Love him (after all, it's New Jersey) or hate him, Bruce Springsteen knows where he came from.

So when he began the River Tour Saturday night in Pittsburgh, the Boss paid tribute to one of his earliest supporters — David Bowie, who died last week at the age of 69.

"We’re gonna take a moment and note the passing of our good friend David Bowie,” Springsteen told an exuberant audience, “Not enough people know it but he supported our music way, way, way back in the very beginning, 1973."

He continued: "He rang me up and I visited him down in Philly while he was making the Young Americans record. He covered some of my music, ‘It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City,’ ‘Growin’ Up,’ and he was a big supporter of ours, particularly when — I took the Greyhound bus down to Philadelphia, that’s how early on it was. Anyway, we’re thinking of him.”

And then Bruce and the E. Street band began an absolutely rocking rendition of Bowie's "Rebel Rebel."

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM