Nils Lofgren's connection to Asbury Park landmark featured on new album, 'Mountains'

The Empress Hotel in Asbury Park has a noted musical history, with everyone from Joe Strummer and the Clash to Judy Garland staying at the Ocean Avenue spot.

Now, rocker Nils Lofgren has added to the legacy. He name-checks the Empress on the track “I Remember Her Name” from his new album, “Mountains.”

The song tells of the circuitous romance between Lofgren and wife Amy Aiello Lofgren. It goes back to the early '80s, before Lofgren joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

“Amy was at the Stone Pony, not to see me,” Lofgren said. “ ... I met Amy. I loved her. I tried to talk her into coming to Boston with us at 6 a.m. We hung out at the Empress Motel after our show.”

Hence the opening line of “I Remember Her Name”: “In the dark wee hours at the Empress Motel.”

“Amy said her mom would kill her,” Lofgren said. “I was drinking a little bit and at 4:30 in the morning I said give me (her phone number). I’m going to call (her) and square it and she laughed. "(She said), 'You're not going to call my mom at 4:30 in the morning and square it.' ”

Amy is a West Orange native.

“I was in Jersey every three months playing bars, so I thought I’d see her again and 15 years went by,” Lofgren said. “In Scottsdale, Arizona, in a great club called the Rocking Horse, she walked up and said, 'Hi, remember me?' And it was 27 years ago. We got a second chance and we’ve been together ever since.”

Lofgren, by the way, has been sober for more than 30 years.

As for the Empress, it has a place in Springsteen lore. The famous Empress sign appears on the picture sleeve cover of the “Hungry Heart” single.

It's a vital piece of Asbury Park nightlife these days. Shep Pettibone, the producer of Madonna's famous “Vogue” single, is the owner of the hotel, which includes the big Paradise nightclub.

“When we're back in Jersey, I’ll walk down to the Empress Motel and walk around just to kind of relive some momentous days for me, and there’s nothing greater than meeting Amy,” Lofgren said. “But it took a while to get a second chance.”

“Mountains” will move you with mercurial melodies, killer hooks and a take-no-prisoners approach.

“Ain't the Truth Enough” is moving rocker that takes on the era's crazed political climate; “Only Your Smile” is a wonderfully crafted love ode; and “Dream Killer” has an alluring '80s vibe that will happily get stuck in your head. “Angel Blues,” which closes the album. has a majestic divinity that soars.

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Recorded at Lofgren’s Scottsdale, Arizona, home, "Mountains" includes guest appearances by Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Cindy Mizelle, Ron Carter, the Howard Gospel Choir, and the late David Crosby on the aforementioned “I Remember Her Name.”

Lofgren is best known in these parts as guitarist for Springsteen and the E Street Band, but he also has a storied history as a frontman for Grin, and as member of Neil Young and Crazy Horse. He played on the classic Young album, “After the Gold Rush,” and took to the road on Young's “Tonight’s the Night” tour in the early '70s.

His Grin and solo hits included “Cry Tough,” “Keith Don’t Go,” “Shine Silently,” “White Lies” and “I Came to Dance.” They were often played on the former WNEW-FM in New York City in the '70s and '80s.

Coming up, Lofgren joins Springsteen and the E Streeters back on the road. The North American stadium and area tour starts Wednesday, Aug. 9, and Friday, Aug. 11, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Area shows include Wednesday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 18, at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philly, and then Wednesday, Aug. 30, Friday, Sept. 1, and Sunday, Sept. 3, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Fans will be happy to know he's spinning again. If you're not familiar, he spins around as he plays his solo during “Because the Night,” which always drives audiences crazy.

Lofgren had stopped due to hip surgery.

“I started spinning again in London,” said Lofgren of the Hyde Park shows in July. “I was spinning right out of the gate. I got two new hips, no shoulders, they’re both torn to (blank), and my wife and my doctor said, 'Nils, you got 90 shows booked. You do that for nine, 10, 20 shows maybe, you’ll get by. But you’re going to fall in 90 shows … so I knocked it off.”

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It was tough medicine, especially for a guy who used to do backflips on stage with the E Street Band.

“Hey, you know maybe not 14 times in a row, but maybe a couple here and a couple there,” Lofgren said. “Why don‘t you give the spins a shot, and with Amy's blessing, I put it back in the show where it remains to this date.”

Go: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, and Friday, Aug. 18, Citizens Bank Ballpark, 1 Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, tickets start at $99; mlb.com/phillies/tickets/concerts/bruce-springsteen. Visit nilslofgren.com for more information on the new album.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Nils Lofgren: Asbury Park late night is part of Mountains album