"Shuttin' Detroit Down" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer John Rich, one half of the duo

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

. The song addresses the issue of the government

bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...

s 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 "Son of a Preacher Man" is a song written and composed by American songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield in September 1968 for the album ''Dusty in Memphis.'' Springfield's version was produ ...

''. The album was released on March 24, 2009 on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

Nashville, the same label to which Big & Rich is signed.

Content

"Shuttin' Detroit Down" is a song which addresses the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2009, with a focus on the

s of financial institutions. Rich wrote the song in one hour along with country singer John Anderson, after watching the news. Anderson also recorded it on his 2009 album '' Bigger Hands''.

Promotion

Rich promoted the song at several radio stations in the state of Michigan, including

WBCT WBCT (93.7 MHz, "B-93") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan and owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are located at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids. The station has had a country music radio ...

in Grand Rapids, and both WDTW-FM, who no longer carries a country format, and

WYCD WYCD (99.5 FM, "New Country 99-5 YCD") is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Audacy, Inc. WYCD's offices and studios are located at Audacy's Detroit facility on American Drive in Southfield, Michigan. WYCD's transmitter is located i ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. According to the ''

Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the largest of the eight Booth newspapers. It is sold for $1.50 daily and $7.99 on Sunday. AccuWeather provides weather content to the ''Grand Rapids ...

'', WDTW put the song into hourly rotation after its release and used it as its last song under its country format, and both Detroit country stations received several requests for the song upon its release. According to personnel at WYCD and WBCT, the song has been the subject of several phone calls and e-mails. A video of him performing the song at a New Jersey radio station has received more than 450,000 hits on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reception from the media. Jon Caramanica, writing for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

populism rarely seen in any genre of pop since country music's response to the 9/11." ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a ...

'' critic Jeffrey B. Remz considered the song "ultra-timely" and said that Rich "gets his message across with a lot of twang."

Jim Malec Jim Malec is an American journalist and pop music critic known for writing about country music. Malec attended State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, where he worked as an editor for the college's student newspaper and was involved in a cen ...

, reviewing it for The 9513, gave it a "thumbs down" rating. He criticized the lyric for "spend ngmost of its time attacking bankers" and otherwise being unsubstantial. He called Rich's voice "serviceable" and said that the melody and production were "engaging."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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."

Music video

A music video was issued for "Shuttin' Detroit Down," and it has aired on CMT and

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

. The video stars

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

and

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

as workers at an automobile assembly plant affected by layoffs. The video was directed by

Deaton-Flanigen Productions Deaton-Flanigen Productions is an American film company based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field ...

Chart performance

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.

References

{{Big & Rich 2009 singles 2009 songs John Rich songs Warner Records Nashville singles Political songs Songs about Detroit Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Song recordings produced by John Rich Songs written by John Anderson (musician) Songs written by John Rich Protest songs