Six Strong Silver Bullet Band Work for Bob Seger

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band are a very successful band in American classic rock. In this article, I decided to feature six songs of theirs focusing on a contribution on each one from a Silver Bullet Band member. I will give my thoughts on the importance of their part/s in the song.

Robyn Robbins - Organ on Live Version of Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (1976)

Keyboardist Robyn Robbins who was in the Silver Bullet Band in the 70s provides great rock organ playing in the live version of Bob Seger’s first US hit. He improves upon the instrument’s part in the original recording. Robyn’s organ is the lead instrument and gives a good musical base for this song. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man gives a unique sound fusioning rock and soul.

David Teegarden - Double Drums on Hollywood Nights (1978)

Drummer David Teegarden plays two sets of drums on “Hollywood Nights”. This provides a powerful rock beat with it frequently having the drum effects where it sounds like it’s going up and then down. David’s drums work very well for this intense rock song which has a hard rock feel.

Bob Seger - Piano & Acoustic Guitars on Still the Same (1978)

I wanted to feature an instrumental contribution from Bob Seger himself. He’s on double duty on this ballad playing both piano and acoustic guitars. His acoustic guitars contribute to the musical texture of this song. I’m focusing specifically on his piano playing. Bob’s piano playing suits this ballad well. His piano has detail and is the song’s lead instrument. Bob gives us a nice piano solo.

Alto Reed - Saxophone on Old Time Rock & Roll (1978)

This is probably Bob Seger’s most popular song which pays tribute to 50s rock & roll music. It’s interesting as Bob recorded his vocals to the original demo of the song by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (a group of session musicians Bob worked with in the 70s & 80s). Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed recorded his solo as an overdub. Alto’s sax part has a warm and soulful feel suiting a rock & roll song. It provides a good contrast to Forrest McDonald’s guitar solo which came earlier in the song.

Drew Abbott - Lead Guitar on Feel Like a Number (1978)

For this intense rock song, I’m focusing on original guitarist Drew Abbott. I don’t know if Drew is playing all the guitars, but he is definitely playing the lead guitar. There is an intense rock guitar which matches well with the piano. The opening guitar riffs are catchy. These riffs also appear throughout the song. Drew plays a powerful guitar solo which is recognisably his style. This solo is fast and has a lot of energy. This song showcases what a great rock guitarist Drew Abbott is.

Craig Frost - Piano & Organ on The Ring (1986)

Craig Frost who joined the Silver Bullet Band as the keyboardist in 1979 plays piano & organ on this song. His piano part is prominent, but his organ part is low in the mix. The Ring has a pop rock feel. The guitar parts are acoustic, which gives the keyboards more room to rock. Craig plays a powerful melodic heartland rock piano sound which Bob Seger uses in his songs. There are two incredible piano solos. When Craig’s piano rocks in this song, it’s in sync with the drums played by session drummer Gary Mallaber.

These songs show what a great rock band Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band are. They can rock very well and also deliver strong ballads. The songs above are musically diverse, reflecting their creativity.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bob Seger & the Silver Band’s breakthrough. The Silver Bullet Band had toured with him for a few years and appeared on his albums, but it was in 1976 that they started being credited with Bob on his albums. The Silver Bullet Band haven’t made an album with Bob Seger since 1995. I would like Bob Seger to make a new album with the Silver Bullet Band again. I would want an album to have the melodic songwriting and great piano use of their 1978 album “Stranger in Town”.

Sadly, Alto Reed passed away in 2020. The only remaining band members other than Bob are Chris Campbell (bass) and Craig Frost (keyboards). I’d like to see former members Drew Abbott (guitar), David Teegarden (drums) and Robyn Robins (keyboards) come back for this. Bob Seger can produce this album with his manager Punch Andrews as they produced some of his best work in many Silver Bullet Band recordings in the 70s and 80s.

