs - wasn't much of a chick magnet.

"The girl's weren't digging it," he told the online magazine Chorus and Verse. Following the British Invasion of the early '60s, Federici had a chance encounter at the NuPower Conservatory of Music in Philadelphia. It changed his life.

A substitute teacher introduced him to jazz and blues and showed Federici how it could be applied to the accordion.

Two weeks later he dropped out of the conservatory to follow his own muse.

Federici last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis.

Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Saturday in Orlando were postponed following the news of Frederici's death.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician," Springsteen said in a statement. "I loved him very much...we grew up together."

Born in Hunterdon County, Federici met Springsteen in the late 60s at the Jersey Shore. The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park.

It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who first invited Springsteen to join their band.

By 1969, the self-effacing Federici - often introduced in concert by Springsteen as "Phantom Dan" - was playing with the Boss in a band called Child. Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore bands Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band.

Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters in the late '80s, but reunited the band in 1999.

He took a leave of absence during the band's Magic tour in November to be treated for melanoma, a rare type of cancer that causes the majority of skin cancer related deaths.