Bob Seger – Old Time Rock & Roll

This is one of the few songs Seger recorded that he didn’t write. It was written by the songwriters George Jackson and Thomas Jones – they worked for Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where the song was recorded. Although Seger worked on the lyrics, he didn’t take any songwriting credit. This means that Seger doesn’t own the publishing rights to the song, and Jackson and Jones control when it is used in movies and commercials.  It was also released as a single in 1979.

According to Seger, he was feeling generous that day, and says not seeking composer credit was “the dumbest thing I ever did.” Seger claims he changed all the original lyrics except for the “old time rock and roll” part. He made sure to take a dig at disco music, which was fading in popularity.

Seger recorded this with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a famous group of studio musicians who owned their own recording studio in Alabama. Other singers they had worked with include Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and Rod Stewart. They gave many songs a feeling of authenticity, which was important to Seger because his previous album, Night Moves, was very successful and he didn’t want to be perceived as selling out to pop radio.