New book captures Seger in photos

Mike Hughes | TV America

It was seven years ago that Tom Weschler put some of his music memories on display.

A Detroit radio promotion included 94 of his photos, from Jimi Hendrix to Queen. One of the people viewing them was Gary Graff, a prominent rock reporter and critic.

"I asked him what he thought," Weschler said. "He said, 'real nice photos, but the captions need work.' "

That launched the idea for "Travelin' Man," which Weschler describes as "more of a scrapbook" than a biography. He provided the 161 photos of Bob Seger and friends; Graff, hearing Weschler's stories, provided the words in short chunks, plus a longer introduction. Both will be at a local signing Tuesday.

The photos are a revelation for people who never saw Seger in the 1960s. "The best part for me was seeing that baby face," said Graff, 49. "(He) probably got carded every time he went to a bar."

Weschler, 60, first saw the young Seger at a Harper Woods teen club called The Hideout. "I remember thinking, 'Holy smokes, this guy can sing!' " he recalled by phone. "Most guys couldn't sing then."

Weschler's own rock career ended at his first gig, when he froze onstage and forgot the notes. However, he became a road manager and photographer for other rockers and then for Seger.

Those were the road years, savoring such places as the now-departed Silver Dollar Saloon in Lansing. "That was a great place - big bar, big stage," Weschler recalled.

Some gigs were big. "Punch" Andrews, Seger's manager and producer, predicted "about four people" would show up for a 1969 concert opening the Oakland Mall; police estimated the crowd at 20,000.

The road shows varied wildly, however. The night after drawing 10,000 people at an Orlando arena, Weschler said, Seger played to 500 at a place called the Sugar Shack.

During those trips, Seger, now 64, indulged his passion for film. "We'd go to movies instead of going back and trashing the hotel," Weschler said.

That filmic sense is important, Graff said. "He makes oral movies, in a way. There's a real vividness." Appropriately, Seger's music has been in many movies, from "Mask" to "Forrest Gump" to the classic "Risky Business" moment, with Tom Cruise miming "Old Time Rock & Roll."

Prior to that, there was a huge gap between Seger's first top-20 hit ("Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" in 1968) and his second ("Night Moves" in 1976). He has said he thought about quitting; Weschler said he knew that wouldn't happen. "It was obvious to me that there wasn't anything else he was going to do, with that voice and that ability to write songs."

Then the rest of the world found Seger. In 1981, he had three top 10 singles ("Fire Lake," "Against the Wind" and "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You"), a No. 1 album and a Grammy.

The next year, Graff - fresh from the University of Missouri, after growing up in Pittsburgh - became the Detroit Free Press music writer. He first met Seger as they listened to his new "The Distance" album together, prior to an interview. "I'm thinking, 'Oh, I hope I like it.' "

He did; so did the public. The album reached No. 5 and one song ("Shame on the Moon") was No. 2.

Writing has always been a key part of the Seger success, Weschler said. "Even when he was doing protest songs in the '60s, his songwriting was really good."

What people remember, however, is the blue-collar tone.

In the book's foreword, John Mellencamp refers to "Midwest rock"; in the afterword, Kid Rock talks of "heartland rock 'n' rollers." Graff prefers the latter phrase.

"It's just a meat-and-potatoes kind of thing, very direct," he said. "I think Seger is the best at it. He put the heart in heartland rock."