Kid Rock viewed new album like a contract-year pitcher

Kid Rock says he viewed making his new album, First Kis, the same way a baseball player views the final year of his contract.

"It's my last contracted record with Warner Music Group — not my last one, but last contracted," he told a group of about 100 people Thursday in Nashville. "I don't know what the future holds, but I wanted to do the best I could do on this one and really put everything I had into it."

First Kiss is set for a Feb. 24 release and will be preceded by the title track as a single. Rock recorded most of First Kiss at his Detroit studio, except for two tunes cut with Nashville producer Dann Huff.

Rock held a listening party at Nashville's Fontanel Mansion, the former home of country singer Barbara Mandrell. Attendees includes Lisa Marie Presley; John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny Cash; Nancy Jones, George Jones' widow; Lorrie Morgan; and Jesse Whitley, Morgan's son with the late country singer Keith Whitley.

Introducing a song called Johnny Cash, Rock said, "It's not really about him but kind of about Kentucky. It's more about love. And it's got a great Keith Whitley namecheck in it — 'I like the way you turn me on, just like an old Keith Whitley song.'" Another song references Hank Williams Jr. and is called Jesus and Bocephus.

Rock also played two different songs based on the same melody, one with lyrics written by Bob Seger. Rock says Seger insisted on rewriting the song after hearing Rock's version, called (Expletive) Off and Die,and even offered not to take any publishing.

"I'm like, 'If you rewrite it and I record it, I would like your name next to mine as a songwriter, so you're getting your publishing,'" Rock said. The song with Seger's lyrics is called Say Goodbye.

The album's final track, Rock said, is Best of Me, a song he performed at George Jones' funeral last year. "We kind of did it as an old Memphis soul thing," he said.