Song:Follow Me
Album:Double Wide
Uncle Kracker is probably best known as Kid Rock's best friend. He started out in Kid Rock's band and then went solo in 2000. Follow Me was his 2001 debut single and his biggest hit to date. He was born Matthew Shafer June 6, 1974 in Mount Clemens, MI. He met Kid Rock when Shafer and his brother Mike went to a turntable competition at a nightclub. The two became friends and Rock asked Shafer to join his band. Shafer already rapped and Mike taught him to work the tables. Shafer started working on a solo album with Rock's bassist Michael Bradford while still in Rock's band. When the album was finished, Shafer signed with Atlantic's Lava label. He was going to call himself Kracker which is a Southern term for a white person. But there was a 70s band called Kracker so to avoid confusion, he changed his name to Uncle Kracker. His 2000 debut CD Double Wide was produced by Kid Rock and Bradford. Follow Me was the first single and it reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Shafer and Bradford. It features a guest appearance by Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath. Some fans think Cee Lo Green appears in the video but that is Bradford who resembles Green. Double Wide was certified 2XPlatinum. So Uncle Kracker was off to a good start. Double Wide is available as a budget CD. On subsequent albums, Uncle Kracker moved away from rap and went more towards a country sound. He had success with a 2003 cover of the Dobie Gray classic Drift Away featuring Gray and the 2004 hit When The Sun Goes Down with Kenny Chesney. And he toured with Chesney. Though Smile was a top 40 hit in 2009, Kracker's album sales were down and he left Lava. After he released the 2012 album Midnight Special on the country label Sugar Hill, Kracker re-signed with Lava who are now distributed by Republic. He released the single Endlessly last year but there has been no news of a new album yet. He's currently on tour and he says he still talks to Kid Rock regularly. Here's the video for Follow Me by Uncle Kracker.
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