Bob Seger – Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man

Something about Bob Seger…the man paid his dues. Bob started in 1961 in the Detroit music scene in the Decibels. He kicked around in different bands through the years. His break-out song is this one. His friend, 19-year-old Glen Frey, plays acoustic guitar and sings backup on this song.

The song was a big hit in Michigan and eventually started to climb the charts. The song peaked at #17 on the Billboard 100 in 1969. It would be 1975 before Seger broke nationally. After hearing Gimme Some Loving by the Spencer Davis Group, Seger wanted that organ in a song. Bob Schultz, a Seger’s band member, played it on this track. From then on it became a part of the live sound.

Seger has had an interesting career. Before Against The Wind, before Night Moves, before the Silver Bullet Band even existed, Bob Seger made gritty, experimental garage rock. It was far from the radio hits that made him famous, and much closer to the punk of fellow Michigan musicians like Iggy Pop. At this time he would hang out with The Stooges and The MC5.  They would eventually fade away but Seger matured as a songwriter and became a hit machine.

I’ve always liked Bob Seger. He gets heavy play here in the south and many of his songs have been played to death…but not this one. I like the rawness of this single.

Bob Seger: “We’d had a few records that were popular around town and you’d hear on the radio a lot, but, yeah, that was a little different. That was a hit.”

“I wasn’t necessarily a great songwriter at that time, I think I focused more on playing the guitar and singing… even though Dylan and Van Morrison were important to me and influences on me. That craft was something that developed slowly.”

A live version

Here is a very early look at Bob Seger

Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man

Yeah, I’m gonna
Tell my tale, come on
Come on, ha, give a listen

Cause I was born lonely
Down by the riverside
Learned to spin fortune wheels
And throw dice

I was just thirteen
When I had to leave home
Knew I couldn’t stick around
I had to roam

Ain’t good looking
But you know I ain’t shy
Ain’t afraid to look
A girl in the eye

So if you need some loving
And you need it right away
Take a little time out
And maybe I’ll stay

[CHORUS]
But I got to ramble (rambling man)
I got to gamble (gambling man)
Got to, got to ramble (rambling man)
I was born a rambling, gambling man

Yeah, yeah, yeah….
Ha ha, bring it on
Come on down, yeah
All right, here we go
Now, now

I’m out of money
Cause you know I need some
Ain’t gone run out of loving
And I must run

Gotta keep moving
Never gonna slow down
You can have your funky world
See you round

Cause I got to ramble (rambling man)
I got to gamble (gambling man)
I got to ramble (rambling man)
Lord, I’m a rambling, gambling man

Oh, I’m just a rambler
Yeah, I’m just a gambler
Come on and sing along

Cause I’m just a rambler (rambling man)

Lord, I’m a gambler (gambling man)
I’m a rambler (rambling man)
Yeah, I’m a rambler…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

44 thoughts on “Bob Seger – Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”

  1. Man that is good stuff. Loved that video clip, I think he went to the same hairdresser as Neil Young and Jackson Browne! Seger was huge in these parts as we are so close to Detroit, lot’s of Tiger and Lions fans here, strangely not so may Pistons fans!

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    1. You can feel the energy of this song coming out. He had some rocking ones but this one is flat out garage rock in some ways.
      LOL I noticed that about his hair.

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  5. Wow, I wouldn’t have recognized him to look at him back then. Not a favorite song of mine from his catalog but not a bad basic rock song and great that it finally got him on the national/international charts . Real blue-collar rocker, if ever there was a guy who was a good fit advertising Chevy trucks, it was him.

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    1. This one and Katmandu I do like more than his later rock songs….of course he had a lot of in between songs like Mainstreet, Against The Wind, Night Moves…I don’t count them as the rock songs….but Old Time Rock And Roll…ARGHHHH

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      1. yeah, that one (old Time) just never appealed to me but is so over-played that it’s one of the few ‘classic rock’ standards that I will usually change the station for when it comes on.

