by Kevin Burton
Bob Seger’s highest charting song is not the song closest to his heart, nor, I’m guessing, is it foremost in the esteem of his true-blue fans.
The beloved singer-songwriter from Ann Arbor, Michigan turns 80 today. So I looked up his chart history to see if he had ever had a number 1 hit. Boy did I get a surprise.
“Bob Seger is a Hall-of-Fame singer and songwriter with tremendous appeal, but it took some help from Hollywood to earn him an elusive number 1 hit,” writes Songfacts.
Seger’s only chart-topper is called “Shakedown.” I had to dial it up on You Tube to jog my memory. I had totally forgotten it.
“This song was written for the movie Beverly Hills Cop II, starring Eddie Murphy in his role as Axel Foley. The first Beverly Hills Cop had a number 1 soundtrack that boosted the popular fortunes of The Pointer Sisters (“Neutron Dance”) and Patti LaBelle (“New Attitude”) For the sequel, it was Seger’s turn.”
My image of Seger is as far from Beverly Hills as one can get, and that’s even without the truck commercials. When I think Seger, I think “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Mainstreet, “Night Moves,” “Turn the Page.”
Bob Seger and Hollywood movie sequel soundtracks don’t go together for me.
Well I’m sure Seger cashed the checks (and is still cashing the checks) that rolled in from Shakedown, but according to SongFacts, he agrees with me about what is and isn’t his most memorable work.
“When Seger released his first Greatest Hits album in 1994, he left (Shakedown) off. Even though it’s his biggest hit, Seger felt it wasn’t his greatest, and not one of his signature songs,” SongFacts wrote.
“In the introspective lyrics that frame The Answer’s In The Question, a song on his album Face The Promise, Bob Seger reflects: ‘How will I be remembered? Will my critics be unkind?’ wrote Ken Sharp on loudersound.com.
“Seger has nothing to worry about. His track record speaks for itself. A 2004 inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Seger is celebrated as one of rock’s most successful elder statesmen.”
“A gifted songwriter, his work is beyond reproach. Just take one look at some of the numerous classic rock standards he’s written during his career: Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man, Get Out Of Denver, Turn The Page, Beautiful Loser, Katmandu, Night Moves, Hollywood Nights, Rock ‘N’ Roll Never Forgets, Feel Like A Number, Mainstreet, Fire Lake, Against The Wind, We’ve Got Tonight, Her Strut, Even Now, Shame On The Moon, Understanding, Tryin’ To Live My Life Without You, Like A Rock… This man’s string of hits reads like the ultimate classic rock jukebox,” Sharp wrote.
“Bob Seger is blessed with a soulful, whiskey-flavored voice, his songs are spun like little movies, full of wide, sweeping vistas and colorful, small-town characters that come alive in the grooves. A consummate storyteller, Seger’s music resonates with authenticity, weaving all the flavors of Americana into a piquant musical stew. His impeccably crafted songs embody a decidedly American slant, drawing together weighty blue-collar struggles, ambitions, frustrations, hopes, heartbreak and dreams of the everyman.”
My wife Jeannette is a big Seger fan. Back int the days before our car’s CD player broke down, I used to present three CDs to her to see which one she wanted to play. Seger’s Greatest Hits was often the choice. We may still have two copies on that CD because I got one for each of us back in our dating days. It was in heavy rotation at both households.
In fact, I like Seger so much that I missed a Wichita State basketball game back in the Fred VanVleet/Ron Baker glory days, to see him in concert. I liked everything about the show (except the tiny seats at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita) but what I remember most was his horn section. They absolutely killed it.
Seger was at the height of his powers between 1976 and 1987, taking 14 songs to the top 20.
“Old Time Rock and Roll” was not one of those top 20 hits by the way. It peaked at 28 in 1979 (It charted again in 1983 when it was on the Risky Business soundtrack but that time rose only to number 48). Though it didn’t scale the charts, the song still has legs It is a favorite of classic rock radio to this day.
After his Travelin’ Man tour in 2018 Seger did something radical for old rock-and-rollers, he retired. Imagine that!
As a retiree he has time to blow out the 80 candles on his birthday cake. But his music still burns bright and always will.
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