Bob Seger Took a Decade Long Break to Raise His Kids

After living on his music for thirty years straight, Bob Seger suddenly vanished from the public and entertainment sphere around the mid-'90s — a decade-long hiatus. 

Even after an extended absence from the music scene, the then-61-year-old managed to debut his first post-hiatus album at #4 on the Billboard charts. 

Clearly, his fans still loved him. That being said, the songster had a good reason to hang his hat at home and put the rockstar in him to bed for as long as he did — his kids.

"I had kids at age 47, and very late in life," the singer told CBS' Sunday Morning over an interview in 2007.

He recalled how 30 years of his life to that point were all about writing songs, making a record, and touring, rinse-repeat, but after having kids of his own, things changed.

Then I had the kids and [thought], you know, it might be a good time to slow down and watch them grow up — you're never gonna get another chance to see it.

He explained how his routine during the 10-year break was a surprisingly ordinary one where he spent almost all of his time around his Michigan residence.

"I get up and move a couple of cans out to the edge of the road like everybody else," he noted. 

Bob Seger's Comeback for Kids

Even his comeback album was designed such that he could be offering advice to his children in a subtle manner. 

"When you have kids, you start thinking about their future and you forget about yours," the wisened rocker professed. 

So, him coming out of his hiatus was his way of taking a stand and imparting his perspective of the world to his children. 

He had realized that it might be his last chance to do all of that on a record.

"You know, I'm 61 years old, so I want to go on record with them a little bit," he added. 

Segar's love for his children came full circle when they ended up becoming the ones putting him back onstage. 

"They want to see me on stage so they're just getting it, you know, what I do," Seger said. "'Awesome, Dad.' That's what my son says."

Bob Seger Foreshadowed a Hiatus

The fans who followed the rocker religiously must have taken the hint that Seger would go on hiatus to raise his children as a hands-on father. 

He'd mentioned that he would on multiple occasions.

During an interview with The New York Times in 1986, he'd revealed that he got the idea of stepping down from John Lennon, who did the same when he had his second child. (via The Seger Files)

That same year, he'd told the Washington Post that he'd come to terms with the fact that he never settled down with a family. 

"I look around and see friends of mine with 15-year-old sons and daughters," he said with an air of regret. "I think I really missed that whole thing doing what I do."

As the saying goes, all things in due time. 

In an interview with Associated Press a decade later in 1996, he had this to say about his life with his spouse and family.

I'm a very lucky guy. I've got a great wife and two great kids, and I can't complain. If it all ends today, I can't complain. I've done well.