|
|
Bob Seger Biography
One of the cornerstones of the
Detroit rock 'n' roll sound, Bob Seger (b. Robert Clark Seger, May 6,
1945, Dearborn, Michigan) has in the course of his 30-year career proven
to be one of America's most consistent songwriting talents. Like Bruce
Springsteen, Seger has amassed an extremely loyal audience that has come
to see him as representing the voice of everyman--of sharing the same
beliefs, values and working-class background, yet still rising above it
all for the glory of rock 'n' roll and the personal redemption it
promises.
In the blue-collar town long
nicknamed the Motor City, Seger has struck a powerful alliance with rock
fans who can relate all too well to songs like "Makin'
Thunderbirds"; he is no elitist, he has no pretensions, and--perhaps
most significantly--after the glories and temptations of superstardom, he
continues to make Detroit his permanent home.
Raised in the university town of Ann Arbor, Seger started performing in
early '60s Detroit-area bands such as the Decibels and the Town Criers. By
1965, he'd struck up a business relationship with manager Eddie
"Punch" Andrews that continues even today; with Andrews at the
helm, Seger scored a regional hit single with "East Side Story"
that was soon picked up by the Cameo-Parkway label.
Following a series of
Cameo-Parkway singles such as "Persecution Smith" and
"Heavy Music," both significant Michigan-area hits, Seger signed
to Capitol Records, and by 1969, with his band the Bob Seger System, had a
top 20 hit with "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man."
Though Seger's workaholic
nature made him a Midwestern fixture throughout much of the late '60s, all
that roadwork did little to help the sales of his first few albums. While
his first Capitol album Ramblin' Gamblin' Man enjoyed some success,
reaching No. 62 on the charts, its little-known follow-up Noah failed to
chart at all; similarly, 1970's Mongrel peaked at No. 171 and was off the
charts in four weeks, and 1971's Brand New Morning--a completely solo
recording, an adventurous concept at the time--failed to chart as well.
Disheartened, Seger took some time off to attend college, but by 1972 had
resurfaced with Detroiters Teegarden & Van Winkle on Smokin' O.P.'s,
issued by the independent Detroit label Palladium Records. Filled with
covers of songs by Bo Diddley ("Bo Diddley"), Stephen Stills
("Love The One You're With") and Tim Hardin ("If I Were A
Carpenter") and only two originals--his Cameo sides "Heavy
Music" and "Someday"--the album attracted enough interest
to be picked up by Reprise Records.
Seger's stint at Reprise was essentially a rerun of his Capitol days;
Smokin' O.P.'s only reached No. 180 on the charts, Back in '72 did worse,
peaking at No. 188, and 1974's Seven didn't make the chart at all. Still,
there was a difference. Seger was maturing as a writer, penning believable
ballads about his wearying road life such as Back In '72's "Turn The
Page," and classic rock rave-ups like Seven's "Need Ya" and
"Get Out Of Denver." Other artists were listening as well: Welsh
rocker Dave Edmunds (and U.K. punk group Eddie & the Hot Rods) later
covered "Denver," and, unfortunately for Seger, no less a talent
than Eric Clapton snared his excellent backing band, which included Dick
Sims, Jamie Oldaker and Marci Levy.
By now one of the most experienced performers on the Midwest circuit,
Seger put together a new group, the Silver Bullet Band, and carried on. By
1975, he had re-signed to Capitol and issued an album that marked a
significant turning point in his career. Beautiful Loser--which peaked at
No. 133 but has since gone platinum--was the album on which Seger
transformed himself from goodhearted Midwestern rocker to respected
singer-songwriter of considerable depth. And by 1976, with the growing
presence of saxophonist Tom "Alto Reed" Cartmell in the Silver
Bullet Band, more than a few critics were starting to draw parallels
between Seger and one of the hottest new artists of the decade: Bruce
Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Just as Peter Frampton kick-started his career into high gear that year
with the double-live Frampton Comes Alive, it took Seger's own double-live
set, Live Bullet, to finally take him over the top. While the album's
chart peak of No. 34 might seem unextraordinary, its duration on the
Billboard album chart--a full 167 weeks--indicated how powerful a
statement it became for the singer. Boasting the best songs of his long
career, from "Heavy Music" and "Ramblin' Gamblin Man"
to "Katmandu" and "Get Out Of Denver," the album told
the world what the Midwest had long known--that Bob Seger was one of most
exciting performers in rock 'n' roll.
Seger has credited his viewing George Lucas's film American Graffiti as a
personal turning point; the coming-of-age epic on the screen soon found
parallels in the singer's newest songs, which often seemed a mixture of
nostalgia ("Rock 'N' Roll Never Forgets") and hometown
provincialism ("Main Street"). Beginning with 1976's Night
Moves, the title track of which became a top 5 smash, Seger began a
lengthy hit streak that brought him enormous success. Between 1976-81, the
singer released eight top 20 singles, including "Still The
Same," "Hollywood Nights," "We've Got Tonight,"
"Fire Lake," and "Against The Wind." Even more
impressive was his streak of top-selling albums, including Live Bullet
(quadruple platinum), Night Moves and Stranger In Town (both quintuple
platinum), his first No. 1 album Against The Wind (quadruple platinum),
and 1981's Nine Tonight (triple platinum).
At that level of success, Seger began taking longer and longer to make
albums; platinum-seller The Distance emerged in 1983, Like A Rock in 1986,
and--after nearly five-and-a-half years, The Fire Inside saw release in
1991. Still, for most of the '80s, Seger was becoming something of an
institutional figure in American pop: Tom Cruise captivated many with his
underwear-only air-guitar performance of Seger's "Old Time Rock 'N'
Roll" in 1983's Risky Business, while the singer's "Like A
Rock" was later adopted for use--with his full blessing--in,
appropriately, car commercials. Additionally, Seger closed out the decade
with the first No. 1 single of his career, 1987's "Shakedown"
from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II.
Though 1991's platinum The Fire Inside was one of Seger's most substantial
albums ever, its failure to generate any charting single was a troubling
sign. Five years away from the marketplace, particularly in the MTV-driven
music industry of '90s, may have been too long for Seger, who turned 50 in
1995. "The chance to play rock 'n' roll as an adult feels like a
privilege to me," Seger said by way of acknowledgment in 1991.
"I look at guys from Jagger and Springsteen to James Brown and Chuck
Berry, and I figure they're damn nice company to be in."
Bob Seger Links
Bob
Seger Official Website |
|
