Some people know Kid Rock as a musician. Some know him as a White House visitor. Still others know him as their obnoxious uncle’s role model. But do you know the true history of Kid Rock? If not, then you’ll want to read the following. While many people believe that the “Rock” part of Kid Rock refers to rock ‘n’ roll, it actually refers to the original source of his family’s fortune: pet rocks.
If you’re not familiar with the pet rock craze, it was a semipopular toy in the 1970’s, basically a rock that people paid money for for some reason. Kid Rock’s family was largely behind the craze, and, in the early 80’s, they became fabulously wealthy, buying houses, cars, and millions of dollars worth of clown costumes. But the cars needed maintaining, several of the mansions became overrun with squirrels, and the clown costumes quickly started reeking of body odor.
Add to that the plummeting sales of pet rocks (to this day, Kid Rock and his family members will begin to cry if you repeat the Elmo truism “Rock is just a rock Zoe”), and the family had to declare bankruptcy. Poor little Bob Ritchie (Kid Rock’s real name, though the family nickname for him was “Petey Pebble”) was distraught but also determined. He decided to pursue a musical career, and, by the 90’s had a major breakthrough.
Many of Kid Rock/Petey Pebble’s major hits were inspired by the pet rocks that he had as a child. “Cowboy” was a reference to the little cowboy hats he would put on his rocks. “Bawitdaba” was a reference to when he was playing catch with a pet rock, got hit in the lips, and could only mumble for weeks. These are the only two songs that of Kid Rock’s that most people can remember, but others probably had a pet rock connection as well.
Kid Rock/Petey Pebble is once again rich for some reason, but, to this day, he picks up a rock from every tour stop and names it after one of the rocks that he had as a child. And now you know the true history of Kid Rock.