"All Summer Long" was a number-one hit in Australia and six countries across Europe, including the United Kingdom. In the United States, it crossed over to country radio, giving Kid Rock his first top-10 country hit. Kid Rock performed the song at the 2009 Grammy Awards and at WrestleMania 25, both in medleys. He also promoted the song in Europe performing at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the World Music Awards. The song led to the TV special VH-1 Storytellers in November 2008.
Composition
The song, musically, is a mashup of Bob Seger's "Night Moves", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London".[3] This composition originated from a beat developed by Violent J of Insane Clown Posse while working with Mike E. Clark, a mutual collaborator of Kid Rock's, who sampled Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and had put the tape aside for an Insane Clown Posse song,[4] which would be released to that year's Gathering of the Juggalos. However, Clark decided to play Violent J's beat for Kid Rock, who was unimpressed by the track, even though Clark loved it.[5] Later, Kid Rock insisted that Clark play the track again, and Kid Rock later came up with the idea to do a mashup of "Werewolves of London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and add a new melody, resulting in the new composition "All Summer Long".[5][6]
"All Summer Long" was Kid Rock's fourth song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his third top-40 hit on the Hot 100 and the biggest solo hit of his career.[8] It reached number 23 on the Hot 100 based solely on airplay, since Kid Rock had not made his catalog available for legal digital download at the time (therefore, the song received no digital sales). It also became a pop crossover hit, reaching the top 10 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.[9] "All Summer Long" has also reached the top 10 on Billboard's Adult Top 40.[10]
The song was Kid Rock's third entry on the BillboardHot Country Songs chart, after "Picture" and "Single Father" in 2003, reaching number four to become his first top-20 and top-10 single on that chart.[11] It was a moderate hit on American rock radio, peaking at number 17 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 38 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.[12][13] The song has sold 943,000 copies in the US as of April 2016.[14]
"All Summer Long" is Kid Rock's first international hit as well. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked atop the UK Singles Chart on the week of August 2, 2008, which was its only week at number one.[15] In the rest of Europe, the song was available as a physical and digital release and topped the charts of Ireland,[16] Austria,[17] Germany,[18] the Netherlands,[19] and Switzerland.[20] It reached the top five in Flanders,[21] Norway,[22] and Sweden.[23] In addition, it topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart for four weeks, ending 2008 as Europe's eighth-most-successful single.[24][25] In Australia, the song was his first top-10 hit and number-one single,[26] while in New Zealand, the song peaked at number three.[27]
Music video
The music video for the song was shot in Nashville, Tennessee, and features Kid Rock driving a Grand Craft Grand Sport[28] boat out on the Old Hickory Lake,[29] while two teenagers are shown enacting the song's lyrics, taking place in the implied year of 1989 as mentioned in the first verse. Kid Rock is also shown partying with girls or women on a different boat, and singing the song on a platform on the lake during night time. The platform, float & lights are a homage to the "Playboy girls" scene in the film Apocalypse Now.[citation needed] As the video ends, the small boat Kid Rock is driving can be seen with the word "cowboy" on the back.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
A recording of the song was released digitally by Hit Masters, a karaoke company whose version was made available in the iTunes Store in North America. Due to Kid Rock's decision to withhold his music from the iTunes market,[78] sales from the karaoke version eventually caused it to overtake Kid Rock's original on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States peaking at number 19. This version also peaked at number 28 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital downloads. As Rock's version remained in the top 30 based on radio airplay alone, Hit Masters jumped into the top 20 due to its sales strength.[79][80] However, the radio success of "All Summer Long" propelled Rock N Roll Jesus back up to number two on the Billboard 200, nearly a year after its release.[81]
Another recording of the song by karaoke band the Rock Heroes was released on iTunes for digital downloads in North America in September 2008. In the U.S. it debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then rose to number 29 the next week, and also in Canada it debuted at number 16 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital downloads.
^"Music Upfront: June 30". Music Week. June 21, 2008. p. 21.
^Masterton, James (July 13, 2008). "Week Ending July 19th 2008". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved March 1, 2023. Physical release this week should send this memorable hit skyrocketing even further.
