Music: Raue rock size made of engine City – Bob Seger is 80

Bob Seger became known for his rough, angular sound, who comes as straightforward as everyday life in his hometown Detroit. The American rock singer and songwriter – with a bourgeois name Robert Clark Seger – is one of the most formative voices of the American Heartland Rock. The appearances have been over for several years – Seger celebrates its 80th birthday on Tuesday (May 6th) as a rock pensioner without much publicity.

Almost six decades sang Seger of the life of the working class, anger, disappointment and rebellion. His music reflects the power of the industrial halls, the hardness of the little people. But Seger also showed a softer side: as an entertainer with a feel for mainstream hits, he repeatedly achieved the balancing act between rock revoluzzzer and a songwriter.

Seger was born as the son of an alcoholic paramedic and amateur musician. He is ten years old when his father leaves the family and moves to California. For the young Bob, the music becomes a refuge. As early as the early 1960s, he founded his first band with The Decibles. The following group, The Last Heard, causes a stir. At the end of the decade, he made the breakthrough when he even exceeds the Beatles in the US charts with a song.

Seger reached its artistic highlight in the mid -1970s. With the founding of the Silver Bullet Band, a new era begins. The live album “Live Bullet” from 1976 gives him nationwide awareness. It remains in the US charts for over 140 weeks. A total of Seger releases 20 albums, of which more than 50 million copies are sold. More than ten of them achieve platinum status. Most recently, the studio album “I Knew You Whe” was released in 2017.

Great stars pioneered

Seger’s influence extends far beyond his own discography. He is considered a pioneer for musicians such as the Eagles, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne or Tom Petty. He was the first rock musician to publish a song against the Vietnam War. He also contributes songs to Hollywood films, including “Urban Cowboy”, “Locker Business” (“Risky Business”) and “Forrest Gump”.

With the growing success, however, Seger was also criticized: After the live album “Nine Tonight”, some accused him of adapting the mainstream. But the allegations soon fall silent again. With “Like a Rock” (1986) he finds his old style back, according to reviews. In March 2004, Seger was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – more than four decades after his beginnings in the Detroit bars.