Bob Seger in Concert
With one of the most recognizable voices in rock, Bob Seger has been laying down cool grooves and bluesy anthems since the 1960s. Born in Detroit in 1945 to a relatively absent musician father who worked for Ford, Seger grew up with the perfect cocktail for heartland rock: a mix of music, working-class values, and despair. Becoming entranced by the music of early crooners like Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and James Brown, Seger would start a Detroit-based rock band in ‘61 called The Decibels; after they broke up, he joined The Town Criers, who became popular for their covers of radio-friendly pop tunes. In ‘74, Seger formed The Silver Bullet Band, where he would find immense success. 1976's ‘"Live" Bullet' reached No. 34 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, going Platinum the following year. Later in ‘76, Seger's LP ‘Night Moves' would send atomic waves across the country with charting singles like "Night Moves," "Mainstreet," and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets"; the album eventually went 6x Platinum. With his following album, the explosive and searing ‘Stranger in Town,' he had four charting singles and another 6x Platinum LP.
Over the next 30 years, Seger would rack up the accolades he deserved while continuing to put out great rock albums. Though musicians came and went in his band lineup, Seger remained a stable anchor. 1986 saw a No. 2 charting track with "American Storm," and the following year he found his first No. 1 single in "Shakedown," which he wrote for ‘Beverly Hills Cop II.' In 1987, Seger and The Silver Bullet Band also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Recent years have proved that Seger's here to stay: 2014's ‘Ride Out' was full of twangy, wheeling-and-dealing heartland rock, while 2017's ‘I Knew You When' bore a healthy dose of classic Bob Seger sentimentality.
