Bob Seger, best known as a rock musician, achieved an unusual crossover success at country radio with his 1982 recording of Rodney Crowell’s “Shame On The Moon”. The track reached the Top 15 of the country chart and became one of Seger’s major hits, illustrating how a song outside his usual hard-rock direction connected with country audiences.

“Shame On The Moon” appeared on Seger’s album The Distance and was its only song not written by him. Seger described it as more of a western or cowboy song than conventional country music, saying it was recorded in about two hours and initially considered an unexpected fit for the album. Don Henley introduced Seger to Crowell’s work; Crowell released the song in 1981, and it has also been recorded by Mac Davis, Karen Brooks, Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson.