Bruce Springsteen Honors Wife Patti Scialfa Onstage at Her N.J. Hall of Fame Induction: 'My Secret Weapon'

The musician, who has been receiving treatment for peptic ulcer disease, paid tribute to his singer-songwriter wife as she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame over the weekend

Bruce Springsteen is honoring his wife Patti Scialfa as she joins a storied group of New Jersey icons.

The musician, 74, paid tribute to his wife of 32 years as she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame on Sunday. The surprise appearance comes after Springsteen was forced to cancel a number of shows due to a painful stomach illness and has largely been out of the public eye.

Scialfa was inducted alongside Tiki Barker, Sue Wicks, David Chase, Tony Orlando, Finn Wentwroth, Josh Weston, Steve Adubato, Sr., Charles Edison, George Shultz, George Segal and Dorothy Porter Wesley.

Taking the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center for the 15th annual induction ceremony, Springsteen said it was “good to be here tonight for my baby” as he introduced his singer-songwriter wife, who grew up in New Jersey, as a class of 2023 inductee.

Recalling meeting Scialfa, 70, in the ‘80s at the historic music club The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Springsteen told the crowd, “I met Patti at Stone Pony. Where else? She was sitting in with the house band, Cats on a Smooth Surface, and I heard that voice of hers and I wondered, ‘Who is that girl?’ I went to find out.”

Related: All About Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen's Wife and Bandmate

“We went out for cheeseburgers at The Inkwell in my '60 Corvette and the die was set for many cheeseburgers to come,” Springsteen, who was inducted into the N.J. Hall of Fame in 2008, added of their first date.

The singer went on to gush about his other half, who joined his backing band, the E Street Band, in the early ‘80s, as “a street-smart, fascinating, lovely, sexy, beautiful redhead with a sound completely her own.”

“The E Street Band was good at many things, but singing harmony was not one of them,” he said. “So when I met Patti, I felt like I found my secret weapon. In 1984, I asked her to join the E Street Band.”

Related: Bruce Springsteen Surprised Wife Patti Scialfa by Including Honeymoon Footage in 'Western Stars' Film

Springsteen also joked that Scialfa would be even more successful if she hadn't married him as he opened up about her albums and her being a “second to none” songwriter with “deft lyrical work.”

“She went on to record and produce with Steve Jordan, her second album, 23rd St. Lullaby and third record, Play as it Lays, once again co-producing with Steve Jordan and Ron Anello, and both are wonderful pieces of work which if she hadn't been married to some suck-the-air-out-of-the-room attention whore, they would have be much more widely known,” he said.

“She is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member inducted with the E Street Band in 2014. She just finished her fourth album and it will be released in the coming year,” Springsteen continued.

“[She did] Broadway with me in 2017, graced my stage with a lovely voice. For 20 months of our run, she was a high point of the show, and she did all this while parenting three now 30-plus-year-olds and becoming a grandmother.”

“So this is long-deserved, I love her. She's a Jersey girl through and through,” he added. “Congratulations, baby!”

“That was really a lot of compliments, all in a row,” Scialfa said as she thanked her husband when she joined him on stage. She then joked, “I'm going to record him ... saying this before I go to sleep or ask him to say it again.”

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The duo, who married in 1991, then walked offstage together as Springsteen placed an arm around his wife’s back.

In September, the “Born to Run” singer announced that he was in the midst of treatment for peptic ulcer disease and would have to push back his tour dates for that month. Later in September, however, Springsteen then pushed back the remainder of his 2023 tour dates with The E Street Band to 2024.

The news was shared in a statement posted to the rock legend’s social media.

“Bruce Springsteen has continued to recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor's advice,” the statement said. “With this in mind, and out of an abundance of caution, all remaining 2023 tour dates for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will be postponed until 2024.”

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