Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Segeris an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the "System" from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, and former American president Bill Clinton on the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth6 May 1945
CityLincoln Park, MI
CountryUnited States of America
For a long time, I thought when you do a box set, you're giving up; you're saying, 'OK, I don't have anything left.' But now I've listened to some of the old stuff I haven't heard in 20 to 40 years with fresh ears. It's like, 'Oh yeah, I can see where people might want to to hear some of this stuff that didn't make it onto the records.'
I really enjoy being with the people I play with. I enjoy their company. I love the crew, the band - we just move through the country like an army. I always feel very grateful to be up there. There aren't any bad nights anymore unless I'm singing bad, but then the band will carry me. And if they're playing bad, I will carry them..
We've been really lucky. We've gotten a lot of airplay over the years. I guess people keep requesting our songs on the radio, because Lord knows I don't do a whole lot to promote myself.
My management tells me, Don't be optimistic, because it's the young people's world now. They want to hear what they want to hear, and you're a classic rocker. I don't know if you're gonna get the play.
Unlike a lot of people, I don't need the affirmation or anything.
I want to be sure I can deliver what people expect to hear. I just don't know if I can physically do it. Or if I should.
You can't get a good crew and a good sound system, and a good light system if you do a small tour. If you want the best, those guys want a commitment of about 4 to 6 months. And I'd want the best people and the best stuff.
I like people to just bring it to the table and feel the moment. And that's why I've never done a session where I don't sing live.
I'm not a tour rat. I'm not crazy about it.
My father left us when I was 10, so I had to make enough money for us to be able to live in a house because my brother went in the service during Vietnam and I was sole support of my mother. And she had no skills, really, except to clean other people's houses. So I had to have a bunch of jobs, you know, as well as music.
Certain songs are almost like folk songs, which I love. I love folk music, and if you listen to 'Live Bullet,' there's 'Jody Girl,' which is almost a folk song, and I've always loved folk music. Quiet music, I don't try to do that with - I try to set a mood. But most of the stuff I do enjoy recording is up-tempo, and yes, I try to recreate that.
Be original. That's my best advice. You're going to find that there's something that you do well, and try to do it with as much originality as you can, and don't skimp on the words. Work on the words.
I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.
I'm trying to be a good parent and set a good example. When I'm on the road, they don't see a lot of me. I see them every other day. It's pretty all-encompassing when I'm on the road.