All Summer Long

Album

Rock n Roll Jesus

Label

Atlantic Records

Genre

Country rock

Composer(s)

R.J. Ritchie;'Matthew Shafer;Ronnie Van Zant;Gary Rossington;Edward King;Leroy Marinell;Waddy Wachtel;Warren Zevon

Entered Chart

Jul 19, 2008

Peak Date

Sep 13, 2008

Released

March 17, 2008

Recorded

Allen Roadhouse

Catalog #

Top Dog PROMO SINGLE

The instrumental backing for this coming of age tale is a mash-up of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama." When Lynyrd Skynyrd entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Kid Rock inducted them. This was the official theme song for WWE's Backlash 2008. It was the second ever theme song from a WWE pay-per-view to go to #1 in the UK. Previously "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence was the theme for No Way Out 2003. In America this accomplished the unusual feat of reaching the Top 40 of both the Modern rock chart and the Country chart. In Europe this proved to be a big hit topping charts in a number of countries, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It also reached #1 on the European Hot 100 chart. Though some might dispute this being categorized a country song, a number of commentators have said that when this topped the UK charts in August 2008, it was the closest to a country #1 in Britain since either LeAnn Rimes' "Can't Fight The Moonlight" in 2000, or Kenny Rogers' "Coward of the County," way back in 1980. Rock N Roll Jesus was released in October 2007, and Kid Rock's record company wanted to release this as a single that fall. Rock talked them into waiting until summer to release the song, which is a more appropriate time for the single but a long way off from the album's release. The ploy worked, as radio stations picked up the song and the album got a huge boost in sales, selling 1.3 million copies by the summer of 2008. Like all Kid Rock songs, this was not available as a digital download when it was released, so if you wanted the song legally, you had to buy the album. You could, however, download various cover versions of the song, which was kind of like buying a fake Rolex. Once a song is released, anyone can record it by paying the statutory royalty rate, which means popular bands that refuse iTunes are likely to see all manner of bizarro versions of their songs appear on the service and capitalize on the song's success. On iTunes, you can download non-Rock versions of this song by "Hit Masters," "The Rock Heroes" and "Southern All Stars." On October 3, 2008, Rock did make his music available for a limited time on the Rhapsody service, with the agreement that only full albums could be downloaded, something iTunes wouldn't allow. >> Rock explained to MTV News why the song has been such a success. He said: "I knew the track was solid - it's got two of the best songs of all time mashed up together ['Sweet Home Alabama' and 'Werewolves of London'], it's got great melodies, so really, my work was done. I knew people would hear it and know I wrote it. They'd know it was real, and there'd be that connection. And that's what's missing in music today. I think people don't believe half the s--t they hear some rapper or some pop girl singing about... but with me, they do. And that's why people have reacted the way they have to the song." This won the award for Best Rock Song at the 35th People's Choice Awards, held on January 7, 2009. In the Deaton Flanigen-directed video, Kid Rock is cruising around Tennessee's Old Hickory Lake (it wasn't hot enough to shoot in Michigan) on his cowboy boat while we're shown flashbacks of his teenage self hanging with his girlfriend and his group of friends. The clip features a group of bikini-clad girls on a double-decker pontoon boat outfitted with a stripper pole. This is the biggest hit to mention the state of Michigan in the lyric ("it was summertime in northern Michigan"). This isn't the only song about listening to "Sweet Home Alabama." In 1980 Warren Zevon (whose "Werewolves Of London" provides the other side of this mashup) released "Play It All Night Long," where he sings: "Sweet Home Alabama" Play that dead band's song Turn those speakers up full blast Play it all night long More songs from Kid Rock

It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh

Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair

[Chorus]
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long

Catching Walleye from the dock
Watching the waves roll off the rocks
She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll

While we were trying different things
And we were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long

Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change
Or how we thought those days would never end
Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along
And think man I'd love to see that girl again

[Chorus: x 2]

Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long