Song #279: "Fire Lake"--Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band (1980)

I've only owned one Bob Seger album, and it was "Against The Wind". I played it many, many times in 1980 as my seven years at Beaverdam Elementary were coming to an end (Go Beavers!).

There will be multiple entries on our countdown from this release beginning with today's song, the first single to radio. Seger not only enjoys his regular band, he's able to convince some friends to come in and sing background vocals, a considerable accomplishment considering they were the late Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmitt of the, at the time, disintegrating Eagles. Frey and Henley were at each other's throats but were able to help Bob give this tune an unmistakable sound as it faded to black.

Seger had this song in his back pocket for years and didn't think his record company would actually release it as the first single from "Against The Wind". Well, they did, it peaked at #6, his fifth biggest chart hit. I still find it hard to believe that, of all songs in Seger's great catalog, it was "Shakedown" that provided him his only number one song.

Back to the matter at hand. Who wants to play those eights and aces??