Kid Rock 出生于 1971 年 1 月 17 日，在家中 4 個孩子中排行老三，父母叫他 Bobby。他的父親 Bill Ritchie 和母親 Susan 在密歇根州立大學念書時認識，因此兩人都屬于思想較為開通、喜歡尋歡作樂的那一代人，他們經常星期五在家里開派對。有時候人們喝醉了后會讓小 Bobby 作表演，對口形假唱 Bob Seger 或 Jim Croce 的歌。他就這樣聽了很多 the Rolling Stones、the Beatles、Marshall Tucker 和 Johnny Cash 的歌。他試著學吉他，但學得并不怎么樣。隨后他又得到了一架鼓機和一些 DJ 唱機。到讀高中時，他組織了一支霹靂舞表演隊，經常參加婚禮演出，并獲得了當地漢堡王快餐店的贊助。在演出時，他開始用說唱來介紹他的組員。“我們那時叫 the Furious Funkers，我從來不太會起名字。”他說，“當人們開始叫我 Kid Rock 時，我覺得很酷，所以就這樣叫了下來。” 盡管父母對 Kid Rock 早年走上音樂道路頗有影響，但年輕時的他還是與家庭不合，尤其是和父親。“年輕時我不喜歡和父親待在一起。”他說：“當然現在我們倆還不錯。過去不喜歡他并不是因為他打我，而主要是他無法將工作與生活區分開來，他總是讓我在別人面前下不了臺。” Kid Rock 有一首名叫《My Oedipus Complex》的歌很好地反映了兩人間的關系。“你從沒愛過我，你從沒有緊緊擁抱過我……你總是認為你的方式是最好的，而我總是給你惹麻煩……你能給我的只是錢，所以現在去你的，你不在乎你，我不恨你了，我自由了。”在歌曲結尾處，Kid Rock 更戲劇性地加入了一段獨白，他模仿父親向自己的兒子道歉，解釋他是如何在貧困中長大、白手起家，他一直愛自己的兒子、希望兒子不要厭惡他。 這首歌首次在 1996 年發行，他的父親聽后當然很不高興。更讓他不快的是，這首歌還將出現在 Kid Rock 的新專輯《The History of Rock》中。這張新專輯中的歌主要選自 Kid Rock 的第二和第三張專輯。有些歌被原封不動地放進了新專輯，有些歌如《My Oedipus Complex》則是重新錄制了一遍。但只是更新了音樂部分，Kid Rock 仍舊未改動歌詞。“這就是當初我所感受的，而這些歌就是完完全全地反映了我當時的感受。” “每個人都知道我的名字”Kid Rock 在推出成名之作《Devil Without a Cause》之前已發行了 3 張唱片。首張專輯《Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast》于 1990 年由 Jive 唱片公司發行。那時的他還是個滿嘴臟話、剃了個小平頭的白人說唱樂手。不幸的是，專輯的發行正趕上了當時紅得發紫的另一白人說唱樂手 Vanilla Ice 的專輯推出，Kid Rock 的專輯一下子被人蓋了下去。于是他留起了長發，開始了一段最為混亂的日子。在轉簽到一家獨立唱片公司后，Kid Rock 發行了第二專輯《The Polyfuze Method》。到出版第三專輯《Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp》時，Kid Rock 不得不自己成立個唱片公司 Top Dog 來出版這張唱片。 他的第二張和第三張專輯雖然在當地小獲成功，但與之后超白金銷量的《Devil Without a Cause》顯然不能同日而語。有趣的是在錄制這張專輯的時候，Kid Rock　似乎已經預感到了自己將會取得巨大成功，因為專輯中的很多歌曲講的都是成功所帶來的壓力，最具代表性的便是那首《Only God Knows Why》。這首歌是 Kid Rock 和樂隊成員 Kracker 和 Jason 在監獄中創作的。當時他們和朋友在酒吧慶祝樂隊與 Atlantic 唱片公司簽約，但最終慶祝演變成了酒吧斗毆。在監獄中 Kid Rock 寫下了這樣的歌詞：“每個人都知道我的名字，他們大聲叫喊著我的名字，很難走到人群中去，我想那是成功必須付出的代價。” “當我寫這首歌的時候，我并不那么出名，還不至于不能走到人群中去。”Kid Rock 回想說：“沒有人知道我到底是誰，但我就是預感到了我將會獲得巨大成功。我的預感還是挺準的!”他笑了起來。“一年前我覺得我長得還很丑，但在賣掉了 700 萬張唱片后，我成了一個性感的家伙。”每次演出后總有一大幫女孩子等著與他合影，與他套近乎。一開始 Kid Rock 還很熱衷，但現在不了，他有了個做模特兼演員的女朋友 James King。兩年前他們首次在一檔 MTV 臺的節目中相識，只不過當時兩人都各自有自己的朋友。在今年的葛萊美頒獎晚會上，兩人又見面了，這時他的腦中有了個想法：“這就象你想寫張紙條給某人——我喜歡你，你喜歡我嗎？選擇是或否。”回到密歇根的家中，Kid Rock 發現自己還在想著她。接下去的事 Kid Rock 不想公開，但有一點是肯定的，James 還回了紙條并且選擇了“是”。隨后人們發現兩人一同出現在了底特律。 “除了部分詞匯要考慮押韻外，這首歌 99％ 的內容都是真實的。”Kid Rock 說。但也有些人在聽后表示有點懷疑——如果真是這樣的話，那他一定是個非常好的、有責任心的父親，這似乎與大部分的搖滾樂手的形象大相徑庭。“他們并不知道我是怎么生活的、在家里是怎么樣教育我的兒子的。他們不能想象既當一個搖滾樂手在外面風光，又在家里養好孩子。他們不懂得其中的平衡，不知道有人能掌握這種平衡，并正這樣生活著。” Kid Rock 的這種平衡感不僅表現在生活中，也同樣體現在他的音樂中——他恰到好處地平衡了說唱和重金屬在音樂中的分量，這也許就是他的成功之道吧! One of the unlikeliest success stories in rock at the turn of the millennium, Detroit rap-rocker Kid Rock shot to superstardom with his fourth full-length album, 1998's Devil Without a Cause. What made it so shocking was that Rock had recorded his first demo 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. Nevertheless, Rock persevered, and by the time rap-metal had begun to attract a substantial audience, he had perfected the outlandish, over-the-top white-trash persona that gave Devil Without a Cause such a distinctive personality and made it such an infectious party record. Bob "Kid Rock" Ritchie (born Robert James Ritchie, January 17, 1971) grew up in Romeo, MI, a small rural town north of the Detroit metro area. Finding small-town life stiflingly dull, Ritchie immersed himself in rap music, learned to breakdance, and began making the talent-show rounds in Detroit. Inspired by the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill — white performers fusing rap and hard guitar rock — Kid Rock recorded his first demos in 1988, and 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. Produced by Kid Rock, Too Short, and D-Nice, the album was heavily derivative of Licensed to Ill. Rock briefly became notorious 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 rescinded). However, despite a tour with Too Short and Ice Cube, Jive didn't see much of a future for Kid Rock and dropped him from their roster. 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 eclecticism while others dismissed it as awkward and forced. 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 (born Jimmy Trombly, he handles the basslines himself), 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," 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 '99. 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. The media focused more on his relationship with actress Pamela Anderson than his musical career, which many magazines were beginning to ridicule. 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.