Bob Seger, why did it take so long? (1 Viewer)

[El Caliente]

Over the last few months I have been listening to more classic rock, and more recently I have been stuck in Bob Segers stuff.

Man, that guy is an American story teller. I had no idea how good his music was. From his solo stuff to his Silver Bullet Band stuff.

We’ve Got Tonight, Against the Wind, Turn the Page, Midnight Rider. Great stuff.

 

[superchuck500]

Seger!

I, too, had a later-in-life Seger appreciation. Sure, when you get into classic rock in your mid to late teens, you listen to Seger like all the rest . . . but you don't appreciate him. For me, it was my wife, who insisted that Seger was great. Through that, I got much more into Seger and he's fantastic.

He played Smoothie King in New Orleans in 2011. My buddy was in the promotion company and scored some good seats, like floor 20th row or so. I didn't even have to pay for them. He was awesome. Just awesome.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-...new-orleans-arena-new-orleans-la-bd3f90e.html


Somewhat underappreciated fact: when Glenn Frey was signing in Seger's studio band in Detroit, Seger told him, "Man with your style, you have to go to LA." Frey took his advice, and moved west. Around that same time, down in Dallas, a chance meeting between Kenny Rogers and Don Henley led to the same result: Rogers told Henley to move to LA because he had a California sound. A few months later, Frey and Henley met and the rest is history. So in a way, we have Bob Seger and Kenny Rogers to thank for the Eagles.

Years, later, Seger was visiting Frey in LA (they remained friends) and Frey was singing a new composition he had - but he didn't have a hook/chorus yet. He played it for Seger and when he got to the chorus, Seger just sings back "There's gonna be a heartache tonight!" When the Eagles recorded the track (Long Run sessions), Seger came to the studio and sang backing vocals. The Eagles then returned the favor when Frey, Henley and Timothy Schmit sang on Fire Lake (Against the Wind sessions).

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

A few months later, Frey and Henley met and the rest is history. So in a way, we have Bob Seger and Kenny Rogers to thank blame for the Eagles.

 

[kansast]

Became a huge Seger fan back in the 80's.. The live Album that came out around then was amazing. Had a friend of mine who caught on to Seger around the same time. We took a couple of road trips back in the day just to catch some Seger shows, and they were amazing. Will have to admit that his music is not something that has aged with me. Plenty of artists I listened to back in the day, that I still listen to, and that still are putting out good music. Can't put a reason to it, but his music is just not something I return to. But when I do hear it.. it immediately puts me into a very specific time and place for me.

 

[Brad Mojo]

So in a way, we have Bob Seger and Kenny Rogers to thank for the Eagles.

Might as well thank Linda Ronstadt too.

 

[Brad Mojo]

thank blame for the Eagles.

Dude.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I’ve been a Seger fan pretty much most of my life, my folks were the types to go and buy new albums every week back in the late 70s and early 80s, and Seger was always in the rotation.. the cool thing about Seger is that, at least for me, as i get older i discover, or rediscover, songs of his that I hadn’t previously appreciated as much.. i think if you’d asked me when i was a kid what my favorite Seger songs were, i’d have probably said Old Time Rock n Roll (maybe due to it’s ubiquitous tie-in with Risky Business) and Night Moves.. then , as a young adult, i remember gaining a new appreciation for songs like Turn the Page and Against the Wind.. and just in the last couple of years i’ve gotten into We’ve Got Tonight (also b/c i taught myself how to play guitar a few yrs ago, and it’s really easy to play ha) and Rock n Roll Never Forgets... but probably my favorite Seger song of all time since i was a teenager, and still today- would be Hollywood Nights.. that song just conjures up some amazing imagery.

I too am bummed that he dropped out of Jazzfest this year, and i’ve never seen him live.. i know he’s planning to hang it up very soon, so i need to get on it somehow.

 

[SystemShock]

Never been a fan.

 

[Cage1]

I hit my Bob Seger phase around 26 or 27 when picking up guitar for the first time. Against the Wind was one of the first songs I learned and then I traveled down the rabbit hole. Haven't really gotten back into him since.

 

[superchuck500]

I’ve been a Seger fan pretty much most of my life, my folks were the types to go and buy new albums every week back in the late 70s and early 80s, and Seger was always in the rotation.. the cool thing about Seger is that, at least for me, as i get older i discover, or rediscover, songs of his that I hadn’t previously appreciated as much.. i think if you’d asked me when i was a kid what my favorite Seger songs were, i’d have probably said Old Time Rock n Roll (maybe due to it’s ubiquitous tie-in with Risky Business) and Night Moves.. then , as a young adult, i remember gaining a new appreciation for songs like Turn the Page and Against the Wind.. and just in the last couple of years i’ve gotten into We’ve Got Tonight (also b/c i taught myself how to play guitar a few yrs ago, and it’s really easy to play ha) and Rock n Roll Never Forgets... but probably my favorite Seger song of all time since i was a teenager, and still today- would be Hollywood Nights.. that song just conjures up some amazing imagery.

I too am bummed that he dropped out of Jazzfest this year, and i’ve never seen him live.. i know he’s planning to hang it up very soon, so i need to get on it somehow.

I actually don’t need to ever hear Old Time Rock-n-Roll again. It’s definitely my least favorite of his big songs - I just don’t get into it when he doesn’t that style.

I wonder what his annual publishing revenue looks like. Those songs are played hundreds of times a day.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I actually don’t need to ever hear Old Time Rock-n-Roll again. It’s definitely my least favorite of his big songs - I just don’t get into it when he doesn’t that style.

I wonder what his annual publishing revenue looks like. Those songs are played hundreds of times a day.

Yeah, OTRnR is, to me, in the same vein as tunes like Brown Eyed Girl, Sweet Home and Stairway- once great songs that have been way way overexposed.. also in that category i would put Seger’s own Like a Rock due to that lame commercial that ran forever.


Seger has to be a multi-gazillionaire, since as you mentioned, his catalogue is played all the time, and he’s been around for so damned long.. and he was most active when artists made REAL money, not like today when they get pennies for every thousand times their songs are downloaded, and they have to tour incessantly to make any money at all.

 

[UndeadSnoopy]

No offense to OP, but Seger has always been a "Hey, that's a pretty good song" guy to me.

 

[UndeadSnoopy]

Dude.

Curious. Were you going for this? If so, it was subtle genius.

 

[BigOdin504]

All of his songs sound the same to me.

 

[superchuck500]

All of his songs sound the same to me.

Still?