Bob Seger is known as one of the pioneering icons of heartland rock, and his knack for storytelling through songs is legendary.
With songs such as “Turn the Page,” “Travelin’ Man,” and “The Highway,” the Michigan-born rocker also became synonymous with open-road anthems. One of his biggest came in 1983 with “Roll Me Away.”
Written by Seger for the 1982 Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band album The Distance, “Roll Me Away” featured an anthemic guitar melody and the singer’s signature rasp as he belted out lyrics about the lure of the open road on his “big two-wheeler.” The accompanying music video boasted open-road scenery and a rider on a Honda V65 Magna.
Released as a single in May 1983, “Roll Me Away” became a summer Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 27, 1983. Forty-three summers later, it remains a road-trip anthem inspired by a real-life ride.
Bob Seger was inspired by a motorcycle trip to Wyoming
In 1994, Seger shared the back story of “Roll Me Away” in an interview with The Detroit Free Press.
“That was written about a motorcycle trip I took to Jackson Hole, Wyoming,” he revealed. “I wanted to do that for a long time. It was fascinating being out. The first night it was 42 degrees in northern Minnesota; the second it was 106 in South Dakota, and all I had on was my shorts, and my feet were up on the handlebars to keep them from boiling on the engine.”
“It was just silence and feeling nature,” the music legend added of the road trip.
Seger has long maintained his love for driving and motorcycles in particular. In 2011, he told Huff Post, “I love to go out on my motorcycle alone.”
He also told Motor Trend that his favorite driving destination was the “American West.” “Michiganders, we love to drive,” he said in 2014. “I just love to drive. Ride out, see something new, get away from things that bother you, and take a trip.”
Seger, now 81, retired from touring in 2019, but out of his entire catalog of songs, he chose “Roll Me Away” as the theme when he hit the road for the final time. Seger’s Roll Me Away: The Final Tourwrapped in November 2019.
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