Kid Rock’s Father Dies

Kid Rock just announced the news of his dad’s passing on social media. “My Dad, Bill Ritchie Sr, moved on to be with Jesus yesterday,” he wrote. 

“He was an incredible father, grandfather, great grandfather, and so much more, none shy of being quite the character! Thank you for your condolences in advance. God Bless you, and I love you, Pop!”

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Kid Rock, whose legal name is Robert James Ritchie, was born in Romeo, Michigan. According to Taste of Country, his father owned a car dealership, and the family lived “on a sprawling rural estate” in Bruce Township, Mich., about 40 miles north of Detroit. 

“The home I grew up in was a beautiful, very middle-class American colonial house. It was set over six acres of land and there was an apple orchard out the back,” Kid Rock then shared in an interview with The Independent. “My dad got me selling the apples to our neighbors at an early age.” 

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In 2009,  the musician opened up about his dad’s influence on his life in an interview with DBusiness. “My parents had barn parties on Friday nights,” he says.

“[They] would drink and listen to rock ’n’ roll, and Dad says that was just getting warm for Saturday [night],” he said. “My dad liked a lot of the outlaw country stuff — Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, all of the early Sun Records.” 

Kid Rock Wrote “My Oedipus Complex” About His Father

Not only did Kid Rock’s dad influence his taste in music, but he also inspired him to work hard. “My dad put himself through college working odd jobs when he was a kid and graduated [at the] top of his business class at Michigan State, and then built a very successful car dealership,” he said. 

Kid Rock and his dad had their differences at times. According to DBusiness, Bill worked long hours and pushed his son hard. As a child, Kid Rock resented this but grew to be inspired by his dad’s drive. In 1993, he wrote the song “My Oedipus Complex,” expressing his feelings about his sometimes troubled relationship with his father. 

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Kid Rock’s parents weren’t initially thrilled about his career choices. Over time, he healed the relationship with his dad, and Bill later became one of his most trusted advisors, DBusiness reports. 

Kid Rock has three siblings. He rose to fame in the 1990s as a hip-hop artist and later pivoted to country and rock. Despite his stage persona, he has been open about being raised in an upper-middle-class family. 

“I had a very, very comfortable upbringing,” he said then. “I’m not ashamed at all to say I was raised in a very upper-middle-class family. My father likes to joke that I’m the only rock star he knows of who doesn’t have to support his parents,” he once told Cowboy & Indians.