November 28, 2025
Provided Image/Russ Ceccola
West Conshohocken native Russ Ceccola is on a mission to restore his late brother's rare photographs of Bruce Springsteen's early years.
Russ Ceccola is sitting on a treasure trove of his late brother's photos that depict the lives and careers of rock-and-roll legends — from Van Halen to Bonnie Raitt. Now, more than 20 years after Phil Ceccola died of brain cancer, Russ is on a mission to fulfill his sibling's dying wish by compiling a book of the best shots of the West Conshohocken photographer's "artistic muse" — Bruce Springsteen.
There's just one problem: Russ has no idea where or when most of the pictures were taken, which has sent him on a wild goose chase that's led to him learning more about his late brother in the process.
Phil, who worked for many of the area's music venues, first connected with Springsteen when his career was just beginning in the mid 1970s. Over the years, Phil would give Springsteen a ride to local gigs and let him crash at his apartment — photographing the singer each step of the way. One of Phil's photos was even used on the cover of Springsteen's 1999 "18 Tracks" album.
"Here were two guys learning and perfecting their craft at the same time," Russ said. "They met at the same time in their careers when they were both young guys. ... He loved being there at the time with Bruce and seeing that rise in a way."
Russ, 59, admits his brother was never the most organized person. When the photos were bestowed to him, they were haphazardly organized with no labels, dates, times or locations. This was the era of film cameras, so he has no digital timestamps to help clue him in. To make matters worse, his brother's house flooded in 2000, damaging thousands of photos and records that could have assisted in the process.
In a photo estimated to have been taken around 1974, a young Bruce Springsteen sits in the apartment of the late West Conshohocken-based photographer Phil Ceccola.
The photos that have survived the years are a holy grail for fans of the Boss. One of Russ' favorite works shows Springsteen, estimated to be around 21 or 22 years old, wearing mismatched shoes and playing a guitar in Phil's Bridgeport apartment, where Springsteen and his band would crash before hitching a ride to their gig.
"I have a series of photos from that night because they played at the Main Point [in Bryn Mawr] and went back to my brother's apartment," Russ said. "The way my brother tells it is that [Springsteen] was so poor he didn't even have two pairs of matching shoes."
Another shot that sparked Russ's investigative interest showed Springsteen mid-air playing guitar with members of his original band around him. The photo, estimated to have been taken around 1975, is taken at a much smaller venue than fans are used to seeing the star play now, but the crowd is just as energized as today, standing shoulder to shoulder with their hands in the air.
"One of Phil's skills was being able to know Bruce's shows so well," Russ said. "He knew exactly when he was going to jump with his guitar. I know the planning that went into those shots because he knew he had to use each and every shot on that roll of film."
Bruce Springsteen performing in the mid-1970s. Russ Ceccola, whose late brother Phil photographed the rock star for years, has been on a mission to retrace his brother's steps decades later.
Phil Ceccola/Courtesy of Russ Ceccola
To find out where the photo was taken, Russ said he spent days calling and searching archives for venues in the area that displayed similar decorations around that time until he finally pinpointed a concert hall in Washington, D.C.
Throughout the years, his brother also photographed renowned artists like Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, David Bowie, Elton John and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Phil toured with Elvis Presley in the '70s and Rick Springfield up until he got sick. Russ has even stumbled upon photos of Van Halen members mooning Phil behind the camera.
"That was the power that he had as a photographer to get people to do things," Russ said. "He had an unusual eye and an unusual sense of humor that he would impart in his photographs. That extended to Bruce as well."
A few years ago, Russ met Springsteen at the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University and got to tell him how much his music has meant to him over the years and about the book's progress. He said the musician recognized his brother's name and expressed enthusiasm at the project.
Russ is supposedly waiting on a meeting with the rock star's management team to fill in some remaining holes and discuss the possibility of Springsteen writing a foreword for the book, which he hopes will be ready for publishing by the spring.
Questions remain for Russ, but his journey of following his older brother's footsteps has brought him a newfound sense of awe.
"I'm even more amazed of him as a photographer and as a person," Russ said. "If I had a couple of hours with him, I'd have so many questions."
