Backstage With Bob Seger

Backstage with Bob Seger. What’s it like to see Bob Seger outside of Detroit - especially on what would be his final full tour? Five years ago (March 9th, 2019) I flew to Dallas and went backstage to see Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.

First off, it’s weird to be in another city and see a bunch of Bob Seger fans wearing Against The Wind shirts and talking about their favorite songs (and how desperately I wanted to correct people when they didn’t know every single bit of Seger trivia like I pretend to). 

We were invited to rehearsals that afternoon, and when we got the arena they met us (Dave Clark from Live Nation - one of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet) and gave me the single most important piece of rock and roll memorabilia I’ve got. A family badge for the tour. Even my friends John & Robert looked at me like “well that’s just cool”. 

Sitting in the venue and just listening to Seger go through the tunes - working out certain parts, practicing songs they might do (Famous Final Scene in rehearsals gave me goosebumps). But the one thing that surprised/motivated me the most was Bob and how hard he was working to get things perfect. Sweat covered t-shirt, deep focus as they went through the songs. He wasn’t going to mail it in - even if this was Dallas and not his beloved Detroit.

We were invited to grab something to eat and hang out backstage, talking with Jim “Moose” Brown and Alto (who was so excited about his family), sitting with Barbara Payton and Shawn Murphy talking about which songs get you emotional (I believe they were giving Barbara grief for needing a box of tissues). 

Bob came in to hang out for a bit, grabbing a bite to eat and talking with everyone - taking time to say hi to my friends. There’s one thing about Bob Seger, he genuinely wants to know about YOUR life. One time when he was in studio the conversation turned to Ryan Logan getting his first house, and Bob was so interested this…asking about the location, how big was it. That’s who he is…and it was the same vibe backstage. 

To see Bob Seger in concert is pure joy. The songs trigger memories that wash over you: smiles, tears, chills. I always equate Bob to the midwest - that hard working sensibility that we all appreciate. But there we were in Dallas of all places, and everyone was singing along with Bob. At first I wanted to yell “hey, this is our guy…get your own guy”. But then the reality sinks in: Bob Seger speaks to all of us, stories of longing for love (Night Moves bring back memories to anyone), tales of needing to get away (Roll Me Away is universal in it’s theme that sometimes you gotta get the hell outta town and catch your breath), working too hard for too little respect (Feel Like A Number anyone?). 

It was so cool to look around and see people of all ages soaking in our Bob Seger. The quiet moments during Turn The Page, that moment in Night Moves when he sings “with autumn closing in”, the pumping drums in “Hollywood Nights”, Bob laughing and smiling at not only the band but the crowd…taking it all in. Even in Dallas. 

We were asked to wait around after the show to say hi to Bob (see picture below). He was as gracious as you’d expect and was so happy that my friends enjoyed the show. There were smiles all around as we said thanks and wished him a great night (midwest thing - don’t stay too long). Walking outside that night I felt a great sense of pride. To see the Mayor of Michigan in Dallas, realizing that they loved our Bob like we do. Not a bad evening at all. 

There are so many people that came before me on the radio in Detroit that had/have deeper relationships with Bob. Ken Calvert and Bob was like watching two college buddies hanging out, Seger loved talking with JJ, the times with Arthur P (although I realize in 24 years of Detroit radio I’ve never met Arthur…he’s my Howard Hughes of Detroit). My relationship with Bob Seger comes from his music and four words:

Bob Seger is real.  

Jim “Moose” Brown told me to watch Bob during that tour and the moment when he sings “with autumn closing in” during Night Moves. The song stops for a moment and I swear I could see Bob soak it in - looking at the crowd. 

The way Bob locked in Alto for “Turn The Page” - reveling in the way the sax just washed over the crowd. 

The “Famous Final Scene” in rehearsal (the one at Pine Knob had me in tears).

Bob Seger writes about love and life and loss and joy and pain and hope and stress and work and…you get the point. Bob Seger is real. 

