Kid Rock
"I've been at this for ten years, and whether new or old, I have the most loyal fans in the world because they know I work hard at what I do and actually care about them. I don't need any critic to tell me who or what I am when Lynard Skynard, Run DMC, Aerosmith, and Hank Williams JR told me I'm good." - Kid Rock
Kid Rock was born Robert James Ritchie on January 17th, 1971. Being born on Super Bowl Sunday as the third of four children, Kid Rock was destined to become an entertainer. Bob’s parents liked to throw parties and hayrides. Usually by midnight, when the party was well underway, Kid Rock would be awoken and asked to come entertain. Kid didn’t hesitate. He would grab his cowboy hat, put on his leather Indian vest, slip on his cowboy boots with no socks, and head for the center of the party. Mind you, this is taking place at the impressionable young age of six and seven years old. One of Kid’s earliest memorable performances was the legendary classic “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”, written by the late Jim Croce. Some wonder how Bob Ritchie became Kid Rock? It wasn’t one specific event; Kid’s first record deal, the birth of his son, family tragedy, or his upbringing, but all had impact and helped Bob Ritchie evolve into what all fans have come to love and embrace, KID ROCK!
Kid signed his first contract with Jive Records in 1990. Kid felt this was a great label with such acts as Boogie Down Productions, Tribe Called Quest, Kool Moe Dee, and Whodini. But being seventeen and not knowing anything about the business made for a heck of a learning experience. Rather than shoot a video to support “Grit Sandwiches For Breakfast”: (1990), Kid received the opening act on the 40 city national tour of Ice-Cube and Too Short. The tour was successful, exposing Kid to a national audience for the first time in his career. Kid then went on to sign with Continuum Records, a smaller label who featured such acts as the Charlie Watts Band and solo projects from David Gillmore and Ron Wood. Kid received almost total freedom in the writing and recording of “The Polyfuze Method”: (1993). This is where Kid really started writing about what was going on in his everyday life and probably the start of connecting with the honesty and realness of the music his fans today have come to expect. Song like “My Oedipus Complex” were precursors for the song “Black Chick, White Guy” on “Devil Without A Cause”: (1998).
Kid is deadly accurate about the statement, “If it’s real you’ll feel it!” Add to the mix Twisted Brown Trucker, which developed over the years with various players coming and going. By August of 1998, Kid Rock and Twisted Brown Trucker have solidified into one of America’s favorite groups. Whether it is Kid Rock at Woodstock giving homage to Jimi Hendrix or opening the 1999 MTV Music Awards with Run D-M-C and Aerosmith, Kid realizes that others have inspired him to work hard towards his dreams and everyone along the way who helped out deserves recognition.
