Shame on the Moon

"Shame on the Moon" is a song written by Rodney Crowell and first recorded in 1981. It was covered by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band as the lead single from their 1982 album The Distance.

"Shame on the Moon"
Single by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
from the album The Distance
B-side"House Behind the House"
ReleasedNovember 30, 1982
GenreRock, country rock
Length4:55
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Rodney Crowell
Producer(s)Jimmy Iovine
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band singles chronology
"Feel Like a Number"
(1982)		 "Shame on the Moon"
(1982)		 "Even Now"
(1983)

Glenn Frey joined Seger on background harmony vocals on the song. The song spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and topped the adult contemporary chart.[1] The song also went to number 15 on the country chart in early 1983, marking Seger's only Top 40 entry on that chart.[2]

Critical reception

Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that "his trademark acoustic guitar sets the tone, followed by an easygoing vocal and loping rhythm."[3] Cash Box said that "fans of Bob Seger’s ballad side...will unquestionably take delight in this mostly-acoustic country/pop Rodney Crowell tune" since Seger "makes it his own."[4]

Classic Rock History critic Janey Roberts rated it as Seger's 15th best song.[5]

Bob Seger's Comments

Speaking with Creem in 1983, Seger said: "It's more like a western song – a cowboy song – than it is a country & western song. And the track is flawless, the best and tightest track on the album. We cut it in like two hours, and everyone decided it was the miracle track. But then we had to decide whether to use it or not because The Distance was going to be a real rock album. I purposely didn't write any medium-tempo songs for this one because I wanted it to be hard rocking with a few ballads for pacing. But we figured we'd throw it on and see what happened. The next thing we know, the Capitol guys are saying, 'That's the single!' (laughs) Fine! Whatever it takes! So thank you, Rodney. It's a great song, and I'm beholden to the lad for writing it."[6]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Seger's 2003 Greatest Hits 2 compilation.[7]

The Silver Bullet Band

Additional musicians

Production

Chart performance
Chart (1982-1983) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 38
Canadian RPM Top Singles[9] 8
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[10] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks[11] 10
French Singles Chart 58
German Singles Chart 50
New Zealand Singles Chart 24
South African Singles Chart 15
Spanish Singles Chart 27
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] 15
Year-end chart (1983)Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[15] 14

Cover versions

Uses in pop culture
  • In 1989, the song was used in the season one episode of the TV series Midnight Caller entitled "The Fall.”
  • In 2004, the song was featured in the Cold Case episode “It’s Raining Men”.

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 218.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 308.
  3. "Top Single Picks". Billboard. December 18, 1982. p. 59. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  4. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 18, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  5. Roberts, Janey. "Top 20 Bob Seger songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  6. "Creem", May, 1983
  7. Greatest Hits 2 (CD). Bob Seger. Capitol Records. 2003. CDP 7243 8 52772 0 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "RPM Top 50 Singles - February 19, 1983" (PDF).
  10. "RPM Top 30 AC - March 5, 1983" (PDF).
  11. "RPM Top 50 Country Singles - March 26, 1983" (PDF).
  12. "Bob Seger Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  13. "Bob Seger Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  14. "Bob Seger Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  15. "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18.
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