I'm In The Mood For ... a Little Steven Quiz

Answer: Not related

Little Steven was born with the name Steven Lento, and adopted the last name of Van Zandt when his mother remarried. The three Van Zant brothers (Lynyrd Skynyrd brothers Ronnie and Johnny, and 38 Special founder Donnie) are from Florida and are not related to Little Steven -- and in fact, their last names are spelled differently. Little Steven was born in Massachusetts, and his family moved to New Jersey when he was seven.

Answer: Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

Van Zandt produced and wrote most of the songs on Southside Johnny's first three albums, which were released between 1976-1978. Many of these songs, such as "I Don't Want to Go Home", "This Time It's for Real", "Love on the Wrong Side of Town" (co-written by Bruce Springsteen), and "Trapped Again" (co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny) were mainstays in Southside Johnny's live shows over the next forty plus years. Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul released their first album, "Men Without Women", in 1982.

Answer: Born To Run

Van Zandt (then known as "Miami Steve") arranged the horns on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and joined the E Street Band as a guitarist and harmony vocalist prior to their first show of the 1975 "Born To Run" tour. He remained a member of the band through 1984, and contributed to "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", "The River" and "Born in The USA".

He also co-produced "The River" and "Born In The USA".

Answer: Nils Lofgren

Little Steven left the E Street Band prior to the release of Springsteen's "Born in the USA" album in order to focus on his solo career. Although Van Zandt participated in the recording of the album, it was Lofgren who played his guitar parts when the band toured to support the album. Little Steven rejoined the E-Street Band in 1999, and has continued to play with them as of the writing of this quiz.

Answer: Sun City

"Sun City" was an anti-apartheid charity album produced and organized by Van Zandt, and the title track was performed by an all star lineup of musicians from just about every genre of popular music. Prior to the release of this song, some very popular American performers had played at South Africa's Sun City resorts, and Little Steven got many others to say that they "ain't gonna play Sun City."

Answer: Jackson Browne

"I Am A Patriot" originally appeared on Little Steven's 1983 album "Voice of America". Through 2019, Van Zandt has released seven studio albums, most of which are credited to him and his band The Disciples of Soul.

Answer: Silvio Dante

After seeing Little Steven's speech that inducted the Rascals into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sopranos creator David Chase called Van Zandt and asked him to join the cast of a new television show that he was creating. According to Little Steven, when he told Chase that "I'm not an actor," Chase replied, "you are an actor; you just don't know it yet."

Answer: Maureen Van Zandt

Silvio Dante's wife, Gabriella Dante, was played by Little Steven's real life wife Maureen. The Van Zandts were married in 1982; Bruce Springsteen was Little Steven's best man, and the ceremony was officiated by Little Richard.

Answer: Underground Garage

In addition to being a singer, musician, songwriter, music producer, actor and political activist, Little Steven is a musical entrepreneur who created a station that, in his words, "play the coolest Rock and Roll records ever made". Underground Garage is available both as a Sirius XM satellite station, and as a syndicated on-air radio show.

Answer: Adrienne Barbeau

"Maude" actress Adrienne Barbeau was married to Steven's half brother (and actor) Billy Van Zandt. They were married in 1992 and filed for divorce in 2018.