A Tribute to The Big Man, Clarence Clemons

The Stone Pony in Asbury Park was packed on Sunday with hundreds of fans paying tribute to legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

Clemons, 69, the "Big Man" in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Saturday night after suffering complications from a stroke on June 12. 

Springsteen and Clemons, who was 6-foot-4 and weighing 250 pounds,  met at the Asbury Park bar in 1971, a story both men have told onstage for the past 40 years.

Fans of all ages came to pay their respects to Clemons at the very stage he and Bruce began playing together. 

Valerie Koelsch of Bear, Del., and Tony Tanzi of Ocean Township stood in front of the stage donned with flowers and photos, sharing memories of seeing Clarence perform live. 

Koelsch moved out of Jersey in 1987 but has seen Clemons with the E Street Band in New Jersey at the Meadowlands.

Tanzi remembers the 2003 show at the Meadowlands where it was pouring rain all night and when the first chords of Jungleland struck, the rain stopped and the sun came out. 

Renee Salaowski of the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township came alongside her husband, Hank, her son, Ed, and her two grandchildren.

"I've seen Clarence over a dozen time -- almost every year I try to take my dad. I asked [my dad] what he wanted for Father's Day and here we are," said Ed Salaowski, whose most memorable concert was at The Spectrum in 1985 during the Tunnel of Love tour. "I will always remember when Clarence did his solo and Bruce announced his name on stage. It was the first time I saw Clarence."

The Salaowski family came to pay their respects, and Hank is here to show his love for Clarence, a man he has seen half a dozen times in concert.

"I'm here for the same reason everyone else is here," said Hank Salaoski, whose been to half a dozen shows to see Clarence with his most memorable being the last show Clarence put on at Madison Square Garden. "I'll always remember when Bruce said, 'Here's to Big Man.' "

Laura D'Amico of Howell felt that she needed to be as close as possible to Clarence today, and The Stone Pony was that place. 

"I haven't been here in 20 years but I wanted to be here with others," said D'Amico who donned her most memorable Bruce and the E Street Band concert shirt. "I wanted to feel the love and support, to pay my respects."

D'Amico has been to over 20 shows and in 2009, she watched as Clarence played at Madison Square Garden and was so close to the stage that she remembers feeling his prescence.

"The way Bruce interacted with Clarence was so special -- the love between them was there," D'Amico said. "He touched my heart through his music and my soul through his words." 

Maureen Benjamin of Harriman was emotional while standing at the foot of the stage.

"I haven't been to that many (concerts) but enough to feel (Clarence's) prescence," Benhamin said. "I remember the last concert at Shea Stadium, I started to cry during the last song and I look to the screen and Clarence was crying. I knew I wasn't crying alone."