Against the Wind (Bob Seger song)

"Against the Wind"
Single by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
from the album Against the Wind
B-side No Man's Land
Released April 1980
Format 7" vinyl
Genre Heartland rock, soft rock
Length 5:34 (album version)
3:45 (single version)
Label Capitol
Writer(s) Bob Seger
Producer(s) Bill Szymczyk
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band singles chronology
"Fire Lake"
(1980)		 "Against the Wind"
(1980)		 "You'll Accomp'ny Me"
(1980)
Alternative cover
German cover

"Against the Wind" is a song by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band from the 1980 album Against the Wind. "Against the Wind" is the highest ranking single from the album, peaking at #5.[1] Glenn Frey of the Eagles sang background vocals on this song.

Background and writing

During an interview on WWFX, "100 FM The Pike", Bob Seger said that "Against the Wind" came about from his days as a high-school cross country runner. The line "Let the cowboys ride!" towards the song's end is a reference to the closing lyrics of the song "Santa Fe/Beautiful Obsession" by Van Morrison.

Seger later said that the line "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then" bothered him for a while, but that everyone he knew loved it, so he left it in. He also said that it has since appeared in several other hits by other artists, so that proved it was an acceptable lyric.[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[3] 92
Belgian VRT Top 30 30
Canadian RPM Top 100 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 5
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 8

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 51

Cover versions

In 1999, Brooks & Dunn covered this song on the television soundtrack to King of the Hill. This version peaked at #55 on the Hot Country Songs charts based on unsolicited airplay.

The song was also covered by The Highwaymen on their debut album.

In 1978, two years before the US release, the song was covered (translated to Spanish under the title "Contra el viento") by Argentine rock band Plus in their second album "Melancolica Muchacha".[4]

The Hold Steady released a their version of the song on their 2007 Stuck Between Stations EP.

In popular culture

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Pop Songs: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 218.
  2. ↑ Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Greatest Hits, CD sleeve.
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ↑ "Melancólica muchacha". rock.com.ar.
  5. ↑ "Forrest Gump - Run Scene". YouTube. August 29, 2012.

External links

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