The Distance (Bob Seger album)

The Distance
Studio album by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Released	December 13, 1982
Genre	Heartland rock [1]
Length	41:05
Label	Capitol
Producer	Jimmy Iovine
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band chronology
Nine Tonight (1981) The Distance (1982) Like a Rock (1986)
Singles from The Distance
"Shame on the Moon" Released: November 30, 1982 "Even Now" Released: March 1983 "Roll Me Away" Released: May 10, 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Distance is the twelfth studio album by US-American rock singer Bob Seger, released in December 1982. It peaked at #5 on Billboard 's album chart and sold close to two million copies in the United States.

Seger, influenced by the Woody Allen film Annie Hall , originally intended the album to be built around the theme of relationships but eventually that fell apart when Seger decided that sticking to the theme too strictly would make the album "maudlin". ^[2] Several songs based on the original theme made it on the album: the hit single "Even Now", "Love’s the Last to Know", "House Behind a House" and the album closer "Little Victories". ^[2]

The album's lead single, "Shame on the Moon", was one of Seger's biggest hits, holding at #2 for four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It also hit #1 Adult Contemporary and crossed over to #15 Country.

Capitol Records had stopped manufacturing albums in the 8-track tape cartridge format by the time this album was released. However, Seger asked the label to include that format for this album, knowing that many of his fans still used 8-track players.^{[ citation needed ]}

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bob Seger, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Even Now"		4:31
2.	"Makin' Thunderbirds"		2:58
3.	"Boomtown Blues"		3:38
4.	"Shame on the Moon"	Rodney Crowell	4:55
5.	"Love's the Last to Know"		4:26
6.	"Roll Me Away"		4:39
7.	"House Behind a House"		4:00
8.	"Comin' Home"		6:06
9.	"Little Victories"		5:52

Personnel

• Bob Seger – vocals (all tracks), guitar (3, 8, 9), harmony vocals (4)

The Silver Bullet Band

• Chris Campbell – bass guitar (1–7, 9)
• Craig Frost – organ (1, 3–6, 9), piano (2)
• Alto Reed – saxophone (1–3, 7, 8)

Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section

• Barry Beckett – piano (8), organ (8)
• Pete Carr – guitar (8)
• Roger Hawkins – drums (8)
• David Hood – bass guitar (8)
• Randy McCormick – electric piano (8)

Additional musicians

• Drew Abbott – guitar (2, 4)
• Roy Bittan – piano (1, 6)
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizer (6)
• Don Felder – guitar (1, 3)
• Bobbye Hall – percussion (1–4, 6)
• Davey Johnstone – guitar (5)
• Danny Kortchmar – guitar (7)
• Russ Kunkel – drums (1–7, 9)
• Bill Payne – piano (4, 5), synthesizer (8)
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar (2, 4, 6, 7, 9)

Additional vocals

• Ginger Blake – background vocals (8)
• Laura Creamer – background vocals (4, 8)
• Linda Dillard – background vocals (8)
• Glenn Frey – harmony vocals (4)
• Shaun Murphy – background vocals (4, 7)
• Bonnie Raitt – harmony vocals (2)
• Joan Sliwin – background vocals (4)

Production

• Producer: Jimmy Iovine
• Engineer: Shelly Yakus

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [3] 13 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [4] 19 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [5] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [6] 33 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [7] 16 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [8] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [9] 4 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [10] 19 UK Albums (OCC) [11] 45 US Billboard 200 [12] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [13] 29 US Billboard 200 [14] 17

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"House Behind a House"	US Top Rock Tracks	29
1983	"Boomtown Blues"		11
	"Even Now"		2
		US Hot 100	12
	"Roll Me Away"	US Top Rock Tracks	13
		US Hot 100	27
	"Shame on the Moon"	US Adult Contemporary	1
		US Country Singles	15
		US Hot 100	2

Certifications

Certifications for The Distance

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [15]	2× Platinum	200,000^
United States (RIAA) [16]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band: The Distance > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
2. Pond, Steve (February 3, 1983). "Bob Seger: Nice Guy in the Nasty Lane". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 268. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
5. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6225a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
8. "Charts.nz – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
10. "Swedishcharts.com – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – The Distance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
12. "Bob Seger Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
13. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4435". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
14. "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1983". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
15. "Canadian album certifications – Bob Seger – The Distance". Music Canada . Retrieved September 7, 2024.
16. "American album certifications – Bob Seger – The Distance". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved September 7, 2024.