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| Ten Thousand Motels |
'Sweet Home' Country Owes Debt to Rock
By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press Writer
Friday, June 3, 2005
Southern rock died as a distinct genre in the 1980s, but the raw, scruffy spirit of the music made by groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers is alive and well in contemporary country.
Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson and Shooter Jennings echo Southern rock's 1970s heyday. Brothers Johnny and Donnie Van Zant — of the groups Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special, respectively — have a hit country album that's close to their rock roots. Even pop-leaning country stars Tim McGraw and Keith Urban have paid homage to the music.
"So much of country music is derived from that scene," said Brian Philips, general manager of Country Music Television, which is airing a 90-minute documentary, "American Revolutions: Southern Rock," Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT. (It'll re-air throughout the month.)
"People are still borrowing phrases and licks and ideas all these years later. All of our stars pay their dues working in clubs where you played `Sweet Home Alabama,' `Ramblin' Man' and `Gimme Three Steps' every night," Philips said.
The CMT documentary includes interviews and rare footage, such as Duane Allman, then a young session guitarist, recording the Beatles'"Hey Jude" with soul singer Wilson Pickett in Muscle Shoals, Ala. — a watershed that some consider the start of Southern rock.
The genre drew from the heavy blues-rock bands of the period as well as from honky tonk and Bakersfield, Calif., country, according to the online music reference allmusic.com.
Songs such as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and the Charlie Daniels Band's "The South's Gonna Do It Again" were strong, even defiant, expressions of regional pride, while the Allman Brothers'"Blue Sky" and "Ramblin' Man" were country-flavored tunes with rural imagery and soaring guitar solos.
"I had never seen Southern rock as a genre of music. The genre was the people playing the music," Charlie Daniels said. "It was people raised the same way who came up in the same social, religious and social situation playing music."
For some fans, Southern rock was a source of pride in the wake of civil rights unrest.
"A lot of Southern kids were almost feeling a little ashamed of the region and its intolerance," said Jay Orr, a historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. "Kids who were looking to find a new way saw Southern rock as a way to be proud of who you were."
While Lynyrd Skynyrd performed in front of a huge Confederate battle flag, they also played benefits for the presidential campaign of then-Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, who was progressive on race relations. The Allman Brothers — an integrated band with one, and at times two, black members — also supported Carter.
The groups played hard and lived hard. The Allman Brothers broke up in acrimony amid federal drug charges in 1976; a year later Lynyrd Skynyrd lost three members in a plane crash, including lead singer and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant. Both bands later reformed and continue today.
Besides the Allmans and Skynyrd, others found success, though often with a more polished sound. Daniels, the Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top, the Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, 38 Special and the Atlanta Rhythm Section all filled arenas in and out of the South.
But by the mid-1980s musical tastes and radio formats had changed and the genre all but disappeared.
"Album-oriented rock kind of went away as a big format," Daniels said. "I don't think you'd hear (Bob) Dylan today outside of college or alternative stations, and it's a shame because it would be a big loss."
The kinship between country and Southern rock goes way back. Mavericks such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams Jr. shared some of the same audience. Nelson even inducted the Allmans into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. More recently, alt-country artists such as Lucinda Williams have blended bluesy rock music with country songcraft.
But the current crop of gritty country songs stands out because they're on mainstream radio and follow a long period of polished, pop-oriented music. Wilson mentions both Skynyrd and Daniels in her smash "Redneck Woman," a defiant anthem of redneck pride in the vein of Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Daniels'"Long Haired Country Boy." Montgomery Gentry's hits "Gone" and "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" are guitar rockers reminiscent of Skynyrd and 38 Special. Shooter Jennings' new album "Put the O Back in Country" is loose and raw with frank lyrics about pot smoking and life on the road.
"Look at Montgomery Gentry. If those boys came out in the 70s, they'd be Southern rock. Look at Gretchen Wilson. If she came out in the '70s she'd be the queen of Southern rock," Johnny Van Zant said.
Orr believes the Southern rock thread in contemporary country is part of an overall trend that's blurred the line between country and rock and brought huge success to artists like Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and McGraw.
For Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Southern rock showed the possibilities of country music. He says he mimics Ronnie Van Zant's stage moves in his own act.
"They were really singing country music with rock 'n' roll guitars," Montgomery said. "It was music that was raw and in your face. It was the good, the bad and the ugly and the party on the weekend. ... It wasn't `We're going to grandma's on Sunday.' It was `We're going to grandma's on Sunday after blowing it out on Saturday night.'"
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
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| Jumping Jack |
Thanks for the notice. I really enjoy the Crossroads series. |
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| padre |
I really really dig southern rock. Damn that I won't see the prorgam!
