Which 1999 Rock Hall inductee is nicknamed "the Boss"?

Bruce Springsteen, nicknamed “the Boss,” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Springsteen earned the nickname during his early club years, when he reportedly collected band pay and distributed it to fellow musicians. It became a lasting stage identity, even though his songwriting and performances have always emphasized working people, community and complicated American lives rather than a literal position of authority.

He was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1949 and rose to major fame with albums including Born to Run, released in 1975, and Darkness on the Edge of Town. His long association with the E Street Band helped turn his detailed storytelling and marathon concerts into a defining form of American rock.

Bono of U2 inducted Springsteen in 1999. The alternatives are fellow major American rock figures, but Bob Seger, John Mellencamp and Tom Petty are not the artist identified by the nickname “the Boss.” Springsteen’s nickname is distinct from the name of his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town or his later public image as a heartland-rock icon.