About Me
Early Years
Kid Rock was born Robert James Ritchie in the suburbs of
Romeo, Michigan. Growing up, Ritchie and his father, a well-to-do car
dealer in the area, frequently disagreed over the young Ritchie's
lifestyle choices. Following a lawn mower accident that resulted in his
brother, Billy, losing a leg, his father shifted the burden of holding
down the house and all the responsibility of his brother on to the young
Robert (thus evidenced by the song "My Oedipus Complex"). This
led to increased friction between the two.
Ritchie eventually left home and moved to the housing
projects in Mount Clemens, Michigan, where he took his Sears brand
turntables to the basement parties hoping for a chance to play. Bo Wisdom
of Groove Time Production offered him an opportunity to spin for the
crowd; their enthusiasm for the young DJ led Wisdom to dub him with his
new moniker, after watching "that kid rock."
After working with Groove Time Productions and the
Beastcrew laying down some demos, Jive Records offered him a contract at
the relatively young age of 17. Against his parents' wishes he signed the
deal, and later was part of the "Straight From The Underground
Tour" with several heavyweights of rap including Ice Cube, Too $hort,
D-Nice, Yo-Yo.
In 1990 he released the album "Grits Sandwiches For
Breakfast." Its first single, "Yo Da Lin In The Valley,"
was largely ignored by radio as it dealt largely with cunnilingus. Central
Michigan University was later levied a $23,700 fine for airing it by the
FCC.
The success and subsequent public ridicule of Vanilla Ice
made Jive nervous about Kid Rock and the label eventually dropped Rock
from their roster. He was later picked up by indie record label,
Continuum, and recorded "The Polyfuze Method" in 1993. It saw
some college radio success at Central Michigan University, and its first
single, "Back From The Dead", became a Top 20 Hot Rap Track. The
second single "U Don't Know Me" flopped and after 1994's
"Fire It Up" EP, Contiuum dropped him from the label. 1993 also
saw his collaboration with the Insane Clown Posse on the song "Is
That You?!" from their debut full-length album Carnival of Carnage.
Kid started his own label, Top Dog, and from July 1994
through March 1995, released monthly demo tapes called "The Bootleg
Series." In 1995, he took a job as a janitor at Whiterooms Studios
largely in order to pay studio fees. In the process, he released the local
classic "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp," which he sold 100,000
copies of out of his own basement. This success lead him to once again
push for a major label record deal.
On March 30, 1997, he performed a special showcase concert
to attract major label attention; the only label that showed up was
Atlantic Records. Following the performance, record executives said they
loved him but expressed doubts about the strength of the material. Kid
Rock returned to the studio and cut two additional demos, "I Got One
For Ya" and "Somebody's Gotta Feel This" which secured the
record deal (for $100,000).
Mainstream Success
In 1997 he added Jason Krause and Stephanie Eulinberg to
his band, joining Kenny Olson, Jimmie Bones, Uncle Kracker, Mike Bradford,
and Joe C. In August of 1998 he released Devil Without a Cause
behind the single "Welcome 2 The Party" and went on the Vans
Warped Tour.
"Welcome 2 The Party" was ignored by audiences
and "Devil" sat on the shelves collecting dust for 8 months. A
chance meeting at a New York nightclub with MTV VJ Carson Daly led to a
video of "I Am The Bullgod" to MTV and with Carson's support, it
became a moderate hit.
After two notable live performances at MTV's
"Fashionably Loud" and "Wanna B A VJ," Kid released
the single "Bawitdaba" to renewed interest and sales.
Performances with Aerosmith and Run DMC at MTV's, '99 VMA's and high
profile perforances at Woodstock 1999 and the Grammy Awards. He released
three more singles from the album: "Cowboy", "Only God
Knows Why", and "Wasting Time." Devil Without A Cause would
eventually sell 11 millions copies.
In 2000, after acquiring the rights to his early material,
he released The History Of Rock, a collection of remixed or
re-recorded songs. The only new track, "American Bad Ass",
sampled the Metallica track "Sad But True," and was later used
as The Undertaker's entrance song in the World Wrestling Federation. Later
that year, he joined rock band Phish onstage for several songs at a
concert in Las Vegas. At the end of 2000, Joe C died of Celiac Disease.
In 2001, Kid Rock released Cocky, which was marketed
as the official follow up to Devil Without a Cause. Despite
featuring all new songs, the album did not reach the same level of
success, mainly due to the decline of rap metal and fan rejection of the
fusion of country music into many of the tracks. However, the release of
"Picture," a country influenced duet Sheryl Crow introduced Rock
to a new audience and was ultimately the most successful single on the
album. Rock has since gained country music acclaim for such notable
performances his performance of "Luckenbach, Texas" on the
Waylon Jennings tribute album I've Always Been Crazy; and his
appearance on Country Music Television's Crossroads episode with
Hank Williams, Jr.
In 2003, Kid Rock returned with a self-titled album which
delved even deeper into country music; however, the first single was a
cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love". VH-1 Aired A
Vh-1 Kid Rock Christmas on December 14,2003. Rock performed classic tracks
along with several new tunes, and along with Hank Williams Jr, Shooter
Jennings and Jesse James prepared Christmas (was actually Thanksgiving)
dinner for Dre Dmato, Lee Ann Rimes, and Kid's parents. He later added a
second country hit with Single Father in 2004.
Kid Rock made cameo appearances in two of Gretchen Wilson's
music videos for the songs "Redneck Woman" and "All Jacked
Up".
On February 28, 2006, Kid Rock released his first live
album, Live Trucker, comprising songs from his homestands of
Clarkston (9/1/00, 8/26/04, 8/27/04, 8/28/04) and Detroit's Cobo Hall
(3/26/04). The album contained the last two performances of Joe C on
"Devil Without A Cause" and "Early Mornin Stoned Pimp"
as well has Gretchen Wilson dueting on "Picture". Other
highlight included "Only God Knows Why," the medley "Somebodys
Gotta Feel This-Fist Of Rage", and a thrash metal take on Led
Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love.
Kid Rock Today
Kid Rock's talent can be illustrated by the fact he is
credited on his albums for not only vocals, but guitar (steel, rhythm,
electric and acoustic), bass, percussion, mixing, mellotron, keyboard,
backing vocals, slide guitar, scratching, programming, producer, and even
banjo. He is famous for his high-energy personality on and off stage. Kid
Rock's music has changed and evolved considerably over time, which has
caused him to lose and gain millions of fans.
A new studio album from Kid Rock is in the works and is set
for release in early 2007. In a recent interview with Real Detroit Weekly,
Rock said he is attempting to create "a timeless rock-n-roll
record" so there will be no rap or country on it; Rock also said the
record will be produced by Rick Rubin and will feature the J. Geils Band's
Peter Wolfe.
