May 6: Singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Seger - Silver Bullet Band - is 66 today.

Bob Seger was born in Dearborn, Michigan and lived in the area until age 6 when his family moved to nearby Ann Arbor, Michigan. He ran track and field in high school.

A roots rocker with a classic raspy, shouting voice, Bob Seger has stated that Little Richard and Elvis Presley were his biggest musical influences. Seger also listened to James Brown and said that, for him and his friends, Live at the Apollo was their favorite record following its release in 1963.

"Come Go With Me" by The Del Vikings was the first record he bought. Seger also named Van Morrison as being one of his influences and covered one of his lesser known songs "I've Been Working" on his albums Back in '72 and Live Bullet.


Bob Seger arrived on the Detroit music scene in 1961 fronting a three-piece band called the Decibels. The Decibels recorded an acetate demo of a song called "The Lonely One," at Del Shannon's studio. As well as being Seger's first original song, "The Lonely One" was Seger's first song to be played on the radio, airing only once on an Ann Arbor radio station.
As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the "System" from his recordings, and he continued to strive for national success with other various bands.

 Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

In 1973 he put together "The Silver Bullet Band," an evolving group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful. In 1976, he achieved national fame with two albums, the live record Live Bullet, and the studio record Night Moves. On his studio albums he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, appearing on several of Seger's best selling singles and albums.

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Dring his career, Seger wrote and recorded songs that dealt with blue-collar themes. Seger has recorded many rock and roll hits, including "Night Moves," "Turn the Page," and "Like a Rock," and also co-wrote the Eagles number one hit "Heartache Tonight." His iconic signature song "Old Time Rock and Roll" was named one of the Songs of the Century in 2001. With a career spanning five decades, Seger continues to perform and record today.

"Old Time Rock & Roll" charted #2 as most played Jukebox Singles of all Time, second only to Patsy Cline's "Crazy."

Seger was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

On March 2, 2011, Seger released the first single from his forthcoming album, Downtown Train, a Tom Waits cover.
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