Does anybody who sees the documentary have a chance of recording it on dvd? |
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| Martha |
quote:
padre wrote:
I really really dig southern rock. Damn that I won't see the prorgam!
Does anybody who sees the documentary have a chance of recording it on dvd?
Yes indeed, once I record it it goes onto a dvd and I can get you a copy then if you can stand to wait a bit. :-) |
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| padre |
Excellent! Thank you very much, Martha. I'll start holding my breath-------NOW! |
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| mac_daddy |
i didnt see this either...
but i saw nasty habits mention (on another board discussing this same topic) that if you dig southern rock, you should check the Drive-By Truckers...
he is absolutely correct!
see' em live for the full experience, but their albums are solid, too. in fact, last year's release "the dirty south" was one of my three favorite releases of the year (the watt and lanegan band albums being the others, nether of which have anything to do with southern rock)...
(edited for spelling)
[Edited by mac_daddy] |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
mac_daddy wrote:
i didnt see this either...
but i saw nasty habits mention (on another board discussing this same topic) that if you dig southern rock, you should check the Drive-By Truckers...
he is absolutely correct!
see' em live for the full experience, but their albums are solid, too. in fact, last year's release "the dirty south" was one of my three favorite releases of the year (the watt and lanegan band albums being the others, nether of which have anything to do with southern rock)...
I just can't get into them. Seen 'em live once, granted, they were the opening act. Been listening to some of their boots but this Yankee just doesn't get it. |
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| mac_daddy |
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
I just can't get into them. Seen 'em live once, granted, they were the opening act. Been listening to some of their boots but this Yankee just doesn't get it.
that's surprising. give 'em one more chance when they blow through town - a showcase of their 3+ hour guitar onslaught might change your mind...
i have alot of friends who have taped these guys with awesome gear, and would be happy to hook ya up with some stellar sounding recordings of these cats live...
edit:
also, go check MOFRO - i dig them, too, and i have seen them blow the other bands off the stage, from their opening slot 
[Edited by mac_daddy] |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
mac_daddy wrote:
that's surprising. give 'em one more chance when they blow through town - a showcase of their 3+ hour guitar onslaught might change your mind...
i have alot of friends who have taped these guys with awesome gear, and would be happy to hook ya up with some stellar sounding recordings of these cats live...
edit:
also, go check MOFRO - i dig them, too, and i have seen them blow the other bands off the stage, from their opening slot
alright, I'll see if I can catch them live again. they were at the American Music Fest last summer but I opted to catch Dave Alvin who was playing in the tent at the same time.
MOFRO, that's a new one to me. they look like the Truckers, suprised the Hank III hellbillies don't talk about them. |
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| padre |
For some reason The Drive-by Truckers won't do it to me either. I've listened the clips from their webpages, seen a couple of tv performances but something's missing. I've read articles about 'em and based to that I should dig them, but something's wrong...Maybe it's a whole different thing live. Maybe I'll give them another shot. What's their best album? |
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| Martha |
quote:
padre wrote:
Excellent! Thank you very much, Martha. I'll start holding my breath-------NOW!
No passing out on me Padre! I can't have that on my conscience. |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
padre wrote:
For some reason The Drive-by Truckers won't do it to me either. I've listened the clips from their webpages, seen a couple of tv performances but something's missing. I've read articles about 'em and based to that I should dig them, but something's wrong...Maybe it's a whole different thing live. Maybe I'll give them another shot. What's their best album?
Not enough soul, not enough groove in the rhythm section maybe? Still trying to figure it out. |
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| mac_daddy |
have you heard any of the dbt stuff live - there are a ton of sources floating around -> link
check mofro out, too -> link |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
mac_daddy wrote:
have you heard any of the dbt stuff live - there are a ton of sources floating around -> link
check mofro out, too -> link
TY mac, I've got several DBT shows, I'll check Mofro out. |
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| Bloozehound |
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
I just can't get into them. Seen 'em live once, granted, they were the opening act. Been listening to some of their boots but this Yankee just doesn't get it.
yep!
I d/l'd a few of them DBT's live boots off the eztree a while back and they didn't grab me either but I did watch this cmt documentary and it was great, especially liked all that old Allman bros footage, always been a big fan of Duane and Dicky
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| padre |
quote:
Martha wrote:
No passing out on me Padre! I can't have that on my conscience.
Help me, Martha. I'm getting a bit dizzy....Can't hold my breath much longer....must...wait...a....bit.......more..... |
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| Martha |
quote:
padre wrote:
Help me, Martha. I'm getting a bit dizzy....Can't hold my breath much longer....must...wait...a....bit.......more.....
Hold on darlin' I'm in Greensboro NC right now. We came in to see Bob and Willie play the ballpark last night.
I've got your show taped and will hopefully get it completed this week. Take a breath and hang on! All times are on our sides! |
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