We live in a time where Bob Seger is part of our lives. That’s a blessing that I’ll carry with me all of my days.

Bob Seger has a career that many artists only dream of, from selling millions of records to being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

While Seger bid touring farewell in 2019, legions of fans still adore this "Beautiful Loser" and always will. In honor of his birthday on May 6, we take a brief look at 10 interesting Bob Seger statistics that might surprise you.

In June 2021, Seger spoke with David Fricke and reflected on his life in music and the December 2020 passing of longtime Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed.

Seger said Reed phoned him to tell him about his colon cancer diagnosis and said, "I listened really hard to him, and he said 'how grateful I am for my wonderful life.' ... I thought that was so beautiful, and I thought he was so brave. I don't think I could go out (on tour) without him."

As far as the touring part of his career goes, Seger said, "You know, I've had a great life, oh my goodness. I loved what I did. Never worked a day in my life, really. The hard parts were in sleeping in hotels, having rotten food."

However, it seems as though Seger isn't completely retired from music. He touched on his experience during the pandemic and how Bruce Springsteen offered some supportive words saying, "I was getting kind of down on myself, down on the world and down on everything. [Springsteen] said, 'Bob, go out there and start writing, start singing, start playing, start recording."

If you ever feel like getting lost in the wonder that is Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, you might want to wander over to the Seger YouTube Channel. Not only does the channel feature official music videos, but there's also various live clips of Seger over the years, which are real gems.

Much like with streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, Seger was one of the last few major artists to not have an official channel on the platform.

When the channel was first unveiled in January 2020, president and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises (parent company of Capitol Records) Bruce Resnikoff said, "What’s really important is that Bob is first and foremost a storyteller, and we now live in a world where artists are able to tell their stories and give their message to old fans and new fans in way that goes well beyond touring and live appearances. In the world of YouTube and videos, we get a chance for Bob to tell his story in way that’s very real to people, and to reach a much broader and younger audience."

Only one Seger album has topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart, and that was 1980's Against the Wind. And Seger's lone number one hit? That was 1987's "Shakedown" from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack.

Seger's been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and has won only one, which came in 1981 when he won Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal for "Against the Wind."

Seger's catalog boasts 10 platinum studio/live albums, and they are:

Ample could be said about the amount of time it took for Seger to get inducted into the Rock Hall, but that rant could take a long time. However, we still think it's a massive oversight the Silver Bullet Band were snubbed.

Rolling Stone has an interesting piece on the history of the "Like a Rock" ad campaign for Chevy trucks, which ran from 1991 until 2004, and its impact on advertising during sporting events. He would tell Ultimate Classic Rock, "When Chevy asked for it, for a long time I turned it down, because I just didn’t want it to be in an ad. I’m really glad I did it now, because it sold a lot of trucks to save a lot of jobs, and, you know, this is my home state. So it’s a good thing. And people keep hearing it, so that’s great!"

Seger covered a diverse selection of tunes including Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" and an absolutely beautiful rendition of the Christmas classic "The Little Drummer Boy."

According to IMDb.com, "Old Time Rock & Roll" has been featured in a wide variety of films/TV shows including WKRP in Cincinnati, Scrubs, Glee and more. Often, the use of "Old Time Rock & Roll" post-Risky Business was to reference the iconic scene of a young Tom Cruise in his underwear, as evident by this scene from ALF.

Seger would appear in season 32, episode 17 of the iconic animated series. It's pretty amazing it took so long for this to happen considering Homer Simpson's love of classic rock, especially fellow Michigan natives Grand Funk Railroad.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Seger's Greatest Hits was certified Diamond (selling 10 million copies) on May 30, 2017. Sure would be interesting how many units the compilation has moved since then.

Per Pollstar, Seger's farewell tour was the 3rd highest-grossing tour in North America in 2019 bringing in $97 million. The two artists that out-grossed him that year were Elton John ($157.4 million) and The Rolling Stones ($177.8 million.)