Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971 in Romeo, Michigan), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American musician and actor known for his over-the-top persona and his ability to mix rap with rock, blues and country music. He has sold over 25 million records to date.
For a decade before his breakthrough into stardom, he lived a secluded small-town life; releasing obscure albums for his local fan base. His debut album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, was released on Jive Records in 1990 and earned him attention, due to the raunchiness of the lead single ,"Yo Da Lin In The Valley". However, Jive dropped him from the label. Next, he signed with Continuum Records based out of Brooklyn, NY and released The Polyfuze Method in 1993 and Fire It Up in 1994. After Continuum went bankrupt he went independent, starting Top Dog Records. At Top Dog Records, he sold bootleg dubs of his own records to pay his rent. He would work as a janitor at Detroit's famed White Room Studios to get recording time for his 1996 release Early Morning Stoned Pimp. He had to request a loan from his father to press the album. His father gave him the lifeline he needed. After E.M.S.P garnered him local attention, he sat up a showcase concert on March 30,1997 at Detroit's State Theatre. The only label to show up was Atlantic Records and luckily for Kid Rock they signed him.
In 1997 to 1998, the rap-metal music scene was booming with artists such as Korn, Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit. Kid Rock and Atlantic would capitalize in 1998 when he released his debut mainstream album Devil Without A Cause. It sold 11 million albums behind the hits, "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy", and "Only God Knows Why".
In 2000, he released The History of Rock which was a compilation of remixed and mastered versions of songs from old albums as well as the hit "American Bad Ass". In 2001, he released Cocky. After a slow start, his country crossover hit "Picture" with Sheryl Crow resurrected the album and it went gold as a single and pushed the album's sales to more than 4 million. His 2003 self-titled release failed to chart a major hit. It was followed by Live Trucker in 2006, which was a live greatest hits album.
In 2008, Kid Rock toured the U.S. and Europe promoting his latest release, Rock N Roll Jesus, backed in particular by the album's third single, "All Summer Long". It peaked at Number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 4 on The Hot Country 100. It was his first worldwide smash hit charting number one in Austria, Australia, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The album has been certified double platinum in the U.S. and gold in Canada and Germany.