Bill Payne's Keyboards for Bob Seger

Bob Seger has worked with keyboardist Bill Payne from 1978 onwards. Session musician Bill Payne is part of the southern rock band Little Feat. Bill first worked with Bob playing piano & organ on his 1978 hit “Hollywood Nights” from the “Stranger in Town” album. Bill’s keyboards are just organ at the start. During the first verse, he brings in his piano which adds depth to the song. The piano rocks well with some notable moments. A few years later Bill played all the keyboards (piano, organ & synth) on the ballad “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” from the “Against the Wind” album. This song opens with acoustic guitar and Bill soon brings in his piano & organ. His synth is hard to hear. The piano makes this song whole and there are strong organ moments. In both songs, Bill played with Bob who was the sole guitarist.

Hollywood Nights (1978)

You’ll Accomp’ny Me (1980)

On the next album “The Distance”, two songs Bill played piano include the country hit “Shame on the Moon” and the ballad “Love’s the Last to Know”. On the Rodney Crowell cover “Shame On the Moon”, the sole keyboards at the start are organ. After the first chorus, Bill brings in a memorable piano solo with piano continuing throughout the song. Bill’s piano elevates “Shame On the Moon”. Piano is the main instrument on the ballad “Love’s the Last to Know” giving Bill a stronger presence than the previous songs. He plays gently and melodically giving the power of a piano ballad. In these three songs, he played with Silver Bullet Band keyboardist Craig Frost on organ and would do the same on the songs in the next paragraph.

Bill played keyboards (piano & synth) on most tracks on the 1986 “Like a Rock” album. This is the most prominent presence he’s had on a Bob Seger album. I will describe what I consider to be his best contribution from that album. In the heartland rocker “American Storm”, his piano is driving the song. In the rock ballad title track, he was playing gently and supported Rick Vito’s slide guitar solos well. In the intense rock song “Sometimes”, he played a good supporting role and provided a memorable piano solo.

American Storm (1986)

This album also has songs with the combination of him on piano and Craig Frost on synth. The two keyboards went well together on “The Aftermath” with Bill rocking out well. The two instruments were used in a different way on the ballad “Somewhere Tonight”. Somewhere Tonight has gentle sections driven by Bill’s piano and rockier sections driven by Rick Vito’s guitar. On the following 1991 album “The Fire Inside”, he played on two Tom Waits covers. One of them was the jazz song “New Coat of Paint” which brings a completely different sound to what Bob normally does. Bill does incredible piano playing including having two piano solos. The other one was the country song “Blind Love” with his prominent gentle country playing.

We’re now going back to a Bob Seger original. Bill played piano on the 2006 rock ballad “Wait for Me” which is a very Bob Seger song. Bill gives warm melodic playing. He backed Bob Seger’s guitar solo. I didn't like how the “Face the Promise” album this song is from had a lack of keyboards on it. I wanted there to be more piano on the album. I wish Bill could have played on more tracks. His presence would have elevated the material like how he did on “Hollywood Nights” as that song was recorded as a band without the keyboards first. I’m imagining how great the title track could have sounded with Bill’s piano & organ.

Wait for Me (2006)

On Bob’s last album “I Knew You When” in 2017, Bill played on three songs. The “I Knew You When” songs featured unreleased songs, most of which had been updated as well as a few covers and newly written songs. These songs Bill played on were from the unreleased “Blue Ridge” album recorded in the late 1990s. On the piano ballad “I Knew You When”, Bill plays in a relaxed, gentle way. In aggressive rocker “Forward Into the Past”, Bill plays a supporting role. He gives good rock piano moments throughout the song. The song “Blue Ridge” opens with real drums and steel drums. I suspect these steel drums are played by Craig Frost on keyboards as I didn’t see any steel drums in the credits. Soon, Bill’s piano appears. It gives a good presence in this melodic rocker. Bill accompanies Bob on his rocking guitar solo.

Blue Ridge (2017)

These songs showcase Bill Payne’s contributions to Bob Seger’s work. He is one of the key session musicians Bob has worked with over the years. Bill contributed to the iconic Bob Seger sound and brought vibes from americana & southern rock. The Bob Seger songs he played on are rockers & ballads and also other genres like country & jazz. Bill showed the power of the piano as a rock instrument. I hope to see Bill Payne reunited on the next Bob Seger album.

