NEW YORK — He’s doing it for The Boss.
Howard Stern will return to his Manhattan studio for the first time since COVID-19 shutdowns began to host Bruce Springsteen on Monday. It’ll also be the New Jersey rocker’s first time on the show.
The self-proclaimed “King of all Media” began broadcasting from his house in the Hamptons at the start of pandemic closures in 2020 and has remained there, being cautious about contracting COVID.
Stern, 68, announced on his SiriusXM show Wednesday that The Boss had persuaded him to come into Midtown for an interview.
“Bruce was saying he thinks it would be nice if we’re sitting together in the studio — I’ve spoken to Bruce and agreed to do that,” Stern said. “You know me, I haven’t been out of the house in two years.”
Stern said he would be a “nervous wreck” the weekend before sitting in a studio with a live guest and that there would be COVID-19 testing prior to the interview.
“If I was going to get COVID, I wouldn’t mind getting it from Bruce,” he said.
Stern added that he tried to persuade Springsteen to visit the show remotely, but The Boss wasn’t having it. The radio personality added that it feels like a “personal triumph” for him to be psychologically ready to return to Manhattan.
The funnyman said he’s never cried on the air, but that it could happen Monday.
SiriusXM has not responded to an inquiry into whether or not Stern’s return to the company’s New York City headquarters will be a regular thing.
Stern said he isn’t sure what to expect when he sits down with the Springsteen, but the “Born to Run” singer will bring his guitar and a piano will be available.
“I feel like the pressure is... it should be the second coming of Christ, like Bruce walks in and suddenly something magical happens,” Stern said. “I just want him to have a good time and be comfortable.”
Springsteen, 73, announced in July that he would soon resume touring with the E Street Band, which didn’t go on the road during the pandemic. They are scheduled to play Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, in April.
———
