American Storm

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"American Storm"
Seger American Storm single.png
Single by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
from the album Like a Rock
B-side "Fortunate Son"
ReleasedMarch 1986
Recorded1985–1986
Genre Heartland rock, country rock
Length4:17(album version)
4:34 (12" full length version)
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Bob Seger
Producer(s) Punch Andrews, David N. Cole, Bob Seger
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band singles chronology
"Understanding"
(1984)
"American Storm"
(1986)
"Like a Rock"
(1986)

"American Storm" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was recorded with The Silver Bullet Band and released in March 1986 as the lead single from their album Like a Rock . The single peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 2 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. [1]

Contents

Background and writing

In 1986, Seger told The New York Times that the song is about cocaine abuse. "I wrote it after reading 'Wired,' Bob Woodward's biography of John Belushi. That was two and a half years ago, when there was a lot of publicity about cocaine abuse in show business. At the time, I thought that it was just a trend that would quickly die out and that the song would be out of date when it came time to record. But the situation has gotten worse. Maybe cocaine isn't quite as fashionable on the East and West Coasts these days, but the plague has spread into the heartland – into the Middle West and the South. The key line in 'American Storm' is 'You never feel the need.' You never feel anything when you're on drugs. You're numb. You're afraid to feel for one reason or another, and that's why you turn to drugs. I want to see people not do that." [2]

"American Storm" is in the key of E major. [3] Music critic Maury Dean explains that the song builds tension in the verses by playing rhythm guitar chords on the backbeat and by playing more softly in the 1st verse to enhance the power of the refrain. [3] The chorus generally uses the chord pattern of E, C#m, A and B7, but during the fade-out he changes the pattern to a chromatic C, D, E which produces what Dean describes as an "incredible" effect. [3]

Reception

Maury Dean praised the song effusively, calling it "one of the Top 38 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time." [3] Dean praised Seger's "vocal power" as being comparable to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney and Elvis Presley. [3]

Cash Box said that "the blistering rhythm track supports a solid, anthemic rock and roll song." [4] Billboard called it an "uptempo stomper with a serious mien, in [Seger's] best rock 'n' roll style." [5]

Music video

The music video featured Lesley Ann Warren, James Woods, Randy Quaid and Scott Glenn. It is designed to resemble soundtrack videos where scenes from the movie are intercut with the artist performing the featured song except in this instance, there was no originating movie. The fake film portion of the video was directed by Brian DePalma, known for his features Carrie , The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible . The performance section was directed by Jim Yukich.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Like a Rock . [6]

The Silver Bullet Band

Additional musicians

Chart performance

Chart (1986)Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Singles26
UK Singles Chart78
US Billboard Hot 100 [1] 13
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks [1] 2

Related Research Articles

Bob Seger American singer-songwriter

Robert Clark Seger is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1968. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet (1976), recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.

<i>Night Moves</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bob Seger > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic . Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  2. The Pop Life – Bob Seger's view of life and loving
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dean, Maury (2003). Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush. Algora Publishing. pp. 360–361. ISBN   087586208X.
  4. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. March 15, 1986. p. 13. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  5. "Reviews". Billboard. March 15, 1986. p. 101. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  6. Like a Rock (CD). Bob Seger. Capitol Records. 1986. CDP 7 46195 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)