Songwriting Media Inc

Without apparently intending to do so, Uncle Kracker has made a habit out of breaking stereotypes. He served as deejay in Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker band, an unlikely place for a mellow, low-key family man. Kid Rock helped him break out into his own solo music career, out of which he charted a new course with a country and Motown-influenced pop-style debut album that earned double-platinum sales. Uncle Kracker was born Matthew Shafer in Mount Clemens, Michigan, on the outskirts of Detroit. His father, Sunny, owned a local Amoco gas station in which Shafer worked off and on until he was 21 years old. As he was growing up, his father listened to country and Motown music, and although Shafer hated it at the time, their influence showed up later in his own music.