"Hollywood Nights" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

. It was released in 1978 as the second single from his album, '' Stranger in Town''.

Background

Seger said "The chorus just came into my head; I was driving around in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

, and I started singing 'Hollywood nights/Hollywood hills/Above all the lights/Hollywood nights.' I went back to my rented house, and there was a ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' with

Cheryl Tiegs Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as the first American supermodel, Tiegs is best known for her multiple appearances on the covers of the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit ...

on the cover...I said 'Let's write a song about a guy from the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

who runs into someone like this and gets caught up in the whole bizarro thing.'" Seger also said that "Hollywood Nights" was the closest he has had to a song coming to him in a dream, similar to how

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

described the

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

to "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

" coming to him in a dream. Seger said:

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of Seger's 1994 ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' compilation. The Silver Bullet Band *

– lead vocals, guitar *Chris Campbell – bass *

David Teegarden David Teegarden is an American musician who was a member of the American psych-rock group Teegarden & Van Winkle. He is a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Teegarden has worked with many musicians including J. J. Cale, Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh, and ...

– drums, percussion Additional musicians *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...

– piano, organ *Julia Waters, Luther Waters, Maxine Waters,

Oren Waters Oren Waters is an American vocalist best known for his work with the backup singing group The Waters, his siblings: Luther, Maxine and Julia. As an ensemble, Waters has been a part of 260 gold and over 100 platinum albums with artists ranging from ...

– background vocals

Reception

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' described "Hollywood Nights" as "a gut crunching rocker with all the stops pulled out" and described Seger's vocal performance as "absolutely demonic." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was 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 it "a solid rocker about a Hollywood romance" with "a commanding beat, piano fills, driving guitar work and excellent lead and backing vocals." ''Cash Box'' also said that "Hollywood Nights" is "what Seger is all about."

Chart performance

The single edit of "Hollywood Nights" reached No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In the UK, the full five-minute version was released as a single on black and silver vinyl, and gave him his chart debut at No. 42. A live version from the in-concert album ''

Nine Tonight ''Nine Tonight'' is a live album by American rock music, rock band Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). The album was recorded at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan, in June 1980 and at the Boston Garden in Boston ...

'' in 1981 was issued in the UK as a single and charted at No. 49, while a reissue of the original version in 1995 charted at No. 52.

Certifications

References

1978 singles Bob Seger songs Songs written by Bob Seger Capitol Records singles 1978 songs Songs about Los Angeles Hollywood, Los Angeles in fiction Song recordings produced by Bob Seger Song recordings produced by Punch Andrews {{1970s-rock-song-stub