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To those of us who grew up where I did (the northern suburbs pf Toledo, Ohio), Bob Seger was almost a local boy...born and raised just 40 miles up US-23 in Ann Arbor--home of the University of Michigan.
As a young teen, however, Bob was far less interested in the U of M Wolverines than what was happening downtown near the corner of Main and Ann Streets.
It seems there was a pool hall there where girls would dance in the window and R&B bands would play on the weekends To Bob, this was not only fascinating and exciting--it was life changing. In fact, it's what influenced him to make music his career.
Lucky for us!
In 1977, Bob wrote and released a "Great Song" that was more autobiographical than just about any of his other hits--with the possible exception of "Night Moves," which we highlighted back on 4/29/20. You can read about it here:
Music critics called attention to some interesting undercurrent in "Mainstreet," sort of what I alluded to above. Instead of a young man singing about homecoming queens and college girls...he sings about a down-on-her-luck waitress/dancer in a dive bar--in other words: a "beautiful loser." And instead of dating her and/or trying to save her...he just watches as she lives her life--down on "Mainstreet."
It's mystery to me why the song wasn't a bigger hit. It went to #1 in Canada--which was just 45 miles east of Ann Arbor, but only reached #24 on Billboard's Hot 100. Part of it was because it was played quite a bit on album rock FM stations--which back then didn't figure into charts, but other than that? I have no idea...because "Mainstreet" is definitely. "Great Song of 1977."
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