After serving as DJ for his hometown chum
Kid Rock,
Uncle Kracker (born Matthew Shafer) stepped out from behind the turntables to release his debut solo album,
Double Wide, in 2001.
Uncle Kracker had performed alongside
Rock since 1994, and both favored a combination of funky, post-grunge rock with a hip-hop aesthetic.
Double Wide also sported a polished pop single entitled "Follow Me," and the album went double platinum on the strength of that Top 10 hit.
Kid Rock and
Uncle Kracker were practically family. The two met in 1987 in Clawson, Michigan, where
Rock was spinning in an all-ages DJ contest at a popular nightspot called Daytona's. After discovering a mutual fondness for
the Commodores,
Run-D.M.C.,
Lynyrd Skynyrd, and
George Jones, the pair became fast friends. One of
Kracker's first musical contributions was on
Rock's 1996 release, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp, and he also co-wrote and performed on
Rock's multi-platinum breakthrough,
Devil Without a Cause. Striking while the iron was hot, he chose to launch his own career in the wake of
Devil's success.
Produced by
Kid Rock and
Mike Bradford, the Lava Records release
Double Wide was a radio-friendly effort that blended elements of country, mainstream modern rock, and rap. One year after its release,
Uncle Kracker returned with a sophomore album named
No Stranger to Shame, scoring another Top Ten hit with a faithful rendition of
Mentor Williams' "Drift Away." Taking much from the inspiration of early-'70s rock, he issued
Seventy Two & Sunny in late June 2004, but the album failed to live up to its predecessors' success.
Kracker renewed his hit-making credentials by co-writing
Kid Rock's popular single "All Summer Long," however, and he returned to the solo game in 2009 with
Happy Hour. The next year,
Uncle Kracker followed up with the EP
Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions, which featured country remakes of songs from
Happy Hour.
Uncle Kracker's next full-length album, his first for Sugar Hill after leaving Atlantic, was the
Keith Stegall-produced
Midnight Special, which appeared in the fall of 2012. In 2014 he returned to the Lava Records label with the single "Endlessly." ~ MacKenzie Wilson