The Silver Bullet Band was formed in 1974. Its original members were:
* Drew Abbott, guitar
* Charlie Allen Martin, drums
* Rick Mannassa, keyboards
* Chris Campbell, bass guitar
* Alto Reed, saxophones, flutes, acoustic guitar, keyboards and percussion.
Seger himself did all lead vocals and plays guitar and piano.
In 1975 Mannassa was replaced by Robyn Robbins on keyboards, who in 1980 was replaced by Craig Frost. Around 1977 Martin was replaced by Dave Teegarden on drums, who in 1983 was replaced by Don Brewer. In 1982 Abbott was replaced by Dawayne Bailey on guitar.
Seger has almost always used session musicians, most notably The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, on his albums as well.
In 1974 Seger formed the Silver Bullet Band and released the album Seven (credited to Bob Seger), which contained the Detroit-area hard rock hit "Get Out of Denver". This track that was a modest success and charted at #80 nationally.
In April 1976 Seger and the Silver Bullet Band had an even bigger commercial breakthrough with the album Live Bullet, recorded over two nights in Detroit's Cobo Arena in September 1975. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 168 weeks, peaking at #34 which was Seger's highest charting album at the time. It also contained Seger's hit rendition of Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" (#69 US) as well as Seger's own classic take on life on the road, "Turn the Page", from Back in '72. It also included his late 1960s successful releases — "Heavy Music" and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".
Critic Dave Marsh later wrote that "Live Bullet is one of the best live albums ever made ... In spots, particularly during the medley of 'Travelin' Man'/'Beautiful Loser', Seger sounds like a man with one last shot at the top." An instant best-seller in Detroit, Live Bullet quickly began to get attention in other parts of the country. In June 1976 he was a featured performer at the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit in front of nearly 80,000 fans. Only three nights before in Chicago, Seger had played before 50 people in a bar.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band achieved a commercial breakthrough with their 1976 album Night Moves which featured several hits including the highly evocative title song. Subsequently Seger had success with rockers such as "Hollywood Nights" and mellower mid-tempo ballads such as "We've Got Tonight", "Fire Lake" (recorded 1979, and featured Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Glen Frey on backing vocals) and "Against the Wind". His most recognizable songs are almost certainly "Old Time Rock & Roll" (featured in the film Risky Business) and "Like a Rock" (most familiar to many younger Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign).
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band released The Distance in 1982. Critically praised for representing a tougher sound than some of Seger's recent material, the album spawned hits with Rodney Crowell's "Shame on the Moon" (which also did moderately well as a country music song), "Even Now", and "Roll Me Away". But perhaps because Seger and his band were ill-equipped to exploit the new MTV era, Seger's album sales dropped noticeably, with The Distance only selling approximately 1 million copies. The following year country music superstar Kenny Rogers would team up with pop singer Sheena Easton to cover "We've Got Tonight". This version was a world wide hit and was so successful Rogers used it as the title cut to one of his own albums. In 1984 Seger wrote and recorded with his band the power rock ballad "Understanding" for the "Teachers" movie soundtrack. The song was a mild Top 40 hit in 1985.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band were no longer as prolific and four years elapsed before their next studio album, 1986's Like a Rock emerged. The fast-paced "American Storm" garnered both pop and rock airplay, and "Like a Rock" became yet another successful Seger ballad. Later it would become familiar to many Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign (something Seger explicitly chose to do to support struggling American automobile workers in Detroit). Seger's 1986-1987 American Storm Tour was his self-stated last major tour, playing 105 shows over 9 months and selling almost 1.5 million tickets. Like a Rock sold over a million copies and went platinum.
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's next record was 1991's The Fire Inside, at a time when glam metal, grunge and alternative rock were all taking the forefront. Seger's new music found little visibility on radio or elsewhere. The same was true of 1995's It's a Mystery, however the album was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold). In between, however, his Greatest Hits compilation was a major success, achieving sales of over 8 million units through late 2006. Seger did go back on the road again for a 1996 tour, which was successful and sold the fourth-largest number of tickets of any North American tour that year.
Seger and his band has recently released his first new album in 11 years, titled Face the Promise (credited to Bob Seger) (with guest appearances from Patty Loveless and Detroiter Kid Rock). In its first 45 days, the album sold more than 400,000 copies, according to Soundscan. The album has sold over 1 million copies to date and stayed on the Billboard chart for months. His supporting tour has also been eagerly anticipated, with many shows selling out within minutes. Showing that Seger's legendary appeal in Michigan had not diminished, all 15,000 tickets available for his first show at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena sold out in under five minutes; three additional shows were subsequently added, each of which also sold out.
The Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll stated that "His throaty, authoritative delivery is a pleasure to listen to, and the Silver Bullet Band is superb."
Events in late March of 2007 suggested that Seger may move on from Capitol Records because those who had worked with him to this point are now gone from the label. The same press release also confirmed Seger's intention to release a live CD/DVD package chronicling his Face the Promise tour at some point in the fall.
