Top Ten Songs by Bob Seger

Bob Seger is one of those rare jewels. He was writing characters and story songs long before Bruce Springsteen came on the scene.

Bob was born in Detroit and became famous in his local area long before the rest of the world got a glimpse of him or his music.

He formed his first band in high school and played the Junior Prom. The applause from the kids changed his life and led him to become the musician he is today. In his junior year in high school he was playing gigs at local bars several nights a week.

He had several Top Ten singles by 1968 in the Detroit area, but was still unknown around the rest of the country. He was with several bands during this time; the Town Criers, the Beach Bums, Doug Brown and the Omens.
In 1967 he was close to going national when the record company promoting him went bankrupt. He did however break the Top Forty in 1968 but then went seven years without any success.

He formed the Bob Seger System and signed with Capitol Records in 1968. He released an album titled "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" and the title track of that album became a national hit.

By 1985 he formed the Silver Bullet Band and released "Beautiful Loser". The release of this album started a grassroots fan following. Bob Seger now has seven Top Ten albums that reached platinum selling status.

In March of 2004, Bob Seger was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

This list is comprised of his earlier works and most were included on the 1994 "Greatest Hits" album.

1. "Roll Me Away" from the 1982 album "The Distance". This song was originally written as a faster paced song. One night the band was playing around and played the song in a more subtle manner. The band liked the new sound and this became the final version.

2. "Night Moves" from the 1981 album "Nine Tonight". Bob Seger was quoted as saying that he knew this song would be a hit. It was recorded in the middle of the night after several band members had left for the night.

3. "Turn the Page" from the 1973 album "Back in '72". Bob said he liked the way his voice sounded the first time he performed this song live.

4. "Hollywood Nights" from the 1978 album "Stranger in Town". The inspiration for this song came to Bob one night while driving through the Hollywood Hills. Billy Payne of the band Little Feat help do some work on this song and at the end of the evening he asked for a demo tape to listen to. He later told Bob that on the way home, he looked at his speedometer and was doing 100 miles an hour. This song is very fast paced and has that effect on people.

5. "Old Time Rock & Roll" from the 1978 album "Stranger in Town". This song has become one of the most popular juke box hits of all time. Bob didn't write this song but he did some rewrites on it and didn't take the credit.

6. "Against the Wind" from the 1980 album "Against the Wind". The line, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then", from this song has appeared in several artists songs over the years.

7. "The Fire Inside" from the 1991 album "Fire Inside". This is the only song that Bob kept writing the first verse over and over.

8. "Like a Rock" from the 1986 album "Like a Rock". This song has become a classic. Not only did Chevrolet use it in their car commercials, but people relate to it as they grow older, wondering where those 20 years really did go.

9. "Still the Same" from the 1978 album "Stranger in Town". Bob wrote this song about "Type A" personalities. He claims they are driven and overachievers.

10. "We've Got Tonight" from the 1978 album "Stranger in Town". This song was originally about rock and roll, but Bob changed it up after seeing the movie, "The Sting".

Bob Seger has become a legendary artist. Many people can relate to him and his music. He has a classic sound, a good beat, and his songs just lift your spirits.