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Bob Seger And The Half-Ape Stripper

Author Jim O'Brien
Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band - 1973

Bob Seger and the half ape stripper…wait, what? (that got your attention…didn’t it?) Love this story from Bob during a 1992 interview with Bob Costas. 

Let’s Go To Jackson, Michigan

We all have to start out somewhere, right? Back in 1965 Bob Seger and the Town Criers played the Roseland Inn in Jackson, Michigan – the concert database has them there late in the year (at least six shows on record). So why is this important? Because now we can visualize what happened. 

Bob Seger and the half-ape stripper…Costas Reminds Bob 

From the interview on Later with Bob Costas: 

Bob Seger and the half-ape stripper (talking with Bob Costas about the Roseland Inn in Jackson, Michigan)

What comes to mind if I say the Roseland Inn? The Roseland Inn? Oh, the Roseland Inn. Oh, yeah. That was one of our great bookings in the mid -60s. It was fine on the weekends. It was all college kids and it was a big place and they would dance and have fun.

Young Bob Seger. Note it's NOT Bob Seger and the half-ape stripper
American rock singer and musician Bob Seger in London at the start of a British tour with his group, the Silver Bullet Band, 12th October 1977. He is wearing a t-shirt depicting comedian Steve Martin holding his 1977 album ‘Let’s Get Small’. (Photo Malcolm Clarke/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

But on the weeknights, which we also had to play with our contract, there was nothing but traveling salesman guys and there were strippers, okay? And I mean, this was the last stop for strippers to these things. 

It was a dead end. They couldn’t go any lower. And so we’d play behind three 15 -minute shows a night and played some pretty interesting stuff. We’d just sort of lean up against the wall and then have these wild shows. 

The Strippers at the Roseland 

So what about Bob Seger and the half-ape stripper? We’re getting there…more of the conversation:

One would use like a black light. She’d put it on the floor and she was half ape and half one. You know, that’s the oldest trick in the book. I’m tired of seeing that. She’s half ape and half woman. And the ape is attacking the woman and she’s rolling around. 

Well, what an identity complex. Well, one brought a horse in and another one had a big boa constrictor and it was an interesting place. We played there about nine months. 

Jim O'Brien is the Host of "Big Jim's House" Morning Show at 94.7 WCSX in Detroit. Jim spent eight years in the U.S. Naval Submarine Service, has appeared on Shark Tank (Man Medals Season 5 Ep. 2), raised over two million dollars for local charities and is responsible for Glenn Frey Drive and Bob Seger Blvd in the Motor City. Jim's relationship with Classic Rock includes considering Bob Seger, Phil Collen from Def Leppard, Wally Palmer of the Romantics and many others good friends. Jim writes about ‘80s movies, cars, weird food trends and “as seen on TikTok” content.

Bob Seger: 10 Statistics that Might Surprise You

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.

Retired From Touring, But None Done With Music

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.”

Don’t Forget About the Bob Seger YouTube Channel

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.”

  • 1: The amount of number one albums and singles Seger has in his catalog.

    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.

  • 7: Amount of Grammy Nominations.

    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.”

  • 10: Number of Platinum Studio/Live Albums in Seger's catalog.

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

    • 1975’s Beautiful Loser (2x Platinum)
    • 1976’s Live Bullet (5x Platinum)
    • 1976’s Night Moves (6x Platinum)
    • 1978’s Stranger in Town (6x Platinum)
    • 1980’s Against the Wind (5x Platinum)
    • 1981’s Nine Tonight (4x Platinum)
    • 1982’s The Distance (1x Platinum)
    • 1986’s Like a Rock (1x Platinum)
    • 1991’s The Fire Inside (1x Platinum)
    • 2006’s Face the Promise (1x Platinum)

  • 12: The number of years Seger was eligible to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before he finally got in in 2004.

    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.

  • 14: The number of years Chevy's 'Like a Rock' ad campaign ran.

    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!”

  • 15: The number of covers in Seger's catalog.

    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.”

  • 22: The number of Films/TV shows that aren't 'Risky Business' that featured 'Old Time Rock & Roll.'

    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.

  • 32: Number of seasons it took for Seger to appear on 'The Simpsons.'

    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.

  • 10 Million: The amount of copies Seger's 'Greatest Hits' album has sold.

    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.

  • 97 million: The amount of money grossed from Seger's farewell tour

    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.)

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