After thirty years of reliance on his music, Bob Seger suddenly disappeared from the public and entertainment sphere in the mid-nineties, resulting in a ten-year absence.
Despite a long break from the music industry, the then 61-year-old managed to premiere his first album after a hiatus at number 4 on the Billboard charts.
His fans adored him. The singer had just as much reason to stay home and put the rock star in him to bed as he did – his children.
“I had children at the age of 47, and very late in life,” the singer told CBS’s Sunday Morning in 2007.
He reflected on how he spent the previous 30 years of his life making songs, recording and touring, rinse and repeat, but things changed after he had children.
Then I had kids and realized, you know, maybe it’s a good time to slow down and watch them grow up – you’ll never get the chance to experience that again.
He described his routine during the 10-year hiatus as shockingly normal, with almost all of his time spent in and around his home in Michigan.
“I get up and transfer a few cans to the side of the road like everyone else,” he explained.
Bob Seger
The Return of Bob Seger for Kids
Even his comeback record is structured so that he may be subtly giving advice to his children.
“When you have children, you start focusing on their future and forget about your own,” admitted the smart musician.
So his return from hiatus was his method of taking a stand and passing on his worldview to his children. He realized that this might be his last chance to perform all the things on the tape.
“You know, I’m 61 years old, so I want to shoot with them a little bit,” he continued.
Segar’s devotion to children came full circle when they brought him back to the stage.
“They want to see me on stage, so they just get what I’m doing,” Seger explained. “‘Wonderful, Dad.’ That’s exactly what my son says.”
Bob Seger hinted at a break
Rocker’s ardent followers must have concluded. Seger would take a break to raise his children as a hands-on father.
He said he would do it several times. He admitted to The New York Times in 1986 that he got the idea to step down from John Lennon, who did the same when he had his second child. (Image courtesy of The Seger Files)
That same year, he told the Washington Post that he had come to terms with the fact that he never had a family.
“I look around and see my acquaintances with 15-year-old sons and daughters,” he complained. “I think I really missed that whole thing because of what I do.”
Everything happens in its time, as they say. In a 1996 interview with the Associated Press, he said the following about his life with his wife and family.
“I am an extremely happy man. I can’t complain because I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful children. I can’t complain if it ends today. I did a good job.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education