about Bob Seger. I have also written a Bob Seger article like this, that being “Ten Great Bob Seger
Songs by Ten Different Piano Players”. These songs also feature piano. I made a selection of Bob
Seger songs that I consider to be both ballads and rock songs. Some songs have more emphasis in
its ballad aspects, while others have more emphasis on its rock aspects. I feature a mixture of his
hits and album tracks. I feature songs credited with his band the Silver Bullet Band as well as solo
songs. Not all songs credited with the Silver Bullet Band feature them, and I’ll specify if that’s the
case. The first seven songs are credited with the Silver Bullet Band with the remaining three songs
being solo.
Mainstreet (1976)
This song is recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of session musicians in Alabama. This is a great song which has a brilliant guitar riff played by Pete Carr. The piano plays alone for half a second which is then joined by Pete Carr’s guitar riff which continues to come throughout the song. It has the Bob Seger sound of piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and organ. The piano and organ is played by Barry Beckett. The piano brings a gentle feel and the organ has a relaxed, lounge atmosphere. About two minutes into the song Pete Carr delivers a captivating guitar solo. I like it how some of the lyrics say “Sometimes Even Now” as “Sometimes” and “Even Now” are two other Bob Seger songs I love. Near the end of the song Bob shoutingly sings “down on Mainstreet” in a long way. The organ does some good effects at this part.
The first song in my similar Elton John article is “Candle in the Wind”, and I think both songs sound
alike. They both have a similar length. In fact, I had described Elton John & Bob Seger performing
these songs together one after the other in my article of an imaginary concert by them called “Elton
The Famous Final Scene (1978)
This song uses the same set of musicians as the previous song. It opens with piano which is soon
joined by electric guitar which gives a rock vibe. The electric guitar plays the same riff as the piano in
a different way. We are then joined by Bob singing with it being mainly piano backing him. The
electric guitars come back about a minute into the song. There are some strings and an organ. The
guitar parts played by Pete Carr are rocking and powerful. In the last minute of the song, the piano
does a few good rock notes accompanied by the drums.
You’ll Accomp’ny Me (1980)
This is a softer song whose guitar parts are all acoustic. This song seems like soft rock. The acoustic
guitar is played by Bob. The opening of the song is mainly acoustic guitar with brief bits of keyboards
in the background until the piano comes thirty six seconds in. Bill Payne plays piano, organ and
synthesizer on this song. His piano parts bring energy to the song. In parts of the song, the organ
becomes prominent and does something good. This is the first song on this list to feature Silver
Bullet Band musicians, being bassist Chris Campbell and drummer David Teegarden.
The live version from the 1981 live album “Nine Tonight” is even better with its powerful piano played by Craig Frost. This song is from his successful “Against The Wind” album which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, having been released in 1980. The next song is another hit from the same album.
Fire Lake (1980)
Bob Seger described this song as “R&B meets country” and while those elements are there, I’d
place it as soft rock. The electric guitar parts have an interesting effect. Don Henley, Timothy B.
Schmit and Glenn Frey of the Eagles sing backing vocals. They sing supporting effects and at the
two and a half minute mark sing “who wants to go to fire lake” which they repeat several times. This
song is recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and features piano by Barry Beckett and
Like a Rock (1986)
This is the title track of Bob Seger’s 1986 album and is a hit song. It opens with acoustic guitars with
subtle slide guitar parts by Rick Vito. The song is more rock than the previous two songs. Silver
Bullet Band member Craig Frost’s organ has a presence in the background. Bill Payne’s piano
comes in just before the chorus. In the chorus, Russ Kunkel ramps up his drums. In the bridge, Bob
sings much more intensely. Following this, Rick Vito gives the first of two incredible slide guitar solos.
Bill Payne gives good piano accompaniment to the slide guitar solos. I like it how Bob seemingly
song goes on for an epic five minutes and fifty seven seconds.
Miami (1986)
This is a song about the Cubans immigrating to America during the 1980s. It’s melodic and has a pop rock feel. It opens with drums, which is joined by the other instruments in a second. Bob Seger plays the piano in this song. He plays it well in a melodic way. The guitar part is an acoustic guitar. The song has good organ and horn parts, as well as Alto Reed’s saxophone playing. Craig Frost’s organ plays a good riff throughout the song. There is good harmony vocals by Don Henley. About the halfway mark, Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa plays good percussion with his hands. There is a brief moment where it’s just percussion and Bob’s singing. Bob brings his piano notes back in a good way a few seconds later. Near the end of the song, there’s a bit of rock piano playing by Bob Seger which is good to hear as he rarely plays rock piano. Bob’s rock piano notes here sound like the piano notes at the end of Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender”, which isn’t surprising as I remember reading Bob Seger speak highly of that song when praising Jackson Browne’s songwriting.
Always In My Heart (1991)
This song opens with piano played by Bruce Hornsby who had some hit singles credited with his then backing band The Range from 1986 - 1990. Bruce plays very good piano in this song. He moves the piano notes into good places musically which enriches the song. Bob sings powerfully. This song is recorded with session musicians except for Craig Frost’s synthesizer strings. It is reminiscent of Bob Seger’s popular song “We’ve Got Tonight”. We’ve Got Tonight was recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and this song was produced by Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section keyboardist) and Bob Seger.
Wait For Me (2006)
This is a solo song as are the remaining two songs on the list. It opens with drums joined by piano a
few seconds later. This is the signature Bob Seger rock ballad sound featuring piano. It’s played by
frequent collaborator Bill Payne. Bob delivers the good lines “No matter how far, no matter free”. Bob
sings with such soul and passion in this song. He plays a good rocking guitar solo. If this song was
released during Bob’s classic period, I think it would have become a big hit. I’d say the same thing
about the next song.
I’ll Remember You (2017)
This song has the Bob Seger sound of piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and organ. It is similar to
organ is played by Reese Wynans. Bob sings very powerfully in the song, most noticeably in the
choruses. The backing vocalists support Bob well and Kenny Greenberg gives intense rocking
guitar. Reese features his organ throughout the song. He plays some of his piano notes hard in an
effective rocking way.
Maire (2017)
This song has the familiar Bob Seger piano ballad sound, while also sounding unlike anything he’s
ever done before. The piano is played by Steve Nathan. The song does rock with the piano and
drums giving a rock vibe. There are acoustic guitars including the acoustic flamenco guitar played by
Rob McNelley. Rob’s flamenco guitar parts appear in the last minute of the song. The flamenco
guitar is one aspect that makes it sound different to other Bob Seger songs.
I hope you enjoyed my selection of Bob Seger rock ballads. I featured songs from every decade
from the 1970s to the 2010s. The 2020s isn’t featured as it’s only just beginning and there’s no new
Bob Seger songs so far. I’m sure Bob Seger would release his next album in this decade featuring
more powerful rock ballads worthy of this list. Feel free to give your thoughts on these songs or any
other Bob Seger rock ballads you like that are not featured here.
