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Controversial debate in the Boyle household this July 4th. Get ready:
Bob Seger is one the most underrated of American classic rockers. Despite 6 decades of hits, sold out tours, 75 million records sold, he’s not celebrated among millennials/GenX. Why?
(Needlessly long thread)
Bob Seger is one the most underrated of American classic rockers. Despite 6 decades of hits, sold out tours, 75 million records sold, he’s not celebrated among millennials/GenX. Why?
(Needlessly long thread)
You may be thinking “Millennials don’t know classic rock.” This is false.
The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Tom Petty-all part of the millennial cultural consciousness. Beloved.Revered. Yes, they wrote music/toured for decades, you say, but so did Bob Seger!
The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Tom Petty-all part of the millennial cultural consciousness. Beloved.Revered. Yes, they wrote music/toured for decades, you say, but so did Bob Seger!
First thing we noticed about Bob Seger: he has many more hits than we can name from memory. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man featured in “Once upon a time in Hollywood;” Mainstreet, Night Moves, Old Time Rock&Roll, Against the Wind, Hollywood Nights, Turn the Page; you’ve heard these songs.
But despite 6 decades of songs and writing The Eagles’ number one hit “Heartache Tonight,” he only had one number one hit “Shakedown”. You might say this is the answer to our question, but he had 31 hits in the Top 100. Doesn’t make sense.
Now for some theories...
Now for some theories...
Theory 1 from my sister: He didn’t really have a band.
Bruce has E Street. Tom Petty had the Heartbreakers. Bob Seger had the Silver Bullet band, which he added in 1976, but does anyone know that? He’s better known solo...
Bruce has E Street. Tom Petty had the Heartbreakers. Bob Seger had the Silver Bullet band, which he added in 1976, but does anyone know that? He’s better known solo...
To @vintagekel’s point “I can’t name anyone in Bob Seger’s band... until today your husband couldn’t even name Bob Seger.”
(Fair point. @KentKuran doesn’t know who Bob Seger is.)
(Fair point. @KentKuran doesn’t know who Bob Seger is.)
Theory 2: No strong guitar.
Springsteen, Petty, Fleetwood Mac, all strong guitar solos/guitar players. Much of Seger’s work features piano, isn’t really guitar-driven. This is debatable as his early work is more guitar heavy, but it definitely has a softer sound than The Eagles
Springsteen, Petty, Fleetwood Mac, all strong guitar solos/guitar players. Much of Seger’s work features piano, isn’t really guitar-driven. This is debatable as his early work is more guitar heavy, but it definitely has a softer sound than The Eagles
Theory 3 from my mom: Bob Seger is zero drama. No story line. You can’t listen to Fleetwood Mac without remembering that Stevie Nicks broke Lindsey Buckingham’s heart and that he explicitly calls her out in “Go Your Own Way...”
...Lynryd Skynyrd lost part of the band in a terrible plane crash. There’s no story line with Bob Seger. He’s pretty inoffensive. (Note: according to Wikipedia, which is my primary source of Bob Seger intel.)
Theory 4: Regionalism. Southern Rock is a genre that became national which bands like Tom Petty/heartbreakers benefitted from. Bruce Springsteen has the whole tri-state area to thank for his religious following. Seger has Michigan...
...The Tri-state area has much of the music press/film/TV industry, so Seger may not get the same national bump from Michigan or Midwest fans. (Realize these are fighting words in the Midwest and I apologize.)
Ok. Ok. here’s my tin hat theory about millennials and Bob Seger: He’s viewed as a sellout. Children of the 90s know his most famous song, “Like a Rock” from a long-running Chevy truck commercial. The lyrics are as moving as any coming of age song, but were RUINED by Chevy ads.
You don’t come back from this. You are ‘90s mall music. You are THE Chevy Truck guy. One of the most successful car campaigns in history, a career ruined.
One last theory—this one probably the most obvious: he didn’t sell quite as many records compared to the cohort I’m thinking of. See “claimed”records sales:
The Eagles: 200m
Bruce springsteen: 135m
Fleetwood Mac: 120m
Chicago: 100m
Tom Petty: 80m
Johnny cash: 80m
Journey: 75m
The Eagles: 200m
Bruce springsteen: 135m
Fleetwood Mac: 120m
Chicago: 100m
Tom Petty: 80m
Johnny cash: 80m
Journey: 75m
Bob Seger is right there with Journey at 75m. Arguably, He’s on the cusp, but he’s definitely still in this race.
Conclusion: we spent hours debating Bob Seger today. We think his music is pretty great, but overlooked. Possible it’s a Boyle family quirk and we’ve missed out on one of the greatest classic rockers of all time, but we think there’s something here?
Twitter, do your thing.
Twitter, do your thing.
