"Mainstreet" is a song written and recorded by
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...
. It was released in April 1977 as the second single from the album ''
Night Moves''. The song peaked at number 24 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...
and has become a staple of
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
radio; it also reached number one on the
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...
.
Lyrics and music
Seger has stated that the street he was singing about is Ann Street, just off Main Street in
Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
, Michigan, where he grew up. There was a
pool hall there where they had girls dancing in the window and
R&B bands playing on the weekends. He said, "Again, that's going back to the '
Night Moves' situation where I was writing about my high school years in Ann Arbor and what it was like — the discovery, the total naivete and fresh–faced openness that I went through. It was sort of an entire awakening of my life; before that I was kind of a quiet, lonesome kid."
Seger later expanded on the origins of the song:
''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Jed Gottlieb cites "Mainstreet" as an example of Seger's love for "beautiful losers".
[ He notes that Seger sings about a "dancer in a downtown dive" rather than the waitresses, prom queens, or college girls who would be the subject of other singers' songs.][ And he notes that unlike in their songs, the singer doesn't try to save or run away with the girl, but is content to just watch her walk on by him.]Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' felt that the imagery used by the singer to remember his love for the bar dancer was reminiscent of Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
.[ '']Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' compared it to "Night Moves" saying that "this haunting ballad hits home with the same emotive chording, expressive vocalization and dramatic close."
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Seger's 1994 ''Greatest Hits (Bob Seger album), Greatest Hits'' compilation.
*Bob Seger – lead vocals
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
*Barry Beckett – keyboards
*Pete Carr – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
* Roger Hawkins (drummer), Roger Hawkins – drums, percussion
* David Hood – bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
* Jimmy Johnson – rhythm guitar
Reception
''Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' called the song a "haunting ballad" that "hits home with the same emotive chording, expressive vocalization and dramatic close" as " Night Moves". VH1's Mike McPadden selected "Mainstreet" as one of Seger's 10 most essential songs, describing it as "sad, sweet, soulful, and even spooky" for how it evokes the emotions of a hopeful but frustrated young man watching a woman he is too scared to approach.[ ''Classic Rock History'' contributor Janey Roberts also selected "Mainstreet" as one of Seger's top 10 songs, particularly praising the opening guitar line and describing the song as an "ode to the romantic backstreets of hope and despair" found on ]Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's '' Born to Run''.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1977 singles
Songs written by Bob Seger
1976 songs
Capitol Records singles
Song recordings produced by Bob Seger
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Rock ballads
Bob Seger songs
Songs about nostalgia