Bob Seger's You'll Accomp'ny Me Live

One of Bob Seger’s popular songs is “You’ll Accomp’ny Me”. It comes from his 1980 album “Against the Wind” which includes the hit single of the same name. I decided to write a blog post about the live version. The original version featured Bob Seger on acoustic guitar. He was accompanied by members of the Silver Bullet Band Chris Campbell (bass) & David Teegarden (drums) and Little Feat members Bill Payne (keyboards) & Sam Clayton (percussion). Little Feat is a southern rock band. This is an upbeat soft rock song with a jolly feel.

The live version is from 1981’s live album “Nine Tonight”. It was performed at the Boston Garden in October 1980 which is exactly 45 years ago. Silver Bullet Band members Drew Abbott and Alto Reed who weren’t on the original recording play on this version. Drew plays acoustic guitar and saxophonist Alto doesn’t play sax, but organ. Piano is played by keyboardist Craig Frost who joined the band for the “Against the Wind” Tour this performance is from.

The opening section has acoustic guitar with organ briefly appearing. Bob sings and soon the piano appears. Alto’s organ contributes greatly to the rich musical sound of this performance. Bob sings powerfully with passion. I think this version is better than the studio version. Craig’s piano is what elevates it in my view. I love the way he rocks on that instrument. The song concludes with Bob thanking the audience and saying “great to be back in Boston”. Even though this song is a ballad, it has a great rock energy. It showcases the power of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band at their peak. Similar to how this performance is exactly 45 years ago, this month marks my 15th anniversary of becoming a Bob Seger fan in October 2010.

Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Bob Seger

Having written an article “Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Elton John”, I decided to write a similar one

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

John & Bob Seger Live in Concert”. 

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

organ by Randy McCormick (who played the piano on “Old Time Rock & Roll”). 

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

makes a reference to his other hit “Against The Wind” with the line “Hard Against the Wind”. This

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

his 1980 piano ballad “Good For Me”, so it seems like a rockier version of that song. The piano and

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. 

Highlights from My Bob Seger Blog Posts

The music of American rock singer Bob Seger is one of the key topics on this blog. I have been

writing about Bob Seger for 3 and a ½ years. I have written ten blog posts dealing with Bob Seger

and decided to write a post giving highlights from them all. Bob Seger’s band the Silver Bullet Band

is part of my Bob Seger posts, and is mentioned throughout this one. There are links to the original

blog posts, allowing you to access them if you wish. I feature quotes from some of them. Let’s start.

We Need a Bob Seger Biography - 6 Mar 2016

When I wrote this, there wasn’t a Bob Seger biography available. I gave my descriptions of how a

Bob Seger biography could function with things I’d like to see in it which include Bob’s working

relationship with the Silver Bullet Band, stories of his songs, information on his unreleased songs,

his working relationship with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, touring stories from the road and

more. I’m so pleased that a Bob Seger biography was published this year which is “Turn The Page,

The Bob Seger Story” by Edward Sarkis Balian. 

News on Bob Seger’s Upcoming Album I Knew You When - 20 Aug 2016

This is an article I wrote giving news on Bob Seger’s then upcoming album “I Knew You When” from a radio interview he gave and made my speculations about the album based on the information I had heard about it. The album did end up being released the following year in November 2017. I was correct in my speculation that it would have a mix of updated unreleased songs and completely new songs. Bob mentioned a track he re-wrote from 1976, which did not appear on the album. I’m pleased that the album still ended up titled “I Knew You When” and the fact that this blog post ended up becoming my most viewed one. 

Ten Great Bob Seger Songs by Ten Different Piano Players - 30 Dec 2016

As I like piano in rock music, I decided to write an article about the use of piano in Bob Seger’s

music. I listed ten Bob Seger songs with great piano in them played by different piano players. His

hit songs “Old Time Rock & Roll”, “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Against The Wind” were included. I’m

including one of them as well as an additional one for this post.

