Clemons played on such classic hits as “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road” and is widely credited with helping to shape Springsteen’s sound.

He passed away at a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida, where he had stayed ever since suffering a stroke last Sunday, said a spokesperson for Springsteen and the E Street Band. He was surrounded by members of his family, including his wife, Victoria, according to the spokesperson.

Standing at more than 6 feet tall, Clemons was affectionately known as the “Big Man” to fans. He published his autobiography “Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales” in 2009 and suffered some health problems in recent years.

In addition to his career as a musician, Clemons also worked as an actor, appearing in the TV shows “The Wire” and “The Simpsons” as well as the films “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “New York, New York.”

Clemons was 69 years old. Link to obituary. Link to a video tribute.

Take any location, add George Michael, saxophone, and a little (okay, a lot) douchebaggery and you’ll get …. Sergio Flores, Saxophone superstar AKA Sexy Sax Man.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Nerdcore

Photo via Ananova

Hooray! It’s time for Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey game. But first, the story: that’s Sara the Walrus who is trained to play the saxophone!

Under the direction of her trainer, Sara the Walrus grips the brass instrument between her flippers and blasts out a note.

Russian trainer Sergiy has also taught her to strike a nonchalant pose, leaning on a worktop with one flipper under her chin and looking bored.

Sara’s skills at mimicking humans extend to dressing up as a railway platform conductor and blowing a whistle. (Source)

Now, onto the game: funniest caption will win an original Laugh-Out-Loud Cat comic by Adam Koford. Place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, but you can enter as many as you like.

Don’t forget to check out Adam’s blog for inspiration! Good luck!

PS Yes, Miss C wrote about Sara earlier today, but since I got this post prepped beforehand, let’s just go with it!

Update 12/3/08 – Adam has picked the winner! He really liked the non-sequitur-ishness of this one:
Riiiiiiiicolaaaaaaa! by Scott-O. Congrats!

The flippered, whiskered creature is delighting audiences with her human-like skills, playing the saxophone, blowing a whistle, or simply adopting the universal expression for ‘I’m bored, get me out of here’.

When handed the brass instrument she gripped it with her flippers and simulated an energetic jazz performance to some backing music.

Sara is one of the star attractions at the Istanbul Dolphinarium in Istanbul, Turkey.

See more pictures and a video at the Mail Online. Link -via Unique Daily