Weekly Finale: Bob Seger

We have reached another weekly finale. but fans of rocker Bob Seger get a special treat today, as his music hits Spotify.

Strangely, his "Greatest Hits" album from 1994 just got diamond certification status from the RIAA, which meant it sold 10 million copies. one reason for Seger's stellar album sales has been the unavailability of his music on streaming services.

In general, Seger's music is the rock equivalent of comfort food, very bluesy and adult contemporary.

Seger's biggest hit was "Shakedown", from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack (which wasn't a bad movie, in my opinion, although not quite as good as the first one). "Shakedown" was his only number one hit on the Billboard, Mainstream Rock, and Canadian charts:



"Shakedown" was a bit of a departure from Seger's more 70's style, bluesy sound.

Surprisingly, his adult contemporary style only managed to spawn one number one hit on the adult contemporary charts, 1982's "Shame on the Moon":



Among his other hits, "Old Time Rock and Roll" was his only hit to chart twice, thanks to the following scene from the movie Risky Business:



In a strange irony, a cover of Seger's "We've Got Tonight" by Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton made it to number one on the country charts:



But of all his songs, Seger's best in my opinion is the mournful "Turn the Page", about a musician's life on the road:



The main reason I love "Turn the Page" is the double meaning of the title. It could mean to go on to the next part of your own life, as well as the simple musical meaning of turning the page on sheet music. Because the song is about the life of a musician, that double meaning is even more powerful.

But like "We've Got Tonight", somebody else also had a bigger hit with Seger's best song. "Turn the Page" didn't chart for Seger, but Metallica took it to number one on the rock charts. The video for Metallica's cover is actually rather powerful in its own right (although it is NSFW):



Time to turn the page on this week. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. bring your eyeballs back here on Monday for more.