Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951)[1] is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

[5] He had been a competitive gymnast in high school, a skill that was used on stage later in his performing career and reflected in the name of his 1985 album, Flip.

Daly left the band early on to become a Columbia Records A&R Executive and was replaced by bassist Bob Gordon, who remained through the release of four critically acclaimed albums[8] of catchy hard rock from 1971 to 1974, with guitar as Lofgren's primary instrument.

Lofgren wrote the majority of the group's songs, and often shared vocal duties with other members of the band (primarily drummer Bob Berberich).

[3] Lofgren joined Neil Young at age 19 to play piano and guitar on the album After the Gold Rush.

[3] Throughout the 1970s, Lofgren released solo albums and toured extensively with a backing band that usually included brother Tom on rhythm guitar.

In 1978, he wrote and sang the "Nobody Bothers Me" theme for a D.C. Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do advertisement, and also appeared in the ill-received Sgt.

Lofgren continues to record and to tour as a solo act, with Patti Scialfa, with Neil Young, and as a two-time member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band.

In 2006 Lofgren released Sacred Weapon, featuring guest appearances by David Crosby, Graham Nash, Willie Nelson and Martin Sexton.

On June 23, 2006, Lofgren performed at a benefit concert for Arthur Lee at New York's Beacon Theatre, along with Robert Plant, Ian Hunter, Yo La Tengo and Garland Jeffreys.

[15] In December 2018, PBS NewsHour aired a 10-minute career retrospective Nils Lofgren: 50 years of 'just being a guy in the band'.

In 1995, the E Street Band, featuring both Lofgren and Van Zandt, recorded new songs for Springsteen's Greatest Hits album, though nothing else came from this reunion.

This led to a successful Reunion Tour from 1999 to 2000 and a lineup featuring both Lofgren and Van Zandt as full-time members.

[15] In 2020, Springsteen released his album Letter to You, which featured the E Street Band; a supporting tour was delayed until 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[19] The late novelist Clive Cussler lived close to Lofgren's Arizona home, and collaborated on a song with him titled "What Ever Happened to Muscatel?

During performances of the song "The River" on The E Street Band's Working on a Dream Tour, Lofgren would use a custom Fender Stratocaster double-neck guitar, with one 12-string neck, and one standard six.