We’ve Got Tonight - Barry Beckett (1978)

This song is a ballad credited with the Silver Bullet Band, but was recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and has Barry Beckett playing the piano & organ. It opens with the great piano intro that’s played over and over during most of the song. In the bridge, the piano playing changes where it is played faster. The song has a good section where the chorus is played three times at the end, first as usual with the band, then a slow version just with piano & Bob’s voice that’s joined by the other instruments at the end which is followed by the last chorus with the band again that works very well.

Even Now - Roy Bittan (1982)

This is my favourite Bob Seger song which is one of his forgotten hits. It reached Number 12 in the

US charts. The song has an incredible melody, powerful singing and it is piano driven rock. It has the

signature Bob Seger heartland rock sound. It opens with the very good piano playing from Roy

Bittan which is the lead instrument throughout the song. There is support from Craig Frost’s organ

and the sole guitar part by Don Felder. Just before the chorus, throughout the song Roy plays the

piano notes up the scale in a good way. Near the end of the song, Bob uses his powerful singing to

phrase ad libbed words such as “Oh” in an amazing way, and Roy’s playing there seems to be in

response to Bob’s singing.

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Unplugged - 24 Mar 2017

This was a blog post where I imagined an unplugged concert by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band.

I’m giving my take on how one of his hits could be featured from it below with one additional song

not covered in the original post.

Hollywood Nights

The intro would be extended played on the piano sticking to the melody with some improvisation

from Craig Frost (Silver Bullet Band keyboardist) who’d be joined soon by the other instruments. 

Mainstreet

Have Craig Frost play the incredible electric guitar riff from the original song on piano and come up

with a new piano solo in place of the original guitar solo.

Bob Seger Pinball Game - 14 Jul 2017

Bob Seger’s website produced a pinball game in June 2017 to celebrate his music joining streaming

services. It’s a fun game that I recommend playing. The game had been available until earlier this

month. The link to the game still works, but there is no content. I call on those behind Bob Seger’s

website to make the game available to play again. 

Ten Classic Rock Songs for Bob Seger to Record - 29 Sep 2017

These are a set of classic rock songs that I think would be great for Bob Seger to cover where I

mention how his version could go. The artists featured are Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, REO

Speedwagon, Eddie Money, Journey, The Doobie Brothers, Boz Scaggs, Toto, Huey Lewis and The

News and Bruce Hornsby & the Range. I’m including one of the cover songs below from the article

and one new imaginary cover.  

Lights - Journey (1978)

This is a great song due to its melody, piano, guitar, organ and powerful singing. This version would

sound fantastic sung with Bob Seger’s powerful voice. I’d like to see Bob play more rock songs on

the piano, and am envisioning him play piano on this song as its piano rocks well, but isn’t

complicated.

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) - Billy Joel (1977)

This is a great song which sounds similar to Bob Seger’s music, thus I consider it a great fit for him.

Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed would play the saxophone parts. Billy stutters a word in

each chorus, which reminds me of the “K-k-k-k Katmandu” stuttering that Bob did in his “Katmandu”

song. The stuttering is at the end of the words here, unlike in “Katmandu”. Have Bob keep the

stuttering parts at the end of the words, but bring in the feel of his “Katmandu” stuttering here. He

should also bring in a bit of the feel of his song “Sunspot Baby” to this version including adding a

guitar solo.

The Making of Bob Seger’s Stranger in Town 40 Years On - 11 May 2018

This is an article about the making of Bob Seger’s “Stranger in Town” album to celebrate its 40th
anniversary in May 2018. It’s one of his most successful studio albums as it has got certified six
times platinum in the US and features his hit singles "Old Time Rock & Roll", "We've Got Tonight",
"Still The Same" and "Hollywood Nights". “Stranger in Town” is the first Bob Seger album I listened
to about nine years ago and listening to it made me a Bob Seger fan. I consider it to be his best
album. I feature contributions from David Hood, Forrest McDonald, David Cole and John Arrias who
worked on the album.

Elton John & Bob Seger Live in Concert - 12 Sep 2018

I’m also a fan of Elton John, so I decided to write an article imagining the two singers performing

together in concert. The band combination I used is Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band members Craig

Frost (organ, keyboards), Alto Reed (sax, percussion, guitar), Chris Campbell (bass) and Elton

John’s original band members Davey Johnstone (guitar) and Nigel Olsson (drums). I’m featuring one

existing song I imagined them performing from the original post and a new one. 

