"American Storm" by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band

Song#:  2657
Date:  03/15/1986
Debut:  56
Peak:  13
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  After years of putting out an album nearly every year since 1969, Seger took a bit of a break after 1982's The Distance. He remained active on the singles charts thanks to a couple of soundtrack songs including the #17 "Understanding" in 1984, but it took another couple of years before he unleashed a new studio album titled Like a Rock. This pumped up first single was issued out ahead of the album and it bolted to #2 at Rock. It also did well at Pop getting close to the Top 10. The hit would help send the album to #3 and it would become another platinum seller for Seger and his band.

ReduxReview:  It had been a while since Seger had an epic rock track on the airwaves and this anti-drug song was welcomed with open arms. The airplay at Rock along with the video certainly helped it along, but hearing a blast of Seger on the speakers was a nice change from the synthpop of the day. The band is hot and Seger wails his way through the thing with gusto. Since Bruce Springsteen's run of singles from Born in the U.S.A. was done, it was perfect timing for Seger to come along and pick up the rock 'n' roll torch. I liked the song well enough, but it has never been among my favorite Seger tracks. Apparently, it may not be among Seger's either as the hit was left off of both volumes of his Greatest Hits discs.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  With MTV growing exponentially since his last album, Seger decided to keep up with the times and film a conceptual video to help promote this song. It was his first true effort to make a video for the channel. The video consisted of Seger and his band performing the song on a stage set while scenes of what appeared to possibly be a movie were interspersed. The scenes were not taken from a real film, but it seemed like they were from a movie about drug dealers, drug users, and federal agents. To help make it seem more like an actual film, four actors whose real careers were revving up were hired for the main roles: Lesley Ann Warren, James Woods, Scott Glenn, and Randy Quaid. Warren had been nominated for an Oscar in 1982 for Best Supporting Actress in Victor/Victoria. Woods would win an Emmy and get an Oscar nod in 1987. Glenn had hits under his belt with The Right Stuff and Silverado, and Quaid had both Oscar and Emmy nominations (with a second Emmy nod coming in '87) and had established his role as Cousin Eddie in '83's National Lampoon's Vacation.

_________________________________________________________________________________