American Bad Ass
| "American Bad Ass" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Kid Rock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album The History of Rock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | April 18, 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1996–2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Nu metal, rap metal, thrash metal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Atlantic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Kid Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Kid Rock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kid Rock singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"American Bad Ass" is a rap metal song by the American musician Kid Rock, released from his 2000 album The History of Rock. "American Bad Ass" uses the instrumental structure of Metallica's "Sad but True." The song was a victory lap for Devil Without a Cause's success.
- Kid Rock- vocals
- Jason Krause- lead gutair
- Kenny Olsen- gutair
- Mike Bradford- bass gutair
- Stephanie Eulinberg- drums
- Uncle Kracker-turntables
Content
He also gave nods to his musical heroes, in this order: AC/DC, ZZ Top, Bocephus, Beastie Boys, Kings of Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Limp Bizkit, Korn, The Rolling Stones, David Allan Coe, No Show Jones, Liberace, The Clash, Johnny Cash, and Grandmaster Flash.
His hometown Detroit is mentioned throughout with different nicknames including City of Truth, Detroit Rock City and Motown.
In the song, the word "Oklahoma", a reference to the Oklahoma City bombing with the deaths of 154 civilians, eight law enforcement officers, and six military personnel, is edited out, as the record label didn't want to cause offense.
Music video
The music video for the single aired on MTV2 upon release, and reached #1 on Canada's MuchMusic Countdown.[1] The song was performed on Saturday Night Live.
At the beginning, Kid Rock watches TV and then after going to a rapping party, he goes to a concert on a cabriolet, surrounded by bikers. At the middle of the song, Kid Rock's car explodes and the thrash metal party starts to play. At the end of the video, Kid Rock with his band plays at a concert on the stage.
The video features a cameo appearance by Ron Jeremy.
In popular culture
- This song was the entrance theme for WWE Superstar The Undertaker for a short time in 2000 under his biker persona. The song's title, "American Bad Ass", eventually became the name of the gimmick under which he won several tag titles and a world title.
- After the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000, the song was played on the ship's PA system upon leaving the port of Yemen after the national anthem and other patriotic songs were played.[2]
- The song was also featured in promotional material for the film adaptions of two popular Hasbro franchises. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, in which their TV spot is aptly titled "American Badass" [3] and Battleship.
- "American Bad Ass" appeared in the TV spot for the film The Gunman.
Track listing
- "American Bad Ass" (clean album version)
- "3 Sheets to the Wind" (Live)
- "Cowboy" (Live)
Charts
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Rock (RPM) | 24 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[4] | 26 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 30 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] | 81 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 25 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 20 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 33 |
Parody
In 2001, the American glam metal band Tuff made a parody of this song, named "American Hair Band".
References
- ↑ "MuchMusic Countdown - Fri, Jun 30, 2000". MuchMusic. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ↑ rollingstone.com "Kid Rock Show to Honor USS Cole"
- ↑
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Kid Rock Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Kid Rock – American Bad Ass". Swiss Singles Chart.