Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul

Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul

Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul is a rock band from the United States led by Steve Van Zandt, who also uses the name Little Steven. The project begins in 1982 and remains active.

Background

Van Zandt is a founding member of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes and plays in several early Bruce Springsteen bands before joining Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in 1975. He later becomes known as a singer, guitarist and bandleader under the Little Steven name.

Albums and recordings

The group releases two albums in the 1980s under the Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul name. Men Without Women appears in 1982 and receives the strongest critical response of the two. Voice of America follows in 1984 and performs better on the U.S. albums chart, though neither album achieves major commercial success.

Van Zandt also releases two further albums as Little Steven: Freedom - No Compromise in 1987 and Revolution in 1989.

Members and collaborators

The Disciples include Jean Beauvoir on bass and Dino Danelli on drums. The recordings also feature contributions from a wider group of musicians, including Danny Federici, Clarence Clemons and Garry Tallent of the E Street Band. The group’s listed members include Anthony Almonte, Jean Beauvoir, Felix Cavaliere, Dino Danelli, Stan Harrison, Lowell Levinger, Little Steven, Ed Manion, Mark Pender, Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, Mike Spengler, Jessica Wagner-Cowan and Monti Ellison.

Later work by Van Zandt

In 1985, Van Zandt creates the music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid. From 1999, he plays in the reformed E Street Band and also appears as Silvio Dante in the television series The Sopranos.