Bob Seger Wish List

 

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I’m a fan of American rock singer Bob Seger. He currently maintains a low profile. I would like to see more activity from him. In this article, I will be providing my wish list of seven topics I would like to see Bob Seger do. There is some overlap in the last three topics.

New Album

I hope Bob Seger will work on a new album, if he isn’t already involved in making one. I’ve been disappointed that he used piano less over the years and want his next album to bring back piano. The ideal new Bob Seger album for me would be an album like his 1978 album “Stranger in Town” with piano on every track. This album’s format should be a back to the 70s approach fusing the musical styles of his classic period with the deeper lyrical themes of his later work.

Bob had written epically long songs in the past which I’d like to see him do again. Examples of epic long Bob Seger songs include “Brave Strangers” (6:20), “Against the Wind” (5:34), “Like a Rock” (5:56), “The Ring” (5:35), “The Fire Inside” (5:56) and “Manhattan” (5:22). He included a good six and a half minute cover of Leonard Cohen’s Democracy on his last album, but as he didn’t write it I’m not counting it as an epic long Bob Seger song.

Interviews 

Bob Seger has done few interviews over the last four years. It would be nice if Bob did more interviews. It’s enjoyable to read or listen to a new Bob Seger interview. Sometimes, you find an interesting story about one of his songs which you hadn’t heard before. It’s a dream of mine to interview Bob Seger for this blog. Bob, if you’re reading this, I’d love to interview you. You or someone associated with you can reach out to me. My email is on my Blogger profile page here.

Autobiography 

Bob Seger has few books written about him. It would be great if he wrote an autobiography. I’d like it to not be celebrity focused like so many rock star biographies. Personal issues can be covered if Bob wants to, but it’d be better to not to be the focus. Topics that would be fun to read are the difficulty of touring in America before he became a rock star, how he wrote & recorded his popular songs, stories from the road, meeting musical heroes of his and more.

Album Guest Appearances

Bob rarely makes guest appearances on other people’s albums. I’d like to see him make appearances on other artists’ albums often. I don’t wish to see him singing merely backing vocals, but singing duets. It would also be good to see him record covers for tribute albums which are albums paying tribute to an artist, recording studio, style of music etc with every track being a cover song by a well-regarded artist.

Unreleased Songs

Bob is reported to have a vast amount of unreleased songs, so I would like to see him release some unreleased songs. When Bob Seger joined iTunes in 2011, he said that he would use iTunes to release unreleased material. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t done it. Last year, there were five playlist Bob Seger EPs released only on music streaming services. They consist of existing Bob Seger songs. I’d like to see EPs consisting of unreleased songs released on both iTunes and music streaming services. One unreleased song I want to hear is “Wonderland” from 2011 that relates to alternate universes. As a fan of both Bob Seger & sci-fi, that sounds like a sci-fi song which excites me.

Dolby Atmos

Music is now getting released in a format beyond stereo which is Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos is a form of spatial audio which is released mainly via streaming services. It can be listened via headphones or a full speaker setup giving a surround effect. Atmos adapts itself based on the speaker setup you’re listening to. It would be great to hear Bob Seger in Dolby Atmos. I can think of two Bob Seger songs sounding epic in Dolby Atmos with a full speaker setup. Firstly, “Hollywood Nights” with David Teegarden’s two drums on both back speakers and Bill Payne’s piano going across the front speakers. Secondly, “Beautiful Loser” could have its synth parts giving spatial effects across different speakers.

Reissued CDs

Most of Bob Seger’s early albums unfortunately haven’t been reissued on CD. I’d like to see CD reissues of his early material with the two albums I most want to hear being “Back in ‘72” (1973) and “Seven” (1974). Also, there is a great opportunity to release super deluxe editions of his popular albums. These super deluxe editions would include outtakes, demos and alternate takes from the album sessions. There would be a big booklet featuring lots of photos and information on the making of the album. It would also include a blu-ray audio disc containing a higher quality stereo mix as well as a Dolby Atmos mix of the album. There could be 45th anniversary super deluxe releases of “Stranger in Town” in 2023 & “Against the Wind” in 2025 and 50th anniversary super deluxe releases of “Beautiful Loser” in 2025 & “Night Moves” in 2026.

