Turn the Page
Encyclopedia
"Turn the Page" is a song originally released by Bob Seger
in 1973 on his Back in '72
album. Though never released as a single, Seger's live version of the song on his 1976 Live Bullet
album became a mainstay of album-oriented rock
radio stations, and still gets significant airplay to this day on classic rock
stations.
. Drummer David Teegarden (of Teegarden & Van Winkle and later the Silver Bullet Band) recalls:
Tom Weschler, then road manager for Seger, remembers the same incident:
While on tour in Milwaukee, WI, on November 16, 2006, promoting his sixteenth studio album Face the Promise
, Seger himself said: "I wrote this song in 1972 in a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
," prior to beginning the song.
and a distinctive saxophone part played by founding Silver Bullet member Alto Reed
. Tom Weschler allegedly helped inspire Reed to create the opening melody. During recording, Weschler told Reed: "Alto, think about it like this: You're in New York City
, on the Bowery
. It's 3 a.m. you're under a streetlamp There's a light mist coming down. You're all by yourself. Show me what that sounds like." With that, Reed played the opening melody to "Turn the Page.".
has claimed that the song was a big influence on him and Richie Sambora
when they were writing their 1986 song "Wanted Dead or Alive
."
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
in 1973 on his Back in '72
Back in '72
Back in '72 is an album by American rock singer/songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973 . It was the first new album on Seger's label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros...
album. Though never released as a single, Seger's live version of the song on his 1976 Live Bullet
Live Bullet
‘Live’ Bullet is a live album by American rock band Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, released in April 1976. It was recorded at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan, during the heyday of that arena's time as an important rock concert venue.-History:...
album became a mainstay of album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
radio stations, and still gets significant airplay to this day on classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
stations.
Inspiration
"Turn the Page" is about the emotional and social ups and downs of a rock musician's life on the road. Seger wrote it in 1972 while touring with Teegarden & Van WinkleTeegarden & Van Winkle
Teegarden & Van Winkle were an American musical duo, composed of Skip Knape , and David Teegarden . Formed in Tulsa, they took their folksy rock to Detroit....
. Drummer David Teegarden (of Teegarden & Van Winkle and later the Silver Bullet Band) recalls:
We had been playing somewhere in the MidwestMidwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, or the northern reaches, on our way to North or South Dakota. [Guitarist] Mike Bruce was with us. We'd been traveling all night from the Detroit area to make this gig, driving in this blinding snowstorm. It was probably 3 in the morning.
Mike decided it was time to get gas. He was slowing down to exit the interstate and spied a truck stop. We all had very long hair back then – it was the hippie era – but Skip, Mike and Bob had all stuffed their hair up in their hats. You had to be careful out on the road like that, because you'd get ostracized. When I walked in, there was this gauntlet of truckers making comments – "Is that a girl or man?" I was seething; those guys were laughing their asses off, a big funny joke.
That next night, after we played our gig – I think it was Mitchell, S.D. – Seger says, "Hey, I've been working on this song for a bit, I've got this new line for it. He played it on acoustic guitar, and there was that line: "Oh, the same old cliches / 'Is that a woman or a man?' " It was "Turn the Page."
Tom Weschler, then road manager for Seger, remembers the same incident:
"Turn the Page," Bob's great road song, came along in '72, while we were driving home from a gig. I think we were in Dubuque, Iowa, in winter and stopped at a restaurant. We stood out when we entered a store or a gas station or a restaurant en masse. At this restaurant it was particularly bright inside, so there weren't any dark corners to hide in. All these local guys were looking at us like, "What are these guys? Is that a woman or a man?" – just like in the song. ... That was one incident, but there were so many others on the road that led Seger to write that song.
While on tour in Milwaukee, WI, on November 16, 2006, promoting his sixteenth studio album Face the Promise
Face the Promise
Face the Promise is the sixteenth studio album by Bob Seger. This album was originally planned to be released in 2004 and then delayed to 2005. It was finally officially released on September 12, 2006. According to many webpages it took Bob Seger 6 years of work to finish on "Face The Promise." ...
, Seger himself said: "I wrote this song in 1972 in a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County,...
