1976-1987Seger finally achieved his indisputable commercial breakthrough with his October 1976 album Night Moves. The title song Night Moves was a highly evocative, nostalgic, time-spanning tale that was not only critically praised, but became a #4 hit single on the Billboard pop singles chart as well as a heavy album-oriented rock airplay mainstay. The album also contained Mainstreet, a #24 hit ballad that emphasized Seger's heartland rock credentials, as well as the AOR anthem Rock and Roll Never Forgets. Night Moves was Seger's first Top 10 album in the Billboard 200, and through late 2006 had sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. Furthermore it activated sales of Seger's recent back catalog, so that Beautiful Loser would eventually sell 2 million and Live Bullet would sell 5 million copies in the U.S..
Seger followed this up strongly with 1978's Stranger in Town. The first single, Still the Same, emphasized Seger's talent for mid-tempo numbers that revealed a sense of purpose, and made the Top 5 on the pop singles chart. Hollywood Nights was an up-tempo rocker Top 15 hit, while We've Got Tonight was a slow ballad that not only was a Top 15 hit on its own, but would become an adult contemporary mainstay in years to come for both Seger and other artists. The final single, 1979's Old Time Rock & Roll, was the least successful single from the album, reaching only the Top 30, but achieved substantial AOR airplay. Moreover, it would later became one of Seger's most recognizable songs following its memorable Tom Cruise-dancing-in-his-underwear use in the 1983 film Risky Business. Album tracks from Stranger in Town were equally strong, with Feel Like a Number being especially memorable for its raging powerless fury. Around this time Seger also co-wrote the Eagles' #1 hit song Heartache Tonight from their 1979 album The Long Run, their collaboration resulted from Seger and Glenn Frey's early days together in Detroit.
In 1980 Seger released Against the Wind and it became his first and only #1 album on the Billboard 200. The first single Fire Lake featured Eagles Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Frey on backing vocals and reached #6 on the singles chart, while the title song Against the Wind reached #5 as a single. You'll Accomp'ny Me became the third hit single from the record. Against the Wind would also win two Grammy Awards. Through late 2006 both Stranger in Town and Against the Wind had sold over 5 million copies in the U.S., and were followed by the 1981 live album Nine Tonight which encapsulated this three-album peak of Seger's commercial career. Seger's take on Eugene Williams' Tryin' to Live My Life Without You became a Top 5 hit from Nine Tonight and would go on to sell 4 million copies.
Seger released The Distance in 1982. Critically praised for representing a tougher sound than some of his recent material, the album spawned hits with Rodney Crowell's Shame on the Moon (which also did moderately well as a country music song), Even Now, and Roll Me Away. But perhaps because Seger and his band were ill-equipped to exploit the new MTV era, Seger's album sales dropped noticeably, with The Distance only selling approximately 1 million copies. The following year country music superstar Kenny Rogers would team up with pop singer Sheena Easton to cover We've Got Tonight. This version was a world wide hit and was so successful Rogers used it as the title cut to one of his own albums.
Seger was no longer as prolific and four years elapsed before his next studio album,1986's Like a Rock emerged. The fast-paced American Storm garnered both pop and rock airplay, and Like a Rock became yet another successful Seger ballad. Later it would become familiar to many Americans through its association with a long-running Chevrolet ad campaign (something Seger explicitly chose to do to support struggling American automobile workers in Detroit). Seger's 1986-1987 American Storm Tour was his self-stated last major tour, playing 105 shows over 9 months and selling almost 1.5 million tickets. Like a Rock sold over a million copies and went platinum. The following year Seger's Shakedown, a somewhat uncharacteristic song off the 1987 film Beverly Hills Cop II's soundtrack, became his first and only #1 hit on the pop singles chart.
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