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

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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 sol ...

. 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 syst ...

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

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

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 in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

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

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. 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 print publications of MLive Media Group. It is sold for $1.50 daily and $7.99 on Sunday. AccuWeather provides weather content to the '' ...

'', 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 an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Critical reception

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

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

populism rarely seen in any genre of pop since country music's response to the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

." ''

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 ...

'' critic Jeffrey B. Remz considered the song "ultra-timely" and said that Rich "gets his message across with a lot of twang." Jim Malec, 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

, 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. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming such as television series and Television film, made-for-TV movies—some of whi ...

. The video stars

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

and

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. ( ; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former professional Boxing, boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading actor, leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In a Mickey Rourke filmogra ...

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, U.S., headed by Robert Deaton. The company has between 10 and 50 employees. Overview The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III ...

Chart performance

On the chart week of February 14, 2009, "Shuttin' Detroit Down" debuted at number 34 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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