"Shuttin' Detroit Down" | ||||
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Single by John Rich | ||||
from the album Son of a Preacher Man | ||||
Released | January 28, 2009 [1] | |||
Recorded | January 2009 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 4:01 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Anderson John Rich [2] | |||
Producer(s) | John Rich | |||
John Rich singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Shuttin' Detroit Down" at CMT.com |
"Shuttin' Detroit Down" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer John Rich, one half of the duo Big & Rich. The song addresses the issue of the government bailouts of financial institutions, and has received heavy rotation on Michigan radio stations, as well as others around the country. Rich recorded and released the song in January 2009, and it appears on his second solo album, Son of a Preacher Man . The album was released on March 24, 2009 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville, the same label to which Big & Rich is signed.
"Shuttin' Detroit Down" is a song which addresses the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2009, with a focus on the bailouts of financial institutions. [3] Rich wrote the song in one hour along with country singer John Anderson, after watching the news. [1] [4] Anderson also recorded it on his 2009 album Bigger Hands . [5]
Rich promoted the song at several radio stations in the state of Michigan, including WBCT in Grand Rapids, and both WDTW-FM, who no longer carries a country format, and WYCD in Detroit. According to the Grand Rapids Press , WDTW put the song into hourly rotation after its release and used it as its last song under its country format, [1] and both Detroit country stations received several requests for the song upon its release. [4] According to personnel at WYCD and WBCT, the song has been the subject of several phone calls and e-mails. [3] A video of him performing the song at a New Jersey radio station has received more than 450,000 hits on YouTube.
The song has received mixed reception from the media. Jon Caramanica, writing for the New York Times , said that the song "reflects not only Mr. Rich's songwriting gifts[…] but also his acumen in gauging and channeling the mood of the country, aggressively striking a note of conservative populism rarely seen in any genre of pop since country music's response to the 9/11." [6] Country Standard Time critic Jeffrey B. Remz considered the song "ultra-timely" and said that Rich "gets his message across with a lot of twang." [7]
Jim Malec, reviewing it for The 9513, gave it a "thumbs down" rating. He criticized the lyric for "spend[ing] most of its time attacking bankers" and otherwise being unsubstantial. He called Rich's voice "serviceable" and said that the melody and production were "engaging." [8] [9] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in his review of Son of a Preacher Man, said that the lyrics were the "lowest common denominator, pandering to an audience he's already won." [10]
A music video was issued for "Shuttin' Detroit Down," and it has aired on CMT and Great American Country. The video stars Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Rourke as workers at an automobile assembly plant affected by layoffs. The video was directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions.
On the chart week of February 14, 2009, "Shuttin' Detroit Down" debuted at number 34 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The song spent twelve weeks on that chart and peaked at number 12.
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [11] | 95 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 12 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 75 |
WYCD is a commercial radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It broadcasts a country music format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. WYCD's offices and studios are on American Drive in Southfield, Michigan.
John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar, co-writing his inaugural #1 hit song called "Come Cryin' to Me" and sharing lead vocal duties with Richie McDonald. Departing from Lonestar in 1998, he ventured into a solo career under BNA Records in the late 1990s, where he released two singles and recorded Underneath the Same Moon, which was delayed until 2006. In 2001, he singlehandedly released Rescue Me, an album inspired by a cancer patient named Katie Darnell. By 2003, he teamed up with Big Kenny to establish the duo Big & Rich, achieving success with three albums under Warner Bros. Records as well as ten singles, notably chart topper "Lost in This Moment". After Big & Rich went on hiatus in 2007, Rich began work on a third solo album, Son of a Preacher Man, yielding two more chart singles including the Top Ten hit song "Shuttin' Detroit Down." In 2011, he released two extended plays, Rich Rocks and For the Kids, before re-vitalizing Big & Rich in 2012. They launched Big and Rich Records in 2014, experiencing considerable success with big hits like "Look At You", "Loving Lately", and "Run Away with You."
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