In this article I’m listing ten classic rock songs that I think would be good choices to be covered by Bob Seger who I’m a fan of. The songs will be listed in the order of their release date. I’ll explain how his version of the song could go. Most of the artists are well-known, but some of the songs here are less famous. Bob has recorded songs both with his band the Silver Bullet Band and solo, so I will be making reference to the Silver Bullet Band in most cases. I’ll be listing the songs in the order of their release date and will be giving a list of musicians who would play on the song for some of them. Here’s my list.
Wild World - Cat Stevens (1970)
This song is chosen as it sounds like Bob Seger’s hit “Still The Same” having a similar set of instruments and even a short piano solo like “Still The Same”. On “Still The Same”, Bob played piano & acoustic guitars, and the impression I get is that Cat Stevens played those same set of instruments on “Wild World”. On this version, Bob would play piano & acoustic guitars. I don’t think the original version has an organ, and this version would have an organ that’s clearly audible similar to the one in “Still The Same”. This version would sound more like his song “Still The Same”. Here is a list of musicians that could play on it with the drummer being the only non-Silver Bullet Band musician.
Bob Seger - Vocal, Piano, Acoustic Guitars
Craig Frost - Organ
Chris Campbell - Bass
Russ Kunkel - Drums
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce (1973)
I chose this song as it sounds a bit like Bob Seger and it’s melodic with great piano played in it. This version would have the addition of organ played by Silver Bullet Band keyboardist Craig Frost. Here is what I see as the line-up for the song.
Bob Seger - Vocal, Acoustic Guitar
Bill Payne - Piano
Craig Frost - Organ
Chris Campbell - Bass
Russ Kunkel - Drums
Ridin The Storm Out - REO Speedwagon (1973)
This is an old REO Speedwagon song from 1973 with Mike Murphy on lead vocals. The keyboards on the original are piano and synthesizer which were played by REO’s keyboardist Neil Doughty. Bob Seger’s version would have the addition of an organ. The original opens with a synthesizer effect followed by the guitars. In this version the organ would start when the guitars start. Original Silver Bullet Band guitarist Drew Abbott would come back for this song as I see similarities between the song’s guitar parts played by Gary Richrath and Drew’s playing.
Two Tickets to Paradise - Eddie Money (1977)
The type of signing that Eddie Money does on this song would suit Bob Seger’s singing and be even more powerful with his voice. It’s also a melodic rock song with piano which fits Bob Seger. I also envision original Silver Bullet Band guitarist Drew Abbott coming back for this song.
Lights - Journey (1978)
This is a great song due to its melody, piano, guitar, organ and powerful singing. This version would sound fantastic sung with Bob Seger’s powerful voice. I’d like to see Bob play more rock songs on the piano, and am envisioning him play piano on this song as its piano rocks well, but isn’t complicated.
What a Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers (1978)
This version would really rock unlike the original. It would start off with the piano and then be joined by rocking guitars that replace the synths of the original. It would sound more like Bob Seger’s own song “Sunspot Baby”. The guitar solo that The Doobie Brothers have done in live versions would be used in the song and this version would have organ as well. As this is a rock version of the original, even the piano would be redone in a rock way.
Breakdown Dead Ahead - Boz Scaggs (1980)
Boz Scaggs has a high voice, and Bob Seger would sing this song quite different to the original. He would sing the song in his deep voice. This version would have organ as well.
Make Believe - Toto (1982)
I already envisioned Bob Seger covering a Toto song before in my post ‘Toto Tribute Album’ where I wrote of an imaginary Toto tribute album by big names in classic rock and even assigned another artist to this song there. However, I chose this as it has a saxophone (an instrument used a lot in Bob’s music) and also has some similarities to his 1982 hit song “Even Now” which is my favourite Bob Seger song. Both songs were produced in the same year, and this version would sound more like “Even Now”. The saxophone would be played by Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed.
If This Is It - Huey Lewis and The News (1983)
I’m imagining this version sounding more like a track off Bob Seger’s album ‘Stranger In Town’ using that album’s arrangement style. This cover would sound more like his song “Till It Shines” off that album.
The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby & the Range (1986)
This version wouldn’t have the drum machines and synthesizers of the original replacing them with real drums and organ. I envision Bob making it sound more like his own song “The Fire Inside” and the musicians I’ve listed for playing this song feature pianist Roy Bittan, Silver Bullet bassist Chris Campbell and drummer Russ Kunkel who played on “The Fire Inside” song. The song’s intro would just be piano, then it gets joined by the drums at the same point as the original and the other instruments would join in. Bob would play an electric guitar which would have a rockier tone than the original and have a bit more prominent role in this version. Bob’s voice and singing style is quite different to Bruce Hornsby’s thus he’d sing it differently to Bruce in a louder way using the powerful qualities of his voice.
Bob Seger - Vocal, Guitar
Roy Bittan - Piano
Craig Frost - Organ
Chris Campbell - Bass
Russ Kunkel - Drums
That was my list of classic rock songs that I think would be good for Bob Seger to record. You might have noticed similarities between these songs and I hope you thought they suited Bob Seger. If you liked this article you might also like a previous Bob Seger article of mine ‘Ten Great Bob Seger Songs by Ten Different Piano Players’.