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  6. My intro into Bob’s music. had a friend who was a big fan. My head still goes back to this early stuff. Detroit again Max. Tough gritty music. Mitch Ryder always comes to mind when i hear music from that state. By the way I dig this cut.

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      2. The first album I bought by him was Against the Wind and I liked that. I really liked his mid-tempo songs… I still play Fire Lake constantly.

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  7. Bob Segar is, to me, the quintessential mainstream rocker. He doesn’t get political, he just writes about the everyday man and woman from a strong American perspective. His music is very honest…and it rocks. His ballads are stirring. This one is on up there on the list of his best.

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      1. People try to put him there…and, yeah, there are definitely country influences there, Against the Wind and The Distance especially, but to me he is the next, link in the progression from Chuck Berry, to Mitch Ryder. After Segar, you have Mellencamp.

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      1. Oh obbverse…I make so many mistakes…I don’t think of of it.
        Speaking of mistakes…it was one to get up this morning…I installed the alternator…working great…then this 23 year old kid pulls out and doesn’t look and nails me…now dealing with his insurance company.

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  9. Hey, a kid with Insurance, you’re already off to a great start! All his Insurance Company will require from you is your a photo-copy of your drivers licence, your Date of Birth, a complete list of any driving offences you might have accumulated including tickets for parking, citations for jay-walking, your social security number, name of mother, father siblingsgrandparentsunclesaunts… It only takes a few days before they call and get back to you and tell you they lost the file, so they will send you a stamped addressed envelope by late next month; Oh, and ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’
    Hey, I’m ever the optimist.
    Seriously, it seems there is a God of Irony out there. A dozen or so years ago we had just completely stripped back decades of old layers of paint from our weatherboard (wood plank) house, and I had lovingly repainted it in Blue Sky Blue and Brite White. Soooo, a month later our earthquakes hit and we found our house was f-unfixable. Lucky I hadn’t reroofed it, that was next on the list. Small mercies, eh?

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    1. The fact he had insurance…or rather his grandmother had it is good! So far…and I don’t expect this to last but I’ve talked to two people from his insurance office. They were really nice but I still am wary of it. Within a few days they said an adjuster will call me…so we will see then. I was sitting still by the time he hit me so it wasn’t too bad.. I can still drive it which is good.
      My problem is just a drop in the bucket compared to yours…wow. Man that sucked and yes I’m glad you didn’t reroof it. How long did it take you to get another house?

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      1. We were paid out with little fuss- others had insurance issues, so we were lucky, I guess. We lived in the old house for about nine months before buying another smaller place- we didn’t need a big old barn any more. We do consider ourselves lucky. The old house was habitable of course, but it’s a bit worrying when one day, say, the linen cupboard door swings open easily, the next morning, after a tremor or two the door is wedged closed. But hey, it was an experience.

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      2. I’m glad that you were taken care of. I have never experienced an earthquake. We plan to sell our house and move into a smaller house…we just don’t need a bigger house anymore. Plus where we are out is getting outrageous… we will be able to sell and pay off a another house plus some in the bank.

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  11. The big three of heartland rock – Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Bob Seger. I’m a big fan of all three, but especially Bob Seger. In my book, he is a musician of exceptional ability, especially as a songwriter.

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  13. Bob just looked like he wanted to just slam back beers and have a good time. Plus he looked like was always getting off of midnight shift at a steel plant. He didn’t care about image…here’s the tunes..

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    1. He probably did both through that time…hell he probably still does. I grew up thinking he was from the south like Lynyrd Skynyrd ….thats how much he is loved here. I wished I would have seen him.

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  15. You know I love me some Bob Seger. Man knows how to rock and roll but he can also do the heart-searching songs. My mom was a BIG fan of his music. Did not know he hung out with Iggy and the boyz before he became a “hit machine.” This is another one you don’t hear on the radio that much, but it’s one of my favorites. Love to dance to this one:

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