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
The Fire Inside
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a reckless feeling in your heart as you head out tonight
Through the concrete canyons to the midtown lights
Where the latest neon promises are burning bright
Past the open windows on the darker streets
Where unseen angry voices flash and children cry
Past the phony posers with their worn out lines
The low life dealers with their bad designs
And the dilettantes with their open minds
You're out on the town, safe in the crowd
Ready to go for the ride
Searching the eyes, looking for clues
There's no way you can hide
The fire inside
Well you've been to the clubs and the discotheques
Where they deal one another from the bottom of a deck of promises
Where the cautious loners and emotional wrecks
Do an acting stretch as a way to hide the obvious
And the lights go down and they dance real close
And for one brief instant they pretend they're safe and warm
Then the beat gets louder and the mood is gone
The darkness scatters as the lights flash on
They hold one another just a little too long
And they move apart and then move on
On to the street, on to the next
Safe in the knowledge that they tried
Faking the smile, hiding the pain
Never satisfied
The fire inside
Fire inside
Now the hour is late and he thinks you're asleep
You listen to him dress and you listen to him leave like you knew he would
You hear his car pull away in the street
Then you move to the door and you lock it when he's gone for good
Then you walk to the window and stare at the moon
Riding high and lonesome through a starlit sky
And it comes to you how it all slips away
Youth and beauty are gone one day
No matter what you dream or feel or say
It ends in dust and disarray
Like wind on the plains, sand through the glass
Waves rolling in with the tide
Dreams die hard and we watch them erode
But we cannot be denied
The fire inside
Bob Seger's "The Fire Inside" is a song about living life to the fullest and chasing after one's dreams. The song begins by describing a city at night, full of opportunities and dangers. The singer is out on the town, searching for something that will fulfill him - represented by "the fire inside". He goes to various clubs and social scenes, seeing others who are just as lost as he is, searching for something that will make them feel alive. Despite the superficial connections he makes with others, he realizes that life is fleeting and everything will eventually decay and die.
The song is a meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the importance of chasing after one's dreams. It speaks to the human need for connection and the struggle to find meaning in a world that is often dark and dispiriting. Throughout the song, Seger reminds us that life is a journey full of highs and lows, but it's up to us to keep the fire burning within us and to never stop pursuing our passions.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a hard moon risin' on the streets tonight
You're feeling restless and bold tonight, under the luminance of a strong, beckoning moon.
Through the concrete canyons to the midtown lights, Where the latest neon promises are burning bright
As you traverse down city streets, the neon lights herald promises of new pleasures and experiences.
Past the open windows on the darker streets, Where unseen angry voices flash and children cry
You pass by the harsh realities of city life, with its sounds of anger and sadness heard through open windows.
You're out on the town, safe in the crowd, Ready to go for the ride
You feel secure amongst the throngs of people, eager to see what the night will bring.
Searching the eyes, looking for clues, There's no way you can hide
You seek out what others are feeling, peering into their eyes for signs, as it is impossible to conceal your true emotions.
Well you've been to the clubs and the discotheques, Where they deal one another from the bottom of a deck of promises
You've visited the standard venues of the night, where people play their roles with empty words and fake pledges.
Where the cautious loners and emotional wrecks, Do an acting stretch as a way to hide the obvious
These places are inhabited by people trying to cover up their vulnerability with pretense and feigned detachment.
And the lights go down and they dance real close, And for one brief instant they pretend they're safe and warm
As the lights are lowered, people cling to each other for temporary comfort, a mere illusion of security.
Then the beat gets louder and the mood is gone, The darkness scatters as the lights flash on
The phase passes as the music intensifies, when the bright lights expose the hollowness of it all in a sudden burst.
Now the hour is late and he thinks you're asleep, You listen to him dress and you listen to him leave like you knew he would
It reaches the end of the night, and your companion leaves, unaware that you're still awake, revealing that you both knew it wouldn't last.
Then you walk to the window and stare at the moon, Riding high and lonesome through a starlit sky
You look out the window and see the moon, contemplating its lone journey in solitude through the darkness.
And it comes to you how it all slips away, Youth and beauty are gone one day, No matter what you dream or feel or say, It ends in dust and disarray
It dawns on you how everything in life can suddenly vanish, including beauty and youth, despite all wishes or efforts, eventually culminating in the universal fate of decline and destruction.
Dreams die hard and we watch them erode, But we cannot be denied, The fire inside
While our dreams may die, we still soldier on with our undying spirit and fervor burning brightly within us.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB SEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Undertaker67203
Singers may come and go, but story tellers are immortal. Bob Seger is one of the great American story tellers. There are very few Seger songs that don’t hit me right in my gut, reminding me of lost love, lost chances and youth that is now in the rear view mirror.
@ritast.johnstiles8008
The Fire Inside
@JHuff1053
Great Song, and He's a great singer
@lancewilliamson7541
Amen!
@diningroomfish5470
I hear that brother
@Ace-ki1mc
Amen to that. Great comment.
@Horia_Radulescu
Probably Bob's most underrated song. Such a shame!
@user-do4zo9vv5n
One of his best . Dreams Die Hard
@geetarman
Not to me one of my favorite freeway songs
@brianclark7606
One of my favorite Bob Seger songs, very underrated.