It was Bob Seger’s cleaning ladies who informed photographer and co-author Tom Weschler that the music legend liked Weschler’s book Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger. 

“We were at this big release party where there were 350 people at a club that held 200,” Weschler said during a recent phone interview. “There was a line outside the building, and we (Weschler and co-author Gary Graff) were signing autographs. 

“I spotted these two ladies in line and they didn’t look like the typical Seger fans. For one thing they had sweats on. As they got closer, I noticed their books had a signature on the front and thought, ‘Who would sign the front like that?’” 

As the women got to the front of line, Weschler recognized the signature as Seger’s, which surprised him since he hadn’t even showed the book to the star. 

“Mostly because it was my story about being with him and the band,” Weschler said. “Plus, he would have just worried about it. He worries about everything.” 

So when the ladies finally reached Weschler, he asked them how they got Seger’s signature. 

“We clean for him,” they replied. 

“So then I asked, ‘How’d he like the book?’ They said, ‘He loved it.’” 

First released in 2009, with a soft-cover released in 2010, Travelin’ Man features Weschler’s photographs and stories about the people and places in the images, a collection Weschler thought one day he would turn into a scrapbook for Seger. The vignettes, while recounting Seger’s rise in the rock world, also offer a rare glimpse into the life of a musician, from touring to recording, in the 1960s and ’70s. 

Weschler joined Seger in 1969 when a friend called, needing a replacement for a roadie who fell sick. A few months later, his friend got ill and Weschler found himself the road manager. 

“Basically, when I got everything set up, I would just shoot,” Weschler said. “More in the seventies, I was pretty much doing everything by phone, so I had time to take pictures.” 

Weschler left the Seger organization in 1974 for other endeavors. Over his career, he has taken numerous pictures of such rock 'n' roll legends as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Pink Floyd, and Cream. It was his vast collection of photos that lead him to do a gallery show with Detroit radio station 94.7 WCSX in 2002, featuring ninety-four pictures with captions written by Weschler. 

Friend, writer, and longtime Seger fan Graff stopped by the show. “I asked Gary what he thought of the show, and he said, ‘the pictures were great, but the captions sucked,’” Weschler said. “Gary also said Bob would never tour again; he was wrong about that too.” 

Despite the caption comment, Weschler agreed to collaborate with Graff on a book featuring his photographs. “It was about a month, and basically every time a Seger picture came up, I would stop and tell a story about it,” Weschler said. “Gary suddenly said, ‘Hey, we’re really missing the boat on this and should be doing a book on Seger.’ The guy has sold 50 million records, and there is not a single book on him besides sheet music.” 

Since its release, Travelin’ Man has broken all of Wayne State University Press’s commercial sales and is the second-highest selling book for the company. “We are behind some book that was published in 1919 that about every Wayne State student has to buy when they come there,” Weschler said with a laugh. “I think we are about 100,000 behind them.” 

The book has a chance to catch up as it will be available with other merchandise during Bob Seger’s current concert tour, which kicks off Saturday, March 26, in Toledo. The tour comes to Saginaw's Dow Event Center Tuesday, March 29, and later in the week, to Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena Saturday, April 2. 

Weschler will be on hand to sign books and talk to Seger fans along with shooting some pictures to document the tour. 

“The band sounds fabulous,” said Weschler, who has been sitting in on rehearsals. “There is some new material, some old material that has not been recorded, and, of course, the standards. Everybody who goes is going to have a great time.” 

Weschler will be with the band until the tour closes in May, with ending dates of May 17 and 19 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Once the tour is done, Weschler said he might start work on his next project, a book featuring the photographs of the other countless rock ’n’ roll legends he has photographed. 

And just for the record, about a week after talking to Seger’s cleaning ladies, Weschler was with Seger’s manager, Ed “Punch” Andrews, when Seger walked into Punch’s office.
 
“He told me he loved the book, and even now, he tells me how he still signs three to four copies a week.” 

Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger can be purchased through any local bookstore, such as Schuler Books & Music, or online through Wayne State University Press atwww.wsupress.wayne.edu