Bob Seger turns 80: Eight music videos to celebrate the iconic rocker's landmark birthday
Published in Entertainment News
DETROIT — "Old Time Rock and Roll"-er, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Michigan icon Bob Seger turned 80 years young on Tuesday, a landmark birthday for the poet and patron saint of Michigan rock.
Seger has been a fixture in Detroit since he started playing around town in the early 1960s, and we've had to share him with the rest of the world since he released his debut album "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" in 1969.
But he's remained our homegrown star even as he's gone on to become one of the world's bestselling and most successful artists. He retired from the road in 2019, and his last local concert was in June of that year, when he closed out a six-night stand at Pine Knob, then still DTE Energy Music Theatre.
To celebrate Seger's birthday, here's a look back at some of his top music videos through the years. Seger was never an MTV staple, but these clips for some of his biggest and best-known songs are well worth a watch. Consider them snapshots in his storied career; as the man himself once said, rock and roll never forgets.
'Night Moves'
"Night Moves" was a hit for Seger in 1977, although an official music video didn't arrive until 1994, when Seger was promoting his "Greatest Hits" album. The clip features Matt LeBlanc, the same year he'd become Joey from "Friends," alongside "Melrose Place's" Daphne Zuniga as the "black haired beauty with big dark eyes." (Zuniga has blue eyes, but close enough.) The video was shot by Wayne Isham, who was known for his clips for Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi, and it was filmed at Los Angeles' now defunct El Monte Drive-In, which opened in the summer of 1948 and closed around the turn of the century.
'Like a Rock'
Before it was the theme song to a long-running Chevrolet campaign, Seger's 1986 single was the title track to the album of the same name. The music video is directed by David Hogan, who would go on to direct the Pamela Anderson-starring "Barb Wire." It features Seger who, true to the song's theme, is stoic and stern as trains go by and he watches visions of his life, and of his earlier selves, flash before his eyes. "Like a Rock" peaked at No. 12 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in summer 1986.
'Shakedown'
This performance clip is interspersed with scenes from "Beverly Hills Cop II," the 1987 smash that included "Shakedown" on its soundtrack. (The hit album also featured songs by George Michael, the Pointer Sisters, Jermaine Jackson and Ready for the World.) "Shakedown" would go on to become Seger's first and only No. 1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart; it spent one week at the top spot in August 1987, wedged between Heart's "Alone" (three weeks at No. 1) and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (two weeks). "Shakedown" was also nominated for an Oscar; it lost to Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," from "Dirty Dancing."
'Roll Me Away'
The video for Seger's "The Distance" track, which was released as a single in 1983, showcases sweeping shots of the American roadway — including a shimmering shot of the Mackinac Bridge, which comes early in the clip — mixed with performance footage. "Roll Me Away" features instrumentation by Bruce Springsteen's piano man Roy Bittan (he also plays on album opener "Even Now," and would later contribute to "The Fire Inside") and was produced by Jimmy Iovine.
'Still the Same'
This live performance (filmed at the San Diego Sports Arena in March 1978, REO Speedwagon were openers that night) came just as "Still the Same" was about to hit the charts. The song peaked at No. 4 in July of that year and was a staple of Seger's live shows for years, before it got shelved around 2007, not to appear again in Seger's live sets until 2018. In the closed captions in the video above, the "Still the Same" is described at one point as "upbeat rock music," which somewhat undercuts its melancholy center.
'Turn the Page'
The "Greatest Hits" era clip finds Seger in a studio singing his classic about the weariness of touring while scratchy performance footage from two decades prior plays on a large screen behind him. A few years later, Metallica would cover the song, giving it a second life and opening it up to a new audience.
'The Fire Inside'
Seger performs his 1991 single inside a New York City high rise while the loose narrative follows a short-haired blonde model-type making her way through the city. The clip reunited Seger with "Like a Rock" director David Hogan, who also filmed videos for Sheryl Crow ("All I Wanna Do," "Leaving Las Vegas"), Dave Matthews Band ("Ants Marching") and Shania Twain ("You're Still the One").
'Detroit Made'
Seger himself doesn't appear in this Possum Hill-directed video, but it's got shots of Hart Plaza, Ford Field, the Lager House and cars-aplenty, making it a true ode to Detroit.
©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments