How an Impatient Manager Helped Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band Get Its Name

Inspiration for a band name can come from anywhere—a hometown or region, an inside joke, or, in the case of Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band, an impatient band manager. The Silver Bullet Band formed in 1974 after Seger had already been enjoying a successful career under multiple band names. The original lineup included Drew Abbott, Charlie Allen Martin, Rick Manasa, Chris Campbell, and Alto Reed. Their first full-band release was Seven.

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While we might closely associate Bob Seger with the Silver Bullet Band now, it’s just as likely that Seger’s backing band could have had a different name altogether, depending on the whims of the band’s manager, Edward “Punch” Andrews, that day.

How Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band Got Its Name

Bob Seger had been performing for years before finding the backing band that would eventually become the Silver Bullet Band. Once the musician realized he would be performing with this band permanently, he invited the musicians to come up with their own name. As Seger explained in a 2014 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, this task was more difficult than he anticipated.

“We were all arguing about what our band name should be,” Seger recalled. “I was kind of letting the band pick it themselves, and they just kept arguing and arguing and went on and on and on. Finally, my manager sent us our paychecks with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. He got tired of waiting for us. So, he made it up himself.”

Letterman told Seger he had heard a different explanation from a friend, one that’s admittedly a lot more glamorous than reality. In this story, Seger and his bandmates named the Silver Bullet Band after the silver limousine they rode to and from gigs that they called Silver Bullet. The “Fire Inside” singer let out a big laugh upon hearing this version of the band’s origin story as Letterman riffed about his friend feeding him wrong information.

The Rock Star Tried On Several Names Before The Silver Bullet Band

As a young musician cutting his teeth in the Detroit rock and roll scene, Bob Seger performed under several different monikers and band names before settling on Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. He started out in a band called the Decibels, which featured Seger and two of his bandmates. Then, Seger performed in a band called the Town Criers. Seger met Doug Brown of Doug Brown and the Omens while performing with the Town Criers. Interested in joining a band with a bigger following than his own, Seger switched to a supporting role in Brown’s band.

Seger didn’t stay in Brown’s band for long, but the two maintained a working relationship as musician and producer, respectively. The next band Seger formed post-Omens departure was called Bob Seger and the Last Heard, which included a former bandmate from the Town Criers, drummer Pep Perrine. The name Bob Seger and the Last Heard stuck around until 1968 when Seger landed a record deal with Capitol Records. Capitol wanted Seger’s band to have a different name, and they opted for the Bob Seger System. By 1970, Seger was performing under his name only.

By 1974, Punch Andrews had settled on the Silver Bullet Band for the bickering group. The last Seger album billed as “Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band” was Seger’s 1995 release, It’s a Mystery.

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