Bob Seger: 10 Statistics that Might Surprise You 

Bob Seger has a career that many artists only dream of, from selling millions of records to being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

While Seger bid touring farewell in 2019, legions of fans still adore this “Beautiful Loser” and always will. As far as the touring part of his career goes, Seger told David Fricke in June 2021, “You know, I’ve had a great life, oh my goodness. I loved what I did. Never worked a day in my life, really. The hard parts were in sleeping in hotels, having rotten food.”

However, it seems as though Seger isn’t completely retired from music. He touched on his experience during the pandemic and how Bruce Springsteen offered some supportive words saying, “I was getting kind of down on myself, down on the world and down on everything. [Springsteen] said, ‘Bob, go out there and start writing, start singing, start playing, start recording.”

In honor of his birthday on May 6, we take a brief look at 10 interesting Bob Seger statistics that might surprise you.

1: The amount of number one albums and singles Seger has in his catalog.

Only one Seger album has topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart, and that was 1980’s Against the Wind. And Seger’s lone number one hit? That was 1987’s “Shakedown” from the Beverly Hills Cop II soundtrack.

7: Number of Grammy Nominations.

Seger’s been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and has won only one, which came in 1981 when he won Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal for “Against the Wind.”

10: Number of Platinum Studio/Live Albums in Seger’s catalog.

Seger’s catalog boasts 10 platinum studio/live albums, and they are:

• 1975’s Beautiful Loser (2x Platinum)
• 1976’s Live Bullet (5x Platinum)
• 1976’s Night Moves (6x Platinum)
• 1978’s Stranger in Town (6x Platinum)
• 1980’s Against the Wind (5x Platinum)
• 1981’s Nine Tonight (4x Platinum)
• 1982’s The Distance (1x Platinum)
• 1986’s Like a Rock (1x Platinum)
• 1991’s The Fire Inside (1x Platinum)
• 2006’s Face the Promise (1x Platinum)

12: The number of years Seger was eligible to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before he finally got in in 2004.

Ample could be said about the amount of time it took for Seger to get inducted into the Rock Hall, but that rant could take a long time. However, we still think it’s a massive oversight the Silver Bullet Band were snubbed.

14: The number of years Chevy’s ‘Like a Rock’ ad campaign ran.

Rolling Stone has an interesting piece on the history of the “Like a Rock” ad campaign for Chevy trucks, which ran from 1991 until 2004, and its impact on advertising during sporting events. He would tell Ultimate Classic Rock, “When Chevy asked for it, for a long time I turned it down, because I just didn’t want it to be in an ad. I’m really glad I did it now, because it sold a lot of trucks to save a lot of jobs, and, you know, this is my home state. So it’s a good thing. And people keep hearing it, so that’s great!”

15: The number of covers in Seger’s catalog.

Seger covered a diverse selection of tunes, including Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” Ike & Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limits,” and an absolutely beautiful rendition of the Christmas classic “The Little Drummer Boy.”

22: The number of Films/TV shows that aren’t ‘Risky Business’ that featured ‘Old Time Rock & Roll.’

According to IMDb.com, “Old Time Rock & Roll” has been featured in a wide variety of films/TV shows including WKRP in Cincinnati, Scrubs, Glee, and more. Often, the use of “Old Time Rock & Roll” post-Risky Business was to reference the iconic scene of a young Tom Cruise in his underwear, as evident by this scene from ALF.

32: Number of seasons it took for Seger to appear on ‘The Simpsons.’

Seger would appear in season 32, episode 17 of the iconic animated series. It’s pretty amazing it took so long for this to happen, considering Homer Simpson’s love of classic rock, especially fellow Michigan natives Grand Funk Railroad.

10 Million: The number of copies Seger’s ‘Greatest Hits’ album has sold.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Seger’s Greatest Hits was certified Diamond (selling 10 million copies) on May 30, 2017. Sure would be interesting to know how many units the compilation has moved since then.

97 million: The amount of money grossed from Seger’s farewell tour

Per Pollstar, Seger’s farewell tour was the 3rd highest-grossing tour in North America in 2019 bringing in $97 million. The two artists that out-grossed him that year were Elton John ($157.4 million) and The Rolling Stones ($177.8 million.)