Over the past six decades, Bob Seger has been a staple on Billboard’s charts. Since notching his first hit in 1968 (“Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” credited to his former band The Bob Seger System), Seger has charted 31 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 19 albums on the Billboard 200. With the entire Bob Seger song catalog now available on Spotify for the first time Friday (June 16), let’s look back on the rock legend’s biggest Billboard hits on the Hot 100.
In this exclusive recap of his material, we included solo Bob Seger songs, plus his hits as Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band and The Bob Seger System.
Seger’s biggest hit of all time is the lead single from the 1987 film Beverly Hills Cop II, “Shakedown,” which earned the rock star his first (and only) No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 chart (dated Aug. 1, 1987). The song also earned Seger an Academy Award nomination for best original song -- losing to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing.
At No. 2 on our recap is Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “Shame on the Moon,” which was produced by future Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine for the band’s 1983 album The Distance. The song was a cover of Rodney Crowell’s 1981 song and spent 21 weeks on the chart, the second-longest of any Seger hit -- only “Old Time Rock & Roll” spent more time, 22 weeks, on the chart.
Bob Seger’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, through the June 24, 2017 ranking. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
Bob Seger’s Top 20 Biggest Hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart:
Rank, Title, Peak Position, Peak Date
1. “Shakedown (From ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’),” No. 1 (1 week), Aug. 1, 1987
2. “Shame on the Moon,” No. 2, Feb. 26, 1983*
3. “Still The Same,” No. 4, July 22, 1978*
4. “Night Moves,” March 12, 1977
5. “Against The Wind,” No. 5, June 14, 1980
6. “Tryin’ To Live My Life Without You,” No. 5, Nov. 7, 1981
7. “Fire Lake,” No. 6, May 3, 1980
8. “American Storm,” No. 13, May 3, 1986
9. “Like A Rock,” No. 12, July 12, 1986
10. “We’ve Got Tonight,” No. 13, Jan. 13, 1979*
11. “Hollywood Nights,” No. 12, Oct. 7, 1978*
12. “You’ll Accomp’ny Me,” No. 14, Sept. 20, 1980
13. “Understanding,” No. 17, Jan. 5, 1985
14. “Even Now,” No. 12, May 7, 1983*
15. “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” No. 17, Feb. 15, 1969**
16. “Old Time Rock & Roll,” No. 28, May 26, 1979*
17. “The Real Love,” No. 24, Oct. 5, 1991*
18. “Roll Me Away,” No. 27, July 2, 1983*
19. “Mainstreet,” No. 24, 1977
20. “Katmandu,” No. 43, Oct. 11, 1975
*Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
**The Bob Seger System