That is my wish list of what I’d like to see Bob Seger do. If you’re a Bob Seger fan, I’d be interested to hear what you’d like to see him do. Hopefully, Bob Seger will do something that will excite his fans soon.

The Original Version of Old Time Rock & Roll

Bob Seger’s song “Old Time Rock & Roll” is one of his most popular songs. The song was written by songwriters George Jackson and Thomas Earl Jones III. The song was pitched to Bob Seger by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of Alabama session musicians that Bob Seger recorded with in the 1970s and 80s. Bob Seger re-wrote the lyrics, but didn’t ask for credit (which he regrets) so he isn’t credited. George Jackson’s demo of “Old Time Rock & Roll” appeared on the compilation album “All Because of Your Love”. I’ll be embedding the official audio of George Jackson’s version followed by Bob Seger’s version. 

George Jackson’s Original Version

Bob Seger’s Version

George Jackson’s demo opens with the piano intro that’s played only once. Bob Seger has the intro played twice. According to Jimmy Johnson of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who was mixing the demo that was handed to Bob Seger, he made a mistake mixing the song featuring the piano intro played twice which is how it ended up that way in Bob Seger’s version. The lyrics of the first verse are similar with some changes. George is singing about how his girlfriend likes old time rock & roll, unlike Bob who sings that he likes old time rock & roll. The differences in the first verse and chorus are based on the girlfriend. There’s a contrast in how George sings about when he takes his girlfriend to a disco and Bob’s singing saying not to try taking him to one.

The second verse is completely different. I remember Bob Seger mentioning in an interview that the original lyrics referred to Little Richard & Jerry Lee Lewis and you hear references to them here. There is a more intense guitar part in this version including two guitar solos. The second guitar solo seems to be accompanied by the same piano notes that accompany Alto Reed’s saxophone solo in Bob’s version. The backing vocals are the same as the ones backing Bob. Interestingly, George Jackson is one of the backing vocalists on Bob Seger’s version. I would imagine that George is also one of the backing vocalists on his version. 

I enjoy listening to George Jackson’s demo of “Old Time Rock & Roll”. It’s good to hear what the song was originally like which shows the changes that Bob Seger made. It’s fun to hear how different the original version of a song you love is. Bob Seger improved the lyrics which flow better and fit more naturally to the melody. Bob singing praise for rock & roll from his perspective sounds more organic than George singing praise for rock & roll from his girlfriend’s perspective. Comparing the two, Bob’s version is better produced. He sings with such power and passion. I like the fact that Bob’s version is longer. He features a production choice not in the original demo where he sings the chorus accompanied with only drums and backing vocals. Bob got his Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed to record an overdubbed solo in place of the demo’s second guitar solo.

For my article about the making of Bob Seger’s “Stranger in Town” album that featured this song, bassist David Hood said ““Old Time Rock & Roll” was recorded for our publishing company demo with the writer, George Jackson singing the original version. George didn’t have a traditional “rock” voice so we overdubbed a young white singer named Dennis Gulley on the track to give Bob the right idea about finishing the recording.” As Bob’s attempts to record the song with both the Silver Bullet Band and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section wasn’t working, he ended up using the demo as his version of the song and recorded his voice over it. 

I am not so sure that George Jackson’s demo which is embedded in this post is the same demo that Bob Seger used as most of the guitar parts sound so different. Jimmy Johnson says that the song was slowed down and says that the part in the song where Bob sings with the drums and backing vocals was achieved by muting the other instruments. This does explain some of the differences between George Jackson and Bob Seger’s versions including its speed and length, but they don’t feel like the same recording. My theory is that George Jackson’s version released is an alternate take of the song to the demo that Bob Seger used. As Bob Seger and his manager Punch Andrews bought the demo, I suspect that those compiling George Jackson songs for the album “All Because of Your Love”, would have only had access to alternate takes of George Jackson's “Old Time Rock & Roll”.

