Line #46 Music/BobSeger


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/10f8e769338a7d48a644eb7b637ebbb4.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:325:''Rock and roll never forgets.'']]
3
4	Robert Clark Seger (born May 6, 1945) is an American rock singer and musician who began his career in the 1960s playing in the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} area. Although Seger has achieved plenty of success nationally, he is far more famous and well known in his home state of Michigan and surrounding states, where he enjoys a near-[[Music/BruceSpringsteen Springsteenian]] iconic status.
5
6	Seger scored his first big national hit in 1969 with "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" but otherwise remained strictly a local favorite until 1976 and the release of ''Live Bullet'', a concert album recorded over two nights at Detroit's Cobo Arena. Regarded by many as one of the greatest live albums of all time, ''Live Bullet'' reached the national chart and produced a radio staple with "Turn the Page". ''Night Moves'', a studio album released later the same year, was an even bigger hit and gave Seger his first national Top 10 single with its title track. Subsequent albums, including ''Stranger in Town'' and ''Against the Wind'', spawned more hits, and Seger continued to enjoy considerable success over the subsequent decades.
7
8	Seger's SignatureSong is "Old Time Rock and Roll," which is perhaps best known as the song that played during the famous scene of Creator/TomCruise [[RiskyBusinessDance dancing in his underwear]] in the movie ''Film/RiskyBusiness''. Another of his songs, "Like a Rock", was employed for several years as a jingle for Chevrolet's truck commercials. However, his only #1 ''Billboard'' hit is "Shakedown," the theme song of ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopII'', which was nominated for the MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong.
9
10	Not to be confused with folk musician Pete Seeger.
11
12	----
13	!!Album discography:
14	* ''Ramblin' Gamblin' Man'' (1969)^
15	* ''Noah'' (1969)^
16	* ''Mongrel'' (1970)^
17	* ''Brand New Morning'' (1971)
18	* ''Smokin' O.P.'s'' (1972)
19	* ''Back in '72'' (1973)
20	* ''Seven'' (1974)
21	* ''Beautiful Loser'' (1975)
22	* ''Live Bullet'' (1976)^^
23	* ''Night Moves'' (1976)^^
24	* ''Stranger in Town'' (1978)^^
25	* ''Against the Wind'' (1980)^^
26	* ''Nine Tonight'' (1981)^^
27	* ''The Distance'' (1982)^^
28	* ''Like a Rock'' (1986)^^
29	* ''The Fire Inside'' (1991)^^
30	* ''It's a Mystery'' (1995)^^
31	* ''Face the Promise'' (2006)
32	* ''Ride Out'' (2014)
33	* ''I Knew You When'' (2017)
34
35	-->^=with the Bob Seger System\
36	^^=with the Silver Bullet Band
37
38	----
39	!!"Just take those old tropes off the shelf..."
40	* ArtistAndTheBand: Seger was backed by, and billed alongside, "The Silver Bullet Band" from 1976 to 1995.
41	* AutoErotica[=/=]SexAsRiteOfPassage: "Night Moves"
42	-->''Out past the cornfields where the woods got heavy\
43	Out in the back seat of my '60 Chevy\
44	Workin' on mysteries without any clues\
45	Workin' on our night moves...''
46	* TheBandMinusTheFace: On much of the 1969 album ''Noah,'' Seger himself is demoted to a mere guitarist and we get several songs written and sung by a Replacement Scrappy named Tom Neme.
47	* BuffySpeak: "Get Out of Denver" mentions "a Baptist preachin' Southern funky school teacher" and "a Colorado State Policeman trooper cat."
48	* CanonDiscontinuity: His early albums have been out of print for years due to Creator Backlash (see the Trivia page).
49	* ChristmasSongs: One of his '60s singles was "Sock It to Me, Santa," and in 1987 he did a cover of "The Little Drummer Boy" for the first ''Music/AVerySpecialChristmas'' charity compilation which still gets a lot of radio play.
50	* ChronologicalAlbumTitle: ''Seven''
51	* CoverAlbum: ''Smokin' O.P.'s''
52	* CoverVersion: Quite a few over the years. Besides ''Smokin' O.P.'s'', he's done covers of such songs as "Midnight Rider" (Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand), "Nutbush City Limits" (Ike & Music/TinaTurner), "Shame on the Moon" (Rodney Crowell), "Fortunate Son" (Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival), "New Coat of Paint" (Music/TomWaits), "The Devil's Right Hand" (Music/SteveEarle), and "Democracy" (Music/LeonardCohen).
53	* DeadMansHand: "Fire Lake"
54	-->''Who's gonna play those eights and aces?''
55	* DudeLooksLikeALady: Mentioned in "Turn the Page" as one of the things that bum rockers out:
56	--> ''Most times you can't hear 'em talk\
57	Other times you can\
58	All the same old clichés:\
59	"Is it a woman or a man?"\
60	And you always seem outnumbered\
61	You don't dare make a stand''
62	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The 1966 novelty "The Ballad of the Yellow Beret," sung by Seger but credited to "The Beach Bums." A parody of Barry Sadler's patriotic No. 1 hit from the same year, "The Ballad of the Green Berets," the song blasted draft dodgers as cowards -- a stark contrast to the antiwar message of "2 + 2 = ?," which came just two years later.
