American Bad Ass
"American Bad Ass" is a song by the American musician Kid Rock, released from his 2000 album The History of Rock. "American Bad Ass" uses the instrumental structure of Metallica's "Sad but True."
"American Bad Ass" | ||||
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Single by Kid Rock | ||||
from the album The History of Rock | ||||
Released | April 18, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1991, 1996–2000 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:32 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kid Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | |||
Producer(s) | Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker | |||
Kid Rock singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"American Bad Ass" on YouTube |
Music video
The music video for the single aired on MTV2 upon release, and reached #1 on Canada's MuchMusic Countdown.[2] The song was performed on Saturday Night Live.
At the beginning, Kid Rock watches TV and then after going to a rapping party, he goes to a concert on a cabriolet, surrounded by bikers. At the middle of the song, Kid Rock's car explodes and the thrash metal party starts to play. At the end of the video, Kid Rock with his band plays at a concert on the stage.
The video features a cameo appearance by Ron Jeremy.
This is the last music video to feature Joe C. before his death.
In popular culture
- After the USS Cole bombing in October 2000, the song was played on the ship's PA system upon leaving the port of Yemen after the national anthem and other patriotic songs were played.[3]
- The song was also featured in promotional material for the film adaptions of two popular Hasbro franchises. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, in which their TV spot is aptly titled "American Badass" [4] and Battleship.
- "American Bad Ass" appeared in the TV spot for the film The Gunman.
- A version of the song was used as an entrance theme in 2000 for the WWF (now WWE) wrestler The Undertaker while he was using his "American Bad Ass" gimmick. The song would be replaced by Limp Bizkit's "Rollin".
Track listing
- "American Bad Ass" (clean album version)
- "3 Sheets to the Wind" (Live)
- "Cowboy" (Live)
Charts
Chart (2000-2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Rock (RPM) | 24 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[5] | 26 |
Ireland (IRMA) | 30 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[6] | 81 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 25 |
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 20 |
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 33 |
Parody
In 2001, the American glam metal band Tuff made a parody of this song, named "American Hair Band".
References
- Hill, Stephen (July 4, 2017). "The Top 40 nu-metal songs of all time". Metal Hammer. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- "MuchMusic Countdown - Fri, Jun 30, 2000". MuchMusic. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- rollingstone.com "Kid Rock Show to Honor USS Cole"
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Kid Rock – American Bad Ass". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- "Swisscharts.com – Kid Rock – American Bad Ass". Swiss Singles Chart.