Live Bullet – The Story Behind The Album
Everyone knew the shows were something special, but Live Bullet almost wasn’t made.
Recorded September 4th-5th, 1975 at Cobo Hall, Live Bullet launched Bob Seger’s career from regional to national, nearly overnight. Bob Seger said, “We were doing 250 to 300 shows a year before Live Bullet. We played five nights a week, sometimes six, as the Silver Bullet Band, and we just had that show down.”
WCSX researched the beloved album old-school… direct communication. We talked to the people there: members of the band, management, and key players in Detroit during this era. We discovered one of the most amazing facts about the iconic live album: it almost wasn’t made.
Peter Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive around that same time and Capital thought the release of another live album might be overshadowed by the immense success of Frampton’s live album. Punch Andrews, Bob Seger’s manager has led a life and then some. He managed Grand Funk Railroad, Kid Rock, and Bob Seger throughout his career and the man gets things done. Knowing the potential these Seger live shows had, Punch put in a call to the factory making records for the label and told them they had the go-ahead to make Live Bullet. But he didn’t actually have the OK. Once production had started, the record company had no choice but to release the album.
Without Punch Andrews, Live Bullet would never have been made.
Even Bob Seger wasn’t eager to release the live album, but since he was having a hard time finishing his album, Night Moves, he agreed to the release. Seger said in a 1976 interview with Creem Magazine, “I didn’t want to release a live album because I thought it was getting to be a camp thing. The performances were above-average nights, but not the peak of what the band can do. Technically, it’s far from perfect. But the next studio album wasn’t finished, and I decided we had to get something out. The funny thing is, Punch had called me last January and said, ‘I’ll buy you a new Cadillac Seville if you let me put this out right now.’ I said no. I said no, like an a__hole.”
Gallery: Bob Seger Through The Years