Sunspot Baby (1976)

There would be the additional organ by Craig. Alto would play percussion. Following the last guitar

solo have an extended jam where Elton would incorporate a piano solo.

Miami (1986)

This song is chosen as its a pop rock ballad which also fits in with Elton John’s music. Interestingly,

there was a reference to Miami the city in “Sunspot Baby”. Bob played piano on the original, so have

both him and Elton play piano. The original had other horn instruments in addition to Alto’s parts, so

Alto would adapt some of his parts as he’s the only horn player in this version. There’s a bit of rock

piano playing by Bob in the original towards the end of the song. Have both Bob & Elton play the

rock piano parts together, extend it and have Elton come up with good piano parts of his own to go

alongside Bob’s playing.

Bob Seger Twitter Showcase - 23 May 2019

This is a post featuring tweets about Bob Seger from the social media site Twitter. I had previously

written a similar post featuring tweets about Sri Lanka which gave me the inspiration for this one.

Topics featured “include his songs, his use of piano, his skills as a singer/songwriter, live performances, photos and more.” I’m featuring two tweets from the blog post below.

Just seen Bob Seger tonight!! What an amazing show!! Alto Reed was just awesome!! 🎸🤘..  2 plus hours of just outstanding music!! Rock on my friends! pic.twitter.com/3oZb40ToLd

— Theo Kroeze (@TheodoreKroeze) 6 January 2019

Piano solo on Bob Seger's "Against the Wind" is great. Hadn't specifically noticed that part specifically before, but it's an essential component in an all-around classic.

— Sam Robinson (@SRobinson25) 6 March 2018

Virtual Views of Bob Seger’s America - 10 Aug 2019

This is a blog post featuring embedded views of American places from Google Street View. They are American places referenced by or connected with Bob Seger. I had previously featured similar blog posts on Sri Lanka & Dubai and got the title idea from my previous blog post “Virtual Views of
Colombo, Sri Lanka”. Places featured include Detroit, Muscle Shoals, Miami, Manhattan, the Blue
Ride Mountains, Los Angeles and more. I’m giving two embedded views below with a quote from the original post. If the image of the place doesn’t load, you can click the “View on Google Maps” button.

I’m featuring the iconic American landmark the Statue of Liberty which was featured on the cover of

his 1991 album “The Fire Inside”. The title track is one of the epic long Bob Seger songs (totalling

nearly six minutes) with incredible piano playing from Roy Bittan.

Here’s a look at the iconic building of his record label Capitol Records.

Additional Mentions

These are three other blog posts of mine that have mentions of Bob Seger.

Toto Tribute Album - 27 Jan 2016

This blog post is imagining a tribute album to rock band Toto by big names in classic rock. In the first

song, I wrote of Bob Seger & Elton John performing a duet of “Rosanna”. I used the same band

combination as my other blog post “Elton John & Bob Seger Live in Concert” above. 

Api Kawruda by Senaka Batagoda - 10 Mar 2017

This is about a great classic rock song that I recommend from my country Sri Lanka which sounds

like a Bob Seger song. I mention the similarities in this post. The post embeds the song from

YouTube. 

A Sri Lankan Classic Rock Station - 22 May 2018

I would like to see a Sri Lankan classic rock radio station and I wrote an article explaining how it

could function. Bob Seger is mentioned three times in this article.

So that was the highlights from my Bob Seger blog posts. It has covered a range of sub-topics which

include thoughts on Bob Seger’s songs, news on his music, imagining songs him performing in

concert & covering, the story of one of his popular albums, American scenery tried to him and
more. I feel that my blog could be the only blog to deal with Bob Seger as a key topic as I so far
haven’t seen another blog that mentions Bob Seger as one of its key topics or sole topic. If anyone
has a blog dealing with Bob Seger partly or fully, please let me know and I’d be very interested in
checking it out. I’ll continue writing about Bob Seger and I hope that through this blog, I’ll be able to
introduce Bob Seger’s music to new audiences around the world.