HIGHLAND, NJ (CelebrityAccess) — Carl “Tinker” West, a pioneering surfer, concert promoter, and early manager of Bruce Springsteen, has died at the age of 89.
Springsteen paid tribute to West in a statement shared on social media, calling him “simply one of the most important people of my young life.”
“In 1970, when I had nothing—nowhere to live, broke, and with no place to go—he recognized my talent and took me in,” Springsteen wrote on Bluesky. “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.”
Springsteen went on to recall how West helped shape his early career, managing one of the Boss’s first bands, Steel Mill, and hauling their gear to shows across the U.S. in a 1940s flatbed pickup truck.
“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,” Springsteen said.
West also introduced Springsteen to Mike Appel in 1971, who would go on to become one of Springsteen’s earliest managers. Appel later secured an audition with Clive Davis at Columbia Records, paving the way for landmark albums like Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.
“After I became a huge success over the years, Tinker asked me for exactly nothing,” Springsteen said. “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 fuck around.’”
“The last time I saw him he was in the hospital, near the end, dying from throat cancer,” Springsteen added. “He smiled when he saw me, and I kissed one of my errant fathers goodbye.”
According to the Asbury Park Press, West, in addition to his work as a manager, launched the East Coast operations of Challenger Surfboards in New Jersey in 1965 and was regarded as one of the top surfboard craftsmen in the U.S.
West resided in Highlands, New Jersey, and is survived by his longtime companion, Karin Busichio, Asbury Park Press reported.
