Sweet Southern Sugar

Sweet Southern Sugar
Studio album by Kid Rock
Released	November 3, 2017
Studio	The Allen Roadhouse, Clarkston, Michigan Starstruck Studios, Nashville, Tennessee Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Southern rock country [1]
Length	43:02
Label	Broken Bow [2] Top Dog BMG
Kid Rock chronology
First Kiss (2015) Sweet Southern Sugar (2017) Bad Reputation (2022)
Singles from Sweet Southern Sugar
"Po-Dunk" Released: July 13, 2017 "Greatest Show on Earth" Released: July 13, 2017 "Tennessee Mountain Top" Released: October 19, 2017 "American Rock 'n Roll" Released: January 22, 2018

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Sweet Southern Sugar is the eleventh studio album by American recording artist Kid Rock. It was released on November 3, 2017, by Broken Bow Records, ^[2] Top Dog Records and BMG Rights Management. ^{[5] [6]} The album spawned four singles: "Po-Dunk", "Greatest Show on Earth", "Tennessee Mountain Top", and "American Rock 'n Roll", along with their music videos. ^[7] Its lead single, "Po-Dunk", peaked at number 27 on the Hot Country Songs. ^[8] "Greatest Show on Earth" peaked at number 16 on the Mainstream Rock chart ^[9] and it was used as the main theme for WWE pay-per-view Survivor Series (2017). "Tennessee Mountain Top" peaked at number 36 on the Hot Country Songs. ^[10] Sweet Southern Sugar is Kid Rock's first album since his self-titled 2003 album not to feature a title track, though the album's name comes from a lyric in "Tennessee Mountain Top". The album also features a cover of the Four Tops song "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", titled "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch". The songs "Back to the Otherside" and "Grandpa's Jam" feature a return to the rapping vocals of Rock's earlier work.

Commercial performance

Kid Rock at the White House in 2017

Sweet Southern Sugar debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 and number four on the US Billboard Top Country Albums with 43,000 album-equivalent units, with almost all of that figure (41,000) coming from pure album sales. ^[11] It has sold 184,600 copies in the United States as of April 2019. ^[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Greatest Show On Earth"	Robert James Ritchie, Tim Montana, Marlon Young, Catt Gravitt	3:59
2.	"Po-Dunk"	Robert James Ritchie, Walker Hayes, Tony Haselden, John Ozier	4:31
3.	"Tennessee Mountain Top"	Robert James Ritchie, Tim Montana, Catt Gravitt	4:34
4.	"I Wonder"	Robert James Ritchie	3:18
5.	"American Rock 'N Roll"	Robert James Ritchie, Joey Hyde, Aaron Eshuis, Neil Medley	4:35
6.	"Back To The Otherside"	Robert James Ritchie, Zane Lowe, Hamish Clark, Andy Lovegrove	4:51
7.	"Raining Whiskey" (Frankie Miller/Ralph Murphy)	Frankie Miller, Ralph Murphy	3:59
8.	"Stand The Pain"	Robert James Ritchie	4:44
9.	"Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" (Four Tops cover)	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland	4:11
10.	"Grandpa's Jam"	Robert James Ritchie, Marlon Young	4:14
Total length:			43:02

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13] 64 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [14] 15 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [15] 88 New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [16] 10 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 43 US Billboard 200 [11] 8 US Independent Albums (Billboard) [18] 1 US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [19] 4 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [20] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [21] 89 Chart (2018) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [22] 48 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [23] 63

Personnel

listed inside the booklet from the album:

Kid Rock

• Robert James Ritchie Sr. - drum programming, drums, acoustic guitar, keyboards, percussion, background vocals, B3 Organ, turntables

Additional personnel

Backing vocalists

• Herschel Boone - background vocals
• Danny Rader - background vocals
• Joey Hyde - background vocals
• Shannon Curfman - background vocals
• Aaron Eshuis - background vocals
• Stacy Michelle - background vocals
• Kristen Rogers - background vocals
• Morgan Hebert - background vocals
• Stephcynie Curry - background vocals

Drummers

• Jerry Roe
• Stefanie Eulinberg
• John “Rook” Cappelletty

Others

• Paradime - tambourine, turntables
• Jimmie Bones - piano, background vocals
• Marlon Young - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Mike E. Clark - drum programming, producer

Guitarists

• Gordy Quist - electric guitar
• Adam Shoenfeld - electric guitar
• Nathan Young - electric guitar
• Jason Krause - electric guitar
• Derek Wells - electric guitar
• Rob McNelley - electric guitar

Pianists

• Tim Lauer - piano, keyboards, mellotron, synth, Rhodes, strings (string machine)
• Justin Niebank - piano, synth
• Jim "Moose" Brown - piano, B3 Organ
• Dave Cohen - piano, B3 Organ, keyboards, synths

Bassists

• Jimmie Lee Sloas - bass guitar
• Tony Lucido - bass guitar
• Aaron Julison - bass guitar

References

1. "Kid Rock's new album: 'Sweet Southern Sugar' brings on the twang, holds the politics". amp.freep.com.
2. Thiel, Mike. "Album Spotlight: Kid Rock's 'Sweet Southern Sugar'". Taste of Country. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sweet Southern Sugar - Kid Rock". AllMusic . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
4. Hermes, Will (November 9, 2017). "Review: Kid Rock's Latest Mixes Lame Jokes With Genuine Heartland Empathy". Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 21, 2025.
5. "Sweet Southern Sugar by Kid Rock on Apple Music". iTunes . Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
6. Kennedy, Mark (November 6, 2017). "Review: Kid Rock delivers on strong 'Sweet Southern Sugar'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017.
7. "Kid Rock". YouTube . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
8. "Kid Rock Po-Dunk Chart History". Hot Country Songs . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
9. "Kid Rock Greatest Show On Earth Chart History". Mainstream Rock . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
10. "Kid Rock Tennessee Mountain Top Chart History". Hot Country Songs . Retrieved November 3, 2017.
11. Caulfield, Keith (November 12, 2017). "Sam Smith's 'The Thrill of It All' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
12. Bjorke, Matt (April 8, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums: April 8, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Kid Rock – Sweet Southern Sugar" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
14. "Kid Rock Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kid Rock – Sweet Southern Sugar" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
16. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Kid Rock – Sweet Southern Sugar". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
18. "Kid Rock Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
19. "Kid Rock Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
20. "Kid Rock Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
21. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
22. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
23. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2020.