Old Time Rock & Roll is one of the most iconic rock & roll songs in the history of music. George Jackson and Thomas Earl Jones III made a great contribution to music with this song. They are a big part of the popularity and success of Bob Seger. I’m pleased to hear that George Jackson considers “Old Time Rock & Roll” as his favourite song he’s written. If you enjoyed this post, you might like my post “Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock & Roll Live” where I embed the official video of Bob Seger performing “Old Time Rock & Roll” at his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction 18 years ago in March 2004 and give my thoughts on it. 

Bob Seger GIFs

Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com

GIFs are video images which are popular online. I decided to write a blog post featuring GIFs of American rock singer Bob Seger whom I’m a fan of. They come from his official profile on the site GIPHY. I’m dividing the GIFs into three sections which are Studio, Hits and Live & Beyond where I give my thoughts on them. 

Studio

Beautiful Loser - 1975

via GIPHY

This album came out a year before Bob Seger became a rock star. Its most famous songs are the title track, “Katmandu” and “Travelin’ Man”. It’s cool how this GIF has a white flash through Bob Seger’s name and the atmospheric colour effects in the background. Bob has an unusual posh look in this picture with his top hat, cane and costume. He looks like Doctor Strange which is fitting as the 2016 “Doctor Strange” film referenced the “Katmandu” song with this album mentioned.

Night Moves - 1976

via GIPHY

This album came out during the time that Bob Seger made it big. This is his first album credited with the Silver Bullet Band. My favourite songs from it are “Mainstreet” and “Sunspot Baby”. Mainstreet is a rock ballad featuring an incredible guitar part. Sunspot Baby is a piano and guitar driven rock song using those two instruments very well. It’s fitting that the sun’s brightness is one of the effects of this GIF due to the album’s two songs “Sunspot Baby” and “Sunburst”. Sunburst has the unique combination of alternating between a soft rock piano ballad and an intense hard rock song.

Stranger in Town - 1978

via GIPHY

This album has Bob Seger’s hit songs “Old Time Rock & Roll”, “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Still The Same” and “Hollywood Nights”. It’s the first Bob Seger album I listened to and I consider it to be his best album. This GIF has text effects like the previous two, but it’s unique as the album’s title appears and disappears giving the effect of it being handwritten by Bob himself. It’s cool to see the Los Angeles lights go off and on in the background. 

Against the Wind - 1980

via GIPHY

This is Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind” album which is his only number 1 album in the US. Its title track is one his most famous songs with it having the other hit songs “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” and “Fire Lake”.

Hits 

Greatest Hits - 1994

via GIPHY

Bob Seger’s “Greatest Hits” album is his most successful album. This is the first album GIF to feature both the artist & the album’s name text appear and disappear. 

Ultimate Hits - 2011

via GIPHY

Bob Seger’s “Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets” album came out ten years ago and was his first 2-disc CD hits album. This GIF has interesting flashing lights and there are subtle effects with the blue light and steam. I like the fact that this album is the first Bob Seger compilation album to feature his first hit song “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” from 1968 and his version of “Little Drummer Boy” from 1987.

Live & Beyond

Nine Tonight - 1981

via GIPHY

This is the 1981 live album “Nine Tonight”. The lighting effects on this GIF are so cool. One song on this album that stands out to me is “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” which has a more energetic piano part than the studio version. The 2011 Remaster features the bonus track “Brave Strangers” where Bob plays rock piano. He rarely does this and I’d like to see him do it more. 

Roll Me Away - 1982

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

These GIFS are taken from a live performance of “Roll Me Away”. This live performance was featured in the song’s music video which was produced and remained unreleased until last year on Bob Seger’s YouTube channel. Roll Me Away has incredible rock piano by Roy Bittan.

Like a Rock -1986

via GIPHY

As I featured the “Roll Me Away” music video GIF, I’m including one from the “Like a Rock” music video. Like a Rock comes from the album of the same name and the album cover for “Ultimate Hits” seen above was taken during the filming of this music video. I love the slide guitar playing by Rick Vito on this song. Interestingly, the GIFs of the last two songs come off the two albums that followed “Against The Wind”. 

So this was a fun way to look at the music of Bob Seger. I hope you enjoyed the GIFs. Feel free to say which GIF is your favourite.