," prior to beginning the song.
Instrumentation
Both Seger's studio and live versions of "Turn the Page" feature a mournful mellotronMellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
and a distinctive saxophone part played by founding Silver Bullet member Alto Reed
Alto Reed
Alto Reed , is an American long-time saxophonist with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. His most recognizable performances included the introduction to "Turn the Page", and the saxophone solo in "Old Time Rock and Roll"...
. Tom Weschler allegedly helped inspire Reed to create the opening melody. During recording, Weschler told Reed: "Alto, think about it like this: You're in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on the Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
. It's 3 a.m. you're under a streetlamp There's a light mist coming down. You're all by yourself. Show me what that sounds like." With that, Reed played the opening melody to "Turn the Page.".
Covers
- Waylon JenningsWaylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
coveredCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the single (though not released) "Turn the Page" on the album of the same name (Turn the Page) in 1985, the first in which Jennings was drug-free in twenty years. - MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
later covered the song, as the first single from their 1998 Garage Inc.Garage Inc.-Disc two:These tracks are a collection of B-sides from artists Metallica were inspired by, throughout the early years of the band.-Personnel:* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Whiskey In the Jar"...
album, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 11 consecutive weeks, the highest number of weeks Metallica has ever spent at the top; drummer Lars UlrichLars UlrichLars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
had heard the original song while driving across the Golden Gate BridgeGolden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
and later commented that he thought it "Had James [Hetfield] all over it". Metallica's rendition is taken at much the same tempo as Seger's, but with a heavier feel; the saxophone part is replaced by a high slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
line from Kirk HammettKirk HammettKirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
and James HetfieldJames HetfieldJames Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
played a guitar solo before the last run through the chorus. Metallica's music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, directed by Jonas ÅkerlundJonas ÅkerlundJonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
, is about the life of a stripper who prostitutes herself while she is trying to raise a child; the prostitute/stripper is played by Ginger Lynn Allen. - The song was also covered by Australian rock singer Jon EnglishJon EnglishJonathan James "Jon" English is an Australian rock singer, musician, actor and writer. English emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1961...
, the Dutch rock group Golden EarringGolden EarringGolden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...
, the singer Sally Anthony and more recently the Wiggles when playing at a hotel in Green Pigeon near Kyogle. - Country singer/songwriter Marshall Chapman also covered the song on her 1978 album, Jaded Virgin.
- Kid RockKid RockRobert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
covered the song as a 1995 demo as part of his White Room Studios Sessions but it was omitted from Early Mornin Stoned Pimp. Kid Rock's version includes the original version overdubbed. He has covered it with Metallica on the 2000 Summer Sanitarium Tour. He covered this song with Jamey Johnson at DTE Energy Music Theatre in August 2010, with Bob Seger coming onstange to sing the last line of the song. - Sage FrancisSage FrancisPaul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
covered the song on his 2001 album Personal JournalsPersonal JournalsPersonal Journals has received high reviews from critics. Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars. Pitchfork Media gave it a 8.7 out of 10 ratings. RapReviews.com gave the album a 9.5 out of 10. Robert Christgau gave it a "*" which means an honorable mention...
, with slightly altered lyrics. The chorus lyric and song title were changed to "My Name Is Strange". - StaindStaindStaind is an American rock band that was formed in 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts. For 16 years, the band consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki...
frequently performs the song live, and it is played solo by Aaron Lewis with just an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. - EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n band Muusik Seif, fronted by Tõnis MägiTõnis MägiTõnis Mägi is an Estonian singer, guitarist, composer and actor. He is one of the most influential and remarkable names in the Estonian rock music for the past 40 years....
, covered the song in Estonian languageEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
as "Olen valind tee" ([I've] chosen a way), on their 1983 album Mäe kaks nõlva (The two sides of a mountain).
Influences
Jon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
has claimed that the song was a big influence on him and Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
when they were writing their 1986 song "Wanted Dead or Alive
Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi song)
-Music Video:The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band's massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago's UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Civic Center, Denver, Colorado's McNichols Arena, Pittsburgh, PA F. Pitt Tunnel and Pittsburgh Skyline...
."