January 21, 2015--Kid Rock, Blue Jeans & A Rosary

Artist:  Kid Rock
Song:  Blue Jeans & A Rosary
Album:  Rock & Roll Jesus

Okay, so we've all heard of Kid Rock.  Whether it's his southern rock style music that we've heard from him lately, or the rap metal that made him famous back in the late 90s.  But did you know that "Devil Without A Cause" was his fourth album?  I didn't.  Hell, I'd never heard of him until I was twelve years old and "Bawitdaba" had picked up a lot of steam.  I didn't realize that he'd been fighting for 10 years to become known.

Robert Ritchie, aka Kid Rock, put a lot of work into his success.  His unusual style didn't catch on until the late 90s when Limp Bizkit and Korn became popular.  He created this over-the-top white trash persona and owned it.  Yes, he's explicit.  Yes, he's loud.  Yes, he's rude.  Yes, he's got a song for every mood.  

Kid couldn't just be lumped into one category.  After the success of "Picture" with Sheryl Crow he started leaving behind a lot of the rap metal sound that we'd all grown accustomed to hearing from him and gave us a less crude, more melodious side to his music.

Kid Rock is friends with quite a few musicians who have influenced him, Hank Williams Jr. being the most obvious.  He's also performed songs that were written by his friend and talented musician, David Alan Coe.  Kid inducted Bob Segar into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, dated Pamela Anderson, crossed musical borders, and still hasn't finished.

I, personally, am a fan of his softer side.  Yes, teenage me loved the in-your-face attitude and profanity of Kid's rap-metal style, and sometimes, when the mood strikes, I go back and listen to a little "Cocky" and "Devil Without A Cause".  But usually you'll find me listening to his tribute song to Waylon Jennings that he recorded with Kenny Chesney of "Lukenbach, TX" or something from his three latest albums "Born Free", "Rebel Soul" and "Rock & Roll Jesus".

He's definitely an artist I need to be in the mood to listen to, but since I couldn't get "Blue Jeans & A Rosary" out of my head all day today (even though I haven't listened to it in quite some time) I decided that this is the song and artist that I'd feature.

And since I love Kid's version of this song, I felt the need to share it with everyone.  If you don't listen to "Blue Jeans" then please listen to this one.

Enjoy!

--kk