NEW YORK: Heartland rocker Bob Seger said Tuesday that he was retiring from touring, announcing final dates after a half-century career.
The 73-year-old songwriter – best known for his hit “Old Time Rock and Roll,” his 1979 tribute to what then already seemed like a retro musical style – will tour across North America starting in November with a final date on May 2 in Houston.
Seger’s representative said in a statement that the concerts would be his “final tour” but did not elaborate on the reasons.
But Seger has repeatedly hinted at retirement and last year underwent surgery for a ruptured disc in his back.
“I hope this pain goes away, ‘cause they can never really guarantee it – and if it doesn’t, then I’m done, dude,” Seger told the music site Louder earlier this year, while emphasizing that he was recovering and his voice was unaffected.
Seger, a collaborator of the Eagles, was also deeply affected by the 2016 death of the group’s frontman Glenn Frey, to whom Seger dedicated a song on his latest album.
Born in Detroit, Seger found stardom with his Midwestern-influenced heartland rock, driven by a heavy guitar rooted in the blues and country with Seger’s distinctly intense voice taking on themes of blue-collar life.
Seger – whose hits also include “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” and “Shakedown,” the theme to the 1987 film “Beverly Hills Cop II” – has grown increasingly political in his songwriting with recent songs defending the environment and taking to task President Donald Trump. --AFP