BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL

Publicació: març de 1979

Llistes: EUA: #28

"Old Time Rock and Roll" és una cançó escrita per George Jackson i Thomas E. Jones III, amb lletra sense acreditar de Bob Seger. Va ser gravada per Seger per al seu desè àlbum d'estudi "Stranger in Town". Es va utilitzar a la pel·lícula de 1983 “Risky Business” en una famosa escena on Tom Cruise balla la cançó amb roba interior. A Seger li està bé que la seva cançó estigui estretament associada amb un Cruise vestit en roba interior perquè és bo pel negoci.

Aquesta és una de les poques cançons que Seger va gravar que no va escriure ell. Els compositors George Jackson i Thomas Jones van treballar per a Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, on es va gravar la cançó. Tot i que Seger va treballar en la lletra, no va prendre cap crèdit com a compositor. Això vol dir que Seger no té els drets de publicació de la cançó i Jackson i Jones controlen quan s'utilitza en pel·lícules i anuncis. Segons Seger, es va sentir generós aquell dia i diu que no voler crèdit com a compositor va ser "la cosa més estúpida que vaig fer". Seger afirma que va canviar tota la lletra original excepte la part del "old time rock and roll".

Seger ho va gravar amb la Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, un famós grup de músics d'estudi que posseïa el seu propi estudi de gravació a Alabama. Van donar a moltes cançons una sensació d'autenticitat, cosa que va ser important per a Seger perquè el seu disc anterior, "Night Moves", va tenir molt d'èxit i no volia que anès a parar a la ràdio pop.

Jerry Masters, que era enginyer de gravació a Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, va explicar la història: "Vam fer una demo de l'autor de la cançó, George Jackson, a l'estudi quan no teníem res més a fer. Va ser una gran maqueta, juntament amb algunes altres que vam treballar aquell dia. A Seger li va agradar tant la cançó que va intentar editar-la ell mateix, però després de nombrosos intents, amb els Swampers i amb la seva banda, finalment es va rendir. Ell i el manager de Seger, Punch Andrews van decidir comprar-nos el tema de la maqueta i posar-hi la seva veu, i va acabar en el disc. Així que el clàssic 'Old Time' va ser en realitat una maqueta que vam editar a l'escriptor un parell d'anys abans”.

El guitarrista solista de "Old Time Rock And Roll" no era un músic de Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Va ser Forrest McDonald, un jove que passava per allà i que aquell dia es va aturar a l'estudi. Va entrar a l'aparcament una tarda i Jimmy era al porxo del darrere. I el noi li va dir: "Bé, sóc guitarrista i tinc ganes d'aprendre a tocar en les sessions de gravació, i crec que sóc bo.” Jimmy va dir: "Bé, tens la teva guitarra amb tu?" Ell diu: "Sí". Jimmy diu: "Bé, entra". I el van gravar a la cançó. La seva mare i el seu pare ni tan sols van baixar del cotxe. Es van quedar al cotxe a l'aparcament amb l'aire condicionat en marxa. El van gravar tocant la guitarra i està al disc, ho va fer prou bé per mantenir-lo allà." McDonald no va ser acreditat per la seva part a la cançó, però sí que li van pagar la sessió.

"Old Time Rock and Roll" és un himne nostàlgic sobre el poder i l'atractiu perdurables de la música rock clàssica. Les lletres giren al voltant de la preferència del cantant pel rock and roll antic per sobre de les tendències de la música contemporània. La cançó expressa un anhel pel passat, on la música tenia una ànima i una energia diferents que el cantant considera que falten a la música actual. Les primeres frases, "Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself," (Només treu aquests discos vells de la prestatgeria, m'asseuré a escoltar-los jo sol), impliquen un desig de solitud, destacant la connexió personal que el cantant sent amb la música. La lletra també subratlla la resistència del cantant a les tendències de la música moderna, rebutjant les invitacions a discoteques i balls de saló en favor del blues i la música soul. Això reforça la idea que el cantant anhela uns temps més simples quan el rock and roll era el gènere dominant.

BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND - OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL

Released: March 1979

Charted:  US: #28 

"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics by Bob Seger. It was recorded by Seger for his tenth studio album “Stranger in Town”. This was used in the 1983 movie Risky Business in a famous scene where Tom Cruise dances to the song in his underwear. 

Seger is OK with having his song closely associated with an underwear-clad Cruise - he says he gets a kick out of it.

This is one of the few songs Seger recorded that he didn't write. Songwriters George Jackson and Thomas Jones worked for Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where the song was recorded. Although Seger worked on the lyrics, he didn't take any songwriting credit. This means that Seger doesn't own the publishing rights to the song, and Jackson and Jones control when it is used in movies and commercials. According to Seger, he was feeling generous that day, and says not seeking composer credit was "the dumbest thing I ever did." Seger claims he changed all the original lyrics except for the "old time rock and roll" part.

Seger recorded this with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a famous group of studio musicians who owned their own recording studio in Alabama. They gave many songs a feeling of authenticity, which was important to Seger because his previous album, “Night Moves”, was very successful and he didn't want to be perceived as selling out to pop radio.

Jerry Masters, who was a recording engineer at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, told the story: "We cut a demo on the writer of the song, George Jackson, there at the studio when we didn't have anything else to do. It was a great demo, along with some others we cut that day. Seger liked the song so much he tried to cut it himself, but after numerous tries, with the Swampers and with his band, he finally gave up. He and Seger's manager Punch Andrews decided to buy the demo track from us and put his vocal on it, and that ended up being the record. So the classic 'Old Time' was in reality a demo we cut on the writer a couple of years earlier”.

The lead guitar player on "Old Time Rock And Roll" was not a Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section player. It was Forrest McDonald, a young man just passing through who happened to stop in the studio that day. He came into the parking lot one afternoon and Jimmy was out on the back porch. And he says, 'Well, I'm a guitar player and I'm wanting to learn how to play on recording sessions. And I think I'm good.' He says, 'Well, got your guitar with you?' He says, 'Yeah.' Jimmy says, 'Well, come on in.' And they put him on the track. His mother and daddy never even got out of the car. They sat in the car in the parking lot with the air conditioning running. And they put him on the track playing guitar and it's on the record, it stayed on there. It was a good enough part that they kept it on there." McDonald wasn't credited for his part on the song, but he did get paid.

"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a nostalgic anthem about the enduring power and appeal of classic rock music. The lyrics revolve around the singer's preference for old-fashioned rock and roll over contemporary music trends. The song expresses a longing for the past, where music had a distinct soul and energy that the singer feels is lacking in today's music. The opening lines, "Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself," imply a desire for solitude, highlighting the personal connection the singer feels to the music. The lyrics also emphasize the singer's resistance to modern music trends, rejecting invitations to discos and tango dances in favor of blues and soul music. This reinforces the idea that the singer yearns for a simpler time when rock and roll was the dominant genre.