"Face the Promise" Tour 2006-2007 Lineup:
# Chris Campbell, Bass Guitar, since 1969
# Alto Reed, Saxaphones, since 1972
# Craig Frost, Keyboards, Piano, 25 years
# Mark Chatfield, Lead Guitar (Rythm Guitar 1983, 1996 Tours)
# Shaun Murphy, Backing vocals, since 1973
# Laura Creamer, Backing vocals, since 1968
# Don Brewer, Drums, (also 1983 Tour)
# Jim "Moose" Brown, Guitar and Keyboard
# Barbara Payton, backing vocals
Roll Me Away
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Headed out to my big two wheeler I was tired of my own voice
Took a bead on the northern plains and just rolled that power on
Twelve hours out of Machinaw City stopped in a bar to have a brew
Met a girl and we had a few drinks and I told her what I'd decided to do
She looked out the window a long long moment then she looked into my eyes
She didn't have to say a thing I knew what she was thinkin'
Roll roll me away won't you roll me away tonight
I too am lost I feel double crossed and I'm sick of what's wrong and what's
right
We never even said a word we just walked out and got on that bike
And we rolled
And we rolled clean out of sight
We rolled across the high plains
Deep into the mountains
Felt so good to me
Finally feelin' free
Somewhere along a high road
The air began to turn cold
She said she missed her home
I headed on alone
Stood alone on a mountain top starin' out at the Great Divide
I could go east I could go west it was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin' and my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin'
Roll roll away I'm gonna roll me away tonight
Gotta keep rollin' gotta keep ridin' keep searchin' till I find what's right
And as the sunset faded I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time
Next time
We'll get it right
"Roll Me Away" is a story of a man's journey to self-discovery through travel and liberation from the monotony of his everyday life. The singer looks down a westbound road and chooses to take his bike rather than his car because he is tired of his own voice. He heads north to the plains, feeling the power of the journey as he continues to travel. He takes a break at a bar in Machinaw City, meets a girl, and tells her his plan for the journey. She understands what he is feeling and advises him, without words, to follow his heart.
The chorus, "Roll me away…gotta keep ridin', keep searching, till I find what's right," symbolizes the singer's longing for freedom and the search for meaning in his life. The second half of the song, after the singer separates from the girl, is more contemplative. He experiences the highs and lows of the journey while he traverses the high plains and mountains. The story reaches its climax when the singer stands on top of a mountain, staring out at the Great Divide. The symbolism of the hawk and the rising sun representing hope and renewal of the soul also indicate the path to self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Took a look down a westbound road right away I made my choice
I looked down a road that heads to the west and made my decision instantly
Headed out to my big two wheeler I was tired of my own voice
I rode off on my motorcycle to escape my own thoughts
Took a bead on the northern plains and just rolled that power on
I aimed for the vast northern plains and just kept riding with all my energy
Twelve hours out of Machinaw City stopped in a bar to have a brew
After 12 hours of riding, I stopped in a bar at Machinaw City to have a drink
Met a girl and we had a few drinks and I told her what I'd decided to do
I met a girl, had a few drinks with her, and explained my plan to her
She looked out the window a long long moment then she looked into my eyes
She gazed out the window for a while, then met my eyes intently
She didn't have to say a thing I knew what she was thinkin'
She didn't need to speak as I already knew what she was thinking
Roll roll me away won't you roll me away tonight
Roll, roll me away, could you roll me away tonight?
I too am lost I feel double crossed and I'm sick of what's wrong and what's right
I'm also lost, I feel betrayed and I'm tired of distinguishing between right and wrong
We never even said a word we just walked out and got on that bike
We didn't utter a word, we left, and rode away on the motorcycle
And we rolled, And we rolled clean out of sight
We just kept riding on, went away from sight completely
We rolled across the high plains, Deep into the mountains
We rode through the high plains and deep into the mountains
Felt so good to me, Finally feelin' free
It felt liberating to be free and enjoying my journey
Somewhere along a high road, The air began to turn cold
At some point along the journey, the air turned cold while cruising on a high road
She said she missed her home, I headed on alone
She mentioned missing her home while I continued alone
Stood alone on a mountain top starin' out at the Great Divide
I was standing alone on top of a mountain and gazed at the Great Divide
I could go east I could go west it was all up to me to decide
Whether to go east or west was entirely my call to make
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin' and my soul began to rise
I caught sight of a young hawk soaring and it lifted my spirits
Roll roll away I'm gonna roll me away tonight
Roll, roll away! Tonight, I'll leave again
Gotta keep rollin' gotta keep ridin' keep searchin' till I find what's right
I have to continue riding, search until I find what's right
And as the sunset faded I spoke to the faintest first starlight
As the sunset disappeared, I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time, Next time, We'll get it right
I vowed to get it right next time, preserving my hope to try again.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB SEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@janina4177
I’m 76 and Still Love this and all Bob’s songs….i’ll be a rocker till the day I die….greetings from Perth Western Australia 5 April 2024 ♥️♥️
@JohnTreeman
Dasrite Im 68 years old
@stevesullivan8705
After creating Bob Seger, God might as well have retired.
@Tanman-lk1hk
Truth
@letitrest4662
TDF(Too damn funny), but true....
@barbaramorton5276
This Dude is the coolest man on the planet. I’m 72 and still crank him on my phone when I work.
@adamkondracki3201
You and my late father have impeccable taste 👌 😌 I'm 38 and this music is almost medicinal for me ..Guess the good taste rubbed off on me. 😂
@frickfracked
Uncle Bob!
@MrFoxboy7
Sitting doing that right now CLASS
@thomascronan9964
Who can deny