63	* EpicRocking: ''Nine Tonight'' includes a live cover of Music/ChuckBerry's "Let It Rock" that runs 10+ minutes (although it's edited down considerably for the CD version).
64	* FeelingTheirAge: After singing of "the sweet summertime," the last lyrics of "Night Moves" are "Strange how the night moves... with autumn closing in." "Like a Rock" meets this head on with the opening to the second verse... "Twenty years, now. Where'd they go?" For each song, it's an effective WhamLine, and it pushes the song into Tear Jerker territory.
65	* FunWithAcronyms: "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)"
66	* GarageRock: His '60s output with the Last Heard mainly falls into this category.
67	* GrandFinale: When ''Ride Out'' was released, Seger stated that it would most likely be his final new album (which seemed like a pretty good bet, given his age and the fact that his voice had decayed). He changed his mind three years later with ''I Knew You When''.
68	* GreatestHitsAlbum: It took him a long time to release one, but when he finally did (1994), it became the biggest seller of his career. He's put out a couple more since then.
69	* GrowingUpSucks: Both "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind" are about the promise and excitement of youth fading to mundane adulthood.
70	* HeavyMeta: "Old Time Rock and Roll", "Rock and Roll Never Forgets", "Heavy Music" from The Last Heard.
71	* HomesicknessHymn: "Turn the Page" is one of rock's most vivid examples of road fatigue, as it's told from the perspective of a weary musician who's burned out on touring and just wants to go home for a while.
72	* [[TeacherStudentRomance Hot For Teacher]]: "School Teacher"
73	* ImportantHaircut: Cut his trademark long hair in the early '80s.
74	* InTheStyleOf:
75	** His 1967 Last Heard single "Persecution Smith" is a ProtestSong that owes more than a little to [[Music/BobDylan another Bob]].
76	** "Lucifer" sounds a bit like a Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival tune.
77	** "Get Out of Denver" sounds for all the world like a Music/ChuckBerry cover, but Seger composed it himself.
78	** "Roll Me Away" and "The Fire Inside" are anthemic rockers reminiscent of Music/BruceSpringsteen, and fittingly enough both feature piano work from the E Street Band's own Roy Bittan.
79	** Seger's vocals on "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" sound similar to Music/JamesBrown on "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". "Sock It to Me, Santa" is even more Brown-like.
80	* IntercourseWithYou: "Night Moves," "The Horizontal Bop"
81	* ListingCities: "Katmandu"
82	* LiveAlbum: ''Live Bullet'', ''Nine Tonight''
83	* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: "The Fire Inside"
84	* NewSoundAlbum: 2006's ''Face the Promise'': Seger's voice has deepened a bit (see VocalEvolution below), he's no longer backed by the Silver Bullet Band, and the tracks are based on grunge, glam metal and alternative rock, which sounded very different than his classic '70s and '80s rock.
85	* NostalgicNarrator: "Railroad Days", "Night Moves", "Mainstreet", "Against the Wind", "Like a Rock"...
86	* OneWomanSong: "Tales of Lucy Blue" (''Ramblin' Gamblin' Man''), "Louise" (''Brand New Morning''), "Rosalie" (''Back in '72''), "Jody Girl" (''Beautiful Loser'')...
87	* ProtestSong: He had several early in his career: "Persecution Smith", "2+2=?", "Lookin' Back", "Highway Child", "Leanin' on My Dream"...
88	* RepurposedPopSong: "Like a Rock" for Chevrolet's iconic 1991 to 2004 ad campaign of the same name for their trucks.
89	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: "Her Strut" was inspired by seeing Creator/JaneFonda testify before Congress on television.
90	* RockStarSong: "Turn the Page", in a bittersweet way.
91	* ShoutOut:
92	** "Rosalie", a song included on the ''Back in '72'' album and later Covered Up by Music/ThinLizzy, is a tribute to Rosalie Trombley, a music programmer for CKLW-AM in Windsor, Ontario. (The station was a Top 40 powerhouse for metro Detroit in the 1960s and '70s, and it played a major role in establishing Seger's Michigan following prior to his national breakout.)
93	** "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" includes the line "All of Music/{{Chuck\|Berry}}'s children are out there playing his licks."
94	* SiameseTwinSongs: Many radio stations used the ''Live Bullet'' recording of "Travelin' Man" and "Beautiful Loser", which pairs the songs this way.
95	* SmallTownBoredom: "Face the Promise"
96	* SupermodelStrut: "Her Strut" is all about a woman who is a DudeMagnet because of her seductive strut.
97	-->In spite of all her talking, once she starts walking\
98	The lady will be all they ever dreamed\
99	Oh, they love to watch her strut\
100	Oh, they'd kill to make the cut\
101	They love to watch her strut\
102	Oh yeah\
103	Love to watch\
104	Watch her strut, now
105	* VocalEvolution: By the 1990s, his voice got gradually deeper than it had been before. This change is likely a combination of old age, smoking and shouting onstage for 40 years.

Context Music / BobSeger