A biography of Bob Seger

Bob Seger was on old time rock and roll legend from Detroit, Michigan. His music influenced and was covered by bands such as Metallica and Thin Lizzy. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist and a pianist all in one, making him a fully rounded and astonishing musician. This article is a biography of his life.

Early years

Bob Seger was born in Dearborn, Michigan on the 6th of May, 1945 to Stewart and Charlotte Seger. The family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was six years old and his father abandoned them when he was ten to move to California. He graduated his high school in Ann Arbor in 1963, after finding success on the track and in the field for his school.

Regional success

He first appeared in front of a band in 1961, when he fronted the three piece band, The Decibels. All of the members attended Ann Arbor High and they recorded Seger’s first original song, “The Lonely One”, which was only aired once on an Ann Arbor radio station. Following graduation, The Decibels disbanded and Seger joined four piece band The Town Criers. The band gained a decent following through playing covers and was able to support bands such as Doug Brown and the Omens, whom Seger eventually joined. Seger really started to enjoy success with this band and met his long time manager Edward “Punch” Andrews during this time and recorded some solo songs while receiving regional acclaim. After going solo for some time, Seger set up The Silver Bullet Band in 1974 and received large commercial success with the album “Live Bullet.”

Major success

One of the first Bob Seger albums to achieve a massive commercial breakthrough was his studio album “Night Moves”, released in October 1976. It also activated Seger’s back catalogue, meaning that earlier Bob Seger music such as “Live Bullet” sold millions of copies. Seger had many years of success following this album, with his old time rock and roll style reverberating through his rock and roll lyrics and his charismatic stage manner. This being said, he was not as prolific through the mid-1980s and by 1987 was not as popular as he once was in the US.

Later years

Through the 1990s, Bob Seger songs were not as popular due to the rise of alternative rock etc and therefore, his music was not played on the radio as much. However, through touring, Seger still made a living. The 1996 Bob Seger tour was the fourth largest selling tour in the US. He then took a 10-year sabbatical from music to spend time with his family but returned with platinum selling album “Face the Promise” in 2006 and still tours.