Tour puts rocker back in his element Kid Rock

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

It was exactly 15 years ago when a then-unknown Kid Rock (aka Bob Ritchie) released “Devil Without a Cause,” which sold 13 million albums worldwide.

Today, Rock is hoping to keep his star afloat with his latest effort, “Rebel Soul.”

He still remains a popular touring act, which is why he’s returning to Northeast Ohio on Monday for a show at Youngstown’s Covelli Centre.

Here are 10 things you may not have known about this Detroit Rock City rocker:

1 As a child, Kid Rock was in a break-dance group called Furious Funkers.

2 Kid Rock first achieved fame with his 1990 debut, “Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast.” A radio station was fined $23,000 for playing the profanity-laced track “Yo Da-Lin In the Valley.”

3 Joseph “Joe C.” Calleja joined Kid Rock’s group in 1994. He died in 2000. Fans will remember Calleja as the little person who was Kid Rock’s rapping sidekick.

4 In 2001, Kid Rock was asked to induct Aerosmith into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He performed “Sweet Emotion” during the ceremony.

5 Kid Rock recorded his 2002 hit “Picture” with Sheryl Crow; however, the “Leaving Las Vegas” singer didn’t want to release it as a single. So he re-cut it with Allison Moorer and released it as a single, and then Crow had a change of heart. Kid Rock’s concert album “Live Trucker” features Gretchen Wilson singing the track.

6 In what has become somewhat obligatory for celebrities these days, Kid Rock and Creed’s Scott Stapp — not together — can be seen in a 1999 sex tape.

7 Speaking of celebrity sex tapes, Kid Rock took a page out of Greg Allman’s book and married Pamela Anderson in 2006. The marriage lasted five months.

8 Kid Rock’s last monster hit was 2008’s “All Summer Long,” which features riffs from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.”

9 Proving his redneck credibility, Kid Rock in 2007 was involved in a late-night fight at Waffle House.

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