Former E Street Band Member, Suki Lahav, Violinist on ‘Jungleland,’ Dies

Look closely at the credits for the Born to Run album. You’ll see Suki Lahav’s name listed on “Jungleland.”

Suki Lahav, an Israeli musician who was a member of the E Street Band for several months in 1974-1975 and performed violin on “Jungleland” on the Bruce Springsteen album, Born to Run, died on April 1, 2026. Her death, at age 74, following a prolonged, undisclosed illness, was shared by several Israeli news outlets. i24News quoted a tribute from her musician son, Yonatan Lahav, who called her “an exceptional woman, intelligent, with a pure heart and full of love for life,” adding that her songs “touched the hearts of so many.”

While “Jungleland” is best known for Clarence Clemons’ sax solo, it’s Lahav’s delicate violin, along with Roy Bittan’s piano that memorably opens the song. The first rehearsal take took place in January 1974, it wasn’t completed until more than 18 months later in July 1975.

Springsteen chose to present the work-in-progress to a live audience for the first time in July of ’74 at The Bottom Line in New York. Several weeks later, Bittan, drummer Max Weinberg and Lahav (the latter, unofficially) joined the E Street Band lineup and, as recording sessions continued, “Jungleland” continued to evolve, including Lahav’s violin intro. Lahav was part of the group’s stage lineup for a time.

By April 1975, Jon Landau had become co-producer of the album, bringing a young engineer, Jimmy Iovine, into the fold, replacing Louis Lahav in that role. The latter, Suki’s husband at the time, had engineered Springsteen’s first two albums, Greetings From Asbury Park and The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.

With Louis Lahav’s departure, the couple returned to Israel. When the Born to Run sessions were completed, Suki Lahav’s violin intro to “Jungleland” was included in the final version. Although she’s not listed in the credits for “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” from The Wild, the Innocent…, she is said to have sung the choir-like vocals on the track.

RIP Suki Lahav, Israeli Violinist
Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band
Vocals on “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”
“Jungleland”#InMemoriam #RIP pic.twitter.com/i42dZF0P20

— LegacyTributes (@InMemoriamX) April 2, 2026

The couple divorced in 1977. Decades later, Suki Lahav became a successful lyricist and poet, going by the name Tzruya “Suki” Lahav. Her biography on Wikipedia notes that she also authored several screenplays and novels.