The Redneck , Rock n Roll Son of Detroit - KID ROCK

Gday and also HOWZIT?

Once again it a blogaroo about a bloke thats been around a while , yet I've only just begun to really appreciate...yeah its a bad habit I got 

This is the amazing tale of a guy that went from dj'ing at parties in the hood, dodging bullets,  to living in a trouble wide near Nashville shifting musical units hand over fist

Robert James Ritchie, January 17, 1971,  grew up in Romeo, Michigan, a small rural town north of the Detroit metro area. Finding small-town life way beyond tedious, Rock  immersed himself in rap music, learned to breakdance, and began making the talent-show rounds in Detroit. 

 Kid Rock recorded his first demos in 1988, a full decade before, been booted off major label Jive following his Beastie Boys-ish 1990 debut, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, and toiled for most of the decade in obscurity, releasing albums to a small, devoted, mostly local fan base while earning his fair share of ridicule around his home state from people that had no right to an opinion

Rock eventually scored an opening slot at a Boogie Down Productions gig. That performance, in turn, led to a contract with Jive Records, which issued Kid Rock's debut album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, in 1990, it was by produced by Kid Rock, Too Short, and D-Nice, . 

Notoriety came calling,  when a New York college radio station aired the album's profanity-laced ode to oral sex, "Yodelin' in the Valley," and was fined over $20,000 (a judgment later reversed). However, shortly after a  tour with Too Short and Ice Cube, Jive ditched Rock

Rock persevered, and by the time rap-metal had begun to attract a sizeable fan base , he had perfected the outlandish, over the top white-trash persona that gave Devil Without a Cause such  personality and made it such an outlandish party record.

Moving to Brooklyn, Rock hooked up with the small Continuum label, and moved his brand of rap further into hard rock with The Polyfuze Method, released in 1993. Reviews were mixed, with some critics praising the record's humor and others laying on the hate , The EP Fire It Up followed in 1994, appearing on Rock's own Top Dog imprint (which was still distributed by Continuum). 

Rock eventually returned to the Detroit area and began work on another album; recorded on a shoestring budget: Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp was released in 1996. Although sometimes forced to sell bootleg dubs of his own records to pay the rent, Rock set about forming a full-fledged backing band, which he dubbed Twisted Brown Trucker. 

While its membership fluctuated early on, rapper Joe C. (born Joseph Calleja) was one of the first to join; a longtime fan and frequent concert attendee, Calleja caught Rock's eye in 1994, partly because of his diminutive stature (due to a digestive condition known as celiac disease, which required both dialysis and extensive medication) and partly because of his encyclopedic knowledge of Rock's song lyrics. The rest of the lineup settled around mostly Detroit-area musicians: guitarists Kenny Olson and Jason Krause, keyboardist Jimmy Bones drummer Stefanie Eulinberg, DJ/turntablist Uncle Kracker (born Matt Shafer, who had been with Rock since the early '90s), and backing vocalists Misty Love and Shirley Hayden.

As rap-metal acts like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Rage Against the Machine began to dominate the hard rock landscape, Atlantic Records decided to take a chance on signing Rock. Devil Without a Cause didn't do much upon its initial release in August 1998, but a big promotional push from the label and MTV helped make the album's second single and video, 

"Bawitdaba," a nationwide smash. The follow-up, "Cowboy,"(where I came in ) achieved similar success, and suddenly, after a decade of trying, Kid Rock was a superstar with a Top Five, seven-times-platinum album and a gig at Woodstock 1999. 

While pondering how to follow up Devil, Rock acquired the rights to his indie label recordings and remixed or re-recorded the best material for The History of Rock, which was released in the summer of 2000 and featured some new songs as well. 

Sadly, after being forced to take a break from touring a year earlier by his medical difficulties, Joe C. passed away in his sleep on November 16, 2000.

Even with a tragedy like this in his life, Rock continued work on his follow-up to Devil Without a Cause. . His DJ, Uncle Kracker, had a successful solo career during the spring and summer of 2001, leaving Rock without one of his most frequent collaborators. 

Still, by the winter of that year he had completed work on Cocky and had released "Forever" to success on rock radio. In fall 2003, Kid Rock returned with a self-titled effort. A cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" marked the first single. The cover art to his 2006 live album, Live Trucker, paid tribute to Bob Seger's Live Bullet. Just a year later, the studio record Rock N Roll Jesus came out, landing at number one and selling 172,000 copies in its first week.

Born Free, produced by Rick Rubin and featuring guest appearances by Martina McBride, Trace Adkins, Zac Brown, Sheryl Crow, Bob Seger, James Hetfield, and T.I., arrived in 2010. 

Born Free debuted at number five on the Billboard charts but it didn't generate any hit singles; the title track peaked at 31 on the Rock Songs chart and "Collide," featuring Crow and Seger, didn't fare much better on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. 

Rock toured in 2011, then set about recording his next album, Rebel Soul, which appeared late in 2012. Entering the Billboard charts at number five, Rebel Soul eventually went gold but spawned no big hits. In 2013, Rock inaugurated his "Best Night Ever" tour, where he capped all ticket prices at $20.00. He moved over to Warner Records in 2014 and started work on his next album......

Album #10  arrived  First Kiss on February 24, 2015  was a full-fledged country record . The lead single, the title track, peaked at No. 66 on the Hot 100, No. 16 on mainstream rock and No. 27 on the hot ac chart. The album featured the Texas rock band Band of Heathens assisting long time band Twisted Brown Trucker. Kid Rock performed "Jesus and Bocephus" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in December 2014.

On July 12, 2017, Rock announced he was running for the U.S. Senate representing Michigan as a Republican. At midnight that night, on July 13, he released two new singles: "Po-Dunk" and the 12-minute "Greatest Show On Earth". He also announced he signed to Broken Bow Records after just one album with Warner Bros.

Oh yeah . he also got hitched to Pamela Anderson....but we wont go into that.

Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast (1990)

The Polyfuze Method (1993)

Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp (1996)

Devil Without a Cause (1998)

Cocky (2001)

Kid Rock (2003)

Rock n Roll Jesus (2007)

Born Free (2010)

Rebel Soul (2012)

First Kiss (2015)

Current Band

Marlon Young - lead guitar, co-writer

Jason Krause - metal guitar

Aaron Julison - bass guitar

Shannon Curfman - rhythm guitar, vocals

Jimmie Bones - organ, harp, keyboard, co-writer

Stefanie Eulinberg - drums

Larry Frantangelo - percussion

David McMurray - tenor saxophone

DJ Paradime - turntables, tambourine, vocals

Hershel C Boone - background vocals

Stacy Michelle - background vocals

Former Members

Kenny Olsen - lead guitar from 1994-2005

Bobby East - lead guitar, bass guitar from 2002-2005

Kenny Tudrick - lead guitar in 2007

Andy Gould- guitar from 1994-1997

Greg Metropolis - bass from 1994-1995

Lonnie Motley - bass from 1996-1997

Mike E Bradford - bass from 1999-2001

Bob Ebeling - drums from 1994-1997

Chris Lebroux - percussion 1996-1997

Smith Curry - Dobro in 2004

DJ Uncle Kracker- turntables, vocals, co-writer 1991-2002

Joseph "Joe C" Calleja - vocals 1994 until death in 2000

Thornetta Davis - background vocals 1996-1997

Misty Love - background vocals 1998-2000

Shirley Hayden - background vocals 1998-2000

Karen Newman - background vocals 2004-2006

Jessica Cowan Wagner-Cowan - background vocals 2007-2015

SO....there you have it , a tale of Rock....seeya