Despite What List Says, This Isn’t The Most Famous Song About Michigan
Michigan-made music is where it's at. Michigan has produced some of the best artists in hip-hop, soul, pop and hard rock.
That said, not many of Michigan's famous artists write their songs about Michigan directly. But we'll get to popular songs about Michigan soon.
Stacker, a website partnered with this site's parent company, recently put out a list of the most famous songs about each state. Their choice for Michigan could not be more wrong, unfortunately.
They chose Eminem's Lose Yourself:
Though Eminem never mentions Michigan by name in this song, it's all about his upbringing in a Warren, Michigan trailer park and his attempt to launch his rap career. The track, which was the lead single on the soundtrack to "8 Mile," became the first rap song to ever win the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003.
They're right, Em never mentions Michigan, but that might be in large part because the song isn't about anything they mentioned in the rest of the first sentence.
Lose Yourself, just like the movie 8 Mile, is not a biography of Eminem's early days of breaking into the underground hip-hop scene in Detroit. It's about the fictional character Jimmy Smith, whose stage name is B-Rabbit.
Yes, it's loosely based on Eminem's life, but it isn't a biopic. After all, the real Slim Shady is Marshall Mathers, not this Jimmy Smith kid. Ranker lists several of the ways the movie differs from the true life of Marshall Mathers.
Eminem's Daughter Got Married in Battle Creek
So what is the most famous song about Michigan?
Hello Music Theory made a similar list earlier this year and chose Especially in Michigan by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Others think Panic In Detroit by David Bowie, All Summer Long by Kid Rock, Detroit Rock City by KISS or I Want to Go Back to Michigan by Irving Berlin are the best choices.
Of course, there's the official state song My Michigan. There's also Sufjan Stevens' album called Michigan where each track is about something in the state.
Ultimately, it's up to you. There are many songs that point out specific cities and towns in the Mitten State, many that simply mention the state or paint a picture of life in Michigan.
Songs That Mention Michigan
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