Matthew Shafer (born November 9 1974, Mount Clemens, Michigan), better known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American rock, country, and rap rock musician, most popularly known for his hit singles "Follow Me" and "Drift Away". His career was more rap rock-based at the start of his career before turning in a more country & Top 40 style music direction on later releases. He has recorded three studio albums, and a fourth is scheduled for release sometime in 2008.

Biography

Early years

Shafer was raised in the city of Harrison Township, Michigan. In 1987, with his brother Mike Shafer, he visited a nightclub in Clawson, Michigan where a turntables competition was occurring. His older brother was competing against a then-unknown musician, Kid Rock. Shafer then spent a lot of time with Kid Rock, and they became "best friends". In those times, he was mainly rapping. He is also known to have gone to L'Anse Creuse high school not the same high school, but in the the same county as Eminem.^[1]. In 1994, Kid Rock asked Shafer to play turntables for his band called Twisted Brown Trucker. Shafer knew nothing of using turntables, because his brother was the experienced DJ, but still he agreed. He only performed at live shows at the time, until be began recording for Rock's album, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp; Shafer was a featured vocalist on some of the tracks. He then began working on a solo album, but he continued being the DJ for Kid Rock. Upon the release of Rock's multi-platinum album, Devil Without a Cause, Shafer decided that it was time to release his first solo album, Double Wide, adopting the stage name Uncle Kracker.

Double Wide

Double Wide was Uncle Kracker's first solo album. Released on June 30, 2001, it peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 album chart and is Shafer's most successful and highest-selling album. The first single taken off the album was "Follow Me", which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 2001. The album spent the next ten months on the Billboard 200, and "Follow Me" also had a long chart run. His second single, "Yeah Yeah Yeah", failed to hit the Hot 100 chart. Double Wide was certified 2x Platinum on November 29, 2001. ^[2] After this success, Shafer began to work on his second solo album.

No Stranger to Shame

After a great deal of touring to promote the first album, he began to work on a follow-up album. Entitled No Stranger to Shame, it was released on August 27, 2002. The album only reached #43 on the Billboard albums chart, but a hit single was released, a cover version of Dobie Gray's 1973 Top 5 hit, "Drift Away". Shafer's version of this song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it set a record for most weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, remaining atop this chart for 22 weeks. Other singles released from No Stranger to Shame include "In A Little While", which peaked at #59 on the Hot 100 and #26 on the Adult Contemporary charts. A third single was released, "Memphis Soul Song", but charted only on the Adult Top 40 at #35. The album was certified gold by the RIAA within a year of its release. Soon after this period, Shafer became good friends with country music star Kenny Chesney and toured for a few months with him.

Seventy Two and Sunny

After touring, Shafer began working on a third album which he called Seventy Two and Sunny. He had completely abandoned all rap from it, and moved onto a pure country sound. This may have been due to the fact that his most popular songs were all country hits, or because he began a great friendship with Kenny Chesney. The album featured only one single, "Rescue", which didn't chart at all on any charts whatsoever. Shafer did have some success that year though when he was featured on Chesney's track, "When the Sun Goes Down", which peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and went on to achieve Gold status. To date, Seventy Two and Sunny has sold about 200,000 copies. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.

The future

Shafer has been planning to release a fourth solo album for about two years, but the release date has been pushed back repeatedly, in part due to allegations of sexual assault charges. ^[3] The album's tentative title is Happy Hour, and the release date is expected to be in September of 2008. ^[4] There have been nine confirmed tracks, two of which feature members from Boys II Men, which may suggest a slight alteration of his rock-country style. A first single has yet to be confirmed.

Discography

Albums

• 2000: Double Wide
• 2002: No Stranger to Shame
• 2004: Seventy Two and Sunny
• 2008: Happy Hour (tentative)

Singles

Other appearances

• Uncle Kracker appeared on the Osmosis Jones soundtrack with the song "Break U Off".
• Uncle Kracker also appeared on Kenny Chesney's hit "When The Sun Goes Down".
• The song "Yeah Yeah Yeah" appeared at the end of Shanghai Noon.
• Uncle Kracker also appeared on the Scooby Doo soundtrack with the song "Freaks Come Out at Night".
• Uncle Kracker also appeared on the Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit soundtrack with "Keep it Comin"

References

Related Links

• The Official Website
• The Official MySpace
• Uncle Kracker at Rolling Stone

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