Rockin’ Dad Bob Seger Keeps Priorities in Line

There’s a reason rock fans have heard more of Bob Seger in TV commercials in recent years than from the stage. “I’m a first-time dad,” crows the 49-year-old singer, “and I’m practicing active fatherhood six to eight hours a day. Plus night shifts. Plus weekends.”

With a 22-month-old son and another child due in April, Seger doesn’t mind having some time on his hands these days. He made the decision to slow down his music-making five years ago when he married his current wife, Nita.

“I felt like I wanted to do it right this time,” he says, chuckling. “And it’s working out great. I’m spending a lot of time with family. We actually have holidays now, and that never happened when we were on the road during our major surge.”

Seger’s surge had him putting out nine consecutive million-selling albums between 1975 and 1991, and at his peak he and his Silver Bullet Band were playing 250 nights a year before he stopped touring in ’87.

“The pace we set for ourselves was astounding, and I’m amazed we lived through it,” he says. “And I feel like I’m a very fortunate guy--the radio still plays us a lot and people remember the songs. I can take solace in that I put down some stuff that had some staying power. Beyond that, I don’t question my success too much.”

Seger began recording material for a new album earlier this year, but took a break in order to put together his first-ever greatest hits album, which came out last Tuesday. Along with such classics as “Night Moves” and “Mainstreet,” the 14-song collection features two previously unreleased tracks--a version of Chuck Berry’s “C’est la Vie” recorded as a warm-up for the “Fire Inside” sessions, and “In Your Time,” a new song Seger wrote for his son, Cole.

An album of new material will be ready early next year, and by next fall the Silver Bullet Band may be back on the road again.

“We’ll see how things go in April with the new baby, but I’m starting to get the itch to play again,” he says. “I may just get a bus and take the whole family on the road with me.”

The rock ‘n’ roll family man hopes to be able to take care of his fans and his kids equally well, but he’s got his priorities straight.

“It’s still as much fun as it ever was for me to play, but it’s a question of balance. The difficult thing about being a parent is that if you have a career, you have to balance your ambitions with the family. If you can make that balance and still do quality work, you’re OK. But if there comes a time when I can’t do both--if it’s just too overwhelming--then I’ll just be a dad.”