When Bruce Springsteen released “The River,” album in 1980 it was as though he planted a rock star flag on the moon. Although it wasn’t his first album, it was a big seller and it gave the blue-jeans-and-tee-shirt look a foothold in the music world. Fast forward 46 years and the Springsteen early days look is back in “Greetings From Alexandria, Va.,” a special exhibition at the Nepenthe Gallery in Mount Vernon celebrating the enduring legacy of Bruce Springsteen.

On Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 10, this local Art Gallery will be all “boss,” displaying “a celebration of Bruce Springsteen’s legacy” by the late Phil Ceccola, featuring fine art photography, rare posters, and autographed memorabilia. The art display is timed to coincide with Springsteen’s highly anticipated Washington, D.C. concert at Nationals Park.

Ceccola documented pivotal moments in Springsteen’s rise, beginning with his earliest performances at The Main Point in the Philadelphia area in 1973. The collection includes rare and intimate images from Springsteen’s “bearded years” and mid-1970s era — capturing the raw energy and evolution of a young artist on the verge of superstardom.

Ceccola’s link with Springsteen goes deeper. In addition to photography, he also wrote a book in 2002 about Bruce Springsteen highlighting his "blue collar hero," genre in the "Born to Run," days.

Although Phil Ceccola died of brain cancer in 2003, his brother, Russ Ceccola made it his mission to track down this collection of unseen photographs for this exhibition. Notably, one of Phil Ceccola’s images was chosen by Springsteen for the cover of his “Tracks” album. Russ Ceccola will be part of the show on Friday and Saturday at Nepenthe, offering fans insights and stories behind these historic photographs.

The shot with the mismatched shoes was taken in Phil Ceccola's Bridgeport apartment where Springsteen and the band stayed the night before a concert. This was around 1974. Somewhere in this time warp, a flood destroyed many of Ceccola's pictures, and the ones that were saved did not have a time stamp so brother Russ Ceccola, put on his detective hat to research it, fulfilling the wishes of his brother.

In addition to Ceccola’s work, the exhibition will feature pictures by other renowned Springsteen photographers, including Alex Lowy’s iconic photograph of Springsteen performing in front of Philadelphia City Hall.

Nepenthe Gallery has had a few artists through the years that dipped their brushes in the 1970s pop art. A few years ago, the late cartoon animator Ron Campbell's cartoons of The Beatles and Scooby Doo were displayed, and before that, a Norman Rockwell exhibit by Saturday Evening Post critic David Apatoff.

Bruce with Jackson Browne and David Lindley.