Bruce Springsteen's tribute to Carl Virgil 'Tinker' West - his 'errant father' and 'One of the most important people' in his life

Bruce Springsteen has paid a moving tribute to the man who served as his manager - and as an 'errant father' - as he started out on his journey to rock superstardom. Carl Virgil 'Tinker' West took a young Boss in as he struggled to break through in the early 1970s. Now, the musician has paid tribute to "simply one of the most important people of my young life".

"In 1970 when I had nothing, nowhere to live, was broke with nowhere to go, he recognized my talent and took me in," Springsteen said. "We lived together in one tiny room of his Wanamassa, New Jersey Challenger Eastern Surfboard Factory. His mattress was on one side of the room and mine was six feet away on the other."

A no-nonsense personality, Springsteen recounted how "old-school frontier individualist" Tinker would travel across the country with him to shows. "I drove across the country many times with Tinker, first at twenty in his 1940s Chevrolet flatbed truck with all our band equipment under a tarp in the back seeking our fame and fortune out west," he went on.

"The truck was old and huge with an unwieldy, grinding transmission and he insisted we drive straight through to Big Sur, our only gig, without stopping, for 72 hours. He also insisted I, without skills or license drive my share. That’s how Tinker taught you something. He just made you do it."

Tinker was a renowned surfer and became known for designing and manufacturing boards at the factory he lived in - along with the aspirational young Springsteen. "I believe he sprung near full grown from the mountains, valleys, and waves of a primitive and unknowable California," Springsteen said.

"After I became a huge success over the years, Tinker asked me for exactly nothing. He was forever alone, working, off the grid and independent. I was always satisfied when I would be the recipient of Tink’s highest compliment; 'Springsteen, you don’t f**k around'. No, I didn’t and neither did Carl Virgil West.

"The last time I saw him he was in the hospital, near the end, dying from throat cancer. He smiled when he saw me, and I kissed one of my errant fathers goodbye. I hung out for a while, he pulled me close and his voice, raspy and nearly gone, whispered. ‘We sure had some adventures didn’t we?’ I answered, ‘We sure did’.

"When I was about to leave, I saw something I never thought I’d see in this life or the next. He cried. I loved him."

As well as managing the young Springsteen, Tinker worked with the likes of Steel Mill and The Friendly Enemies between 1969 and 1972, when The Boss signed with Mike Appel. Tinker played congas with the Springsteen Band and owned Challenger Eastern Surfboards in Wanamassa and later Highlands, New Jersey. In 2015, Tinker was inducted into the New Jersey Surfing Hall of Fame.