Patti Scialfa’s Fierce Love Transformed Bruce Springsteen: How Her Passion Ignited His Music and Soul

In a clip from ABC News’ upcoming Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets special shared exclusively with PEOPLE, The Boss opens up about how Scialfa helped him stop being a “lazy musician” early in their marriage after tying the knot in 1991.

“I was running my father’s game plan when we first got together, and we first started to have children, and Patti really sort of reoriented me,” Springsteen, 75, tells George Stephanopoulos in a conversation at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, a.k.a where the “Born to Run” singer first met his wife.

“I was a lazy musician, sleeping ’til 11 o’ clock,” he recalls. “The kids were getting up and going to school without me, and all Patti said one night was, she said, ‘Well, hey, you don’t have to get up, but if you don’t get up you’re going to miss it. You’re going to miss it all. Just get up and make the pancakes tomorrow.’”

At “6:30 a.m.” the next day, Springsteen said, “I’m up, cursing, grumpy, bopping down the steps [and] made pancakes.”

Following their initial meeting at The Stone Pony, Scialfa joined the E Street Band as a backing vocalist in 1984. She and Springsteen got married in 1991, and they’ve since welcomed three children: son Evan James, daughter Jessica Rae and son Samuel Ryan.

Produced by ABC News Studios and George Stephanopoulos Productions, Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets features interviews with the “Born in the U.S.A.” musician throughout his latest tour with the E Street Band.

“It’s a privilege to have this rare access to Bruce Springsteen,” said Stephanopoulos in a statement. “His music has inspired so many, and getting to sit down with him for such intimate conversations reveals the man behind the legend. I can’t wait for viewers to experience this special.”

The special airs Oct. 20 on ABC and will stream on Hulu and Disney+ the following day.

The project precedes Hulu and Disney+’s upcoming documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which launches Oct. 25 on both platforms.