Rock music's origins lie mostly in the music of southerners, and many stars from the first wave of 1950s rock and roll such as Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis hailed from the Deep South. However, the British Invasion and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the middle 1960s shifted the focus of new rock music away from the rural south and to large cities like Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
Southern rock also had roots in the sound of psychedelic rock bands like Shiva's Headband and Josefus.
Texan blues rocker Janis Joplin was very successful both with Big Brother and the Holding Company and in her solo career.
The Allman Brothers Band, formed in Jacksonville, Florida, made their national début in 1969 and soon gained a loyal following. Their blues-rock sound on one hand incorporated long jams informed by jazz and classical music, and on the other hand drew from native elements of country and folk. In early 1970 southern rock suffered the deaths of Canned Heat leader, slide guitarist, singer/songwriter and harmonica player Alan Wilson on September 3, 1970 and Allman Brothers slide guitarist and leader Duane Allman in 1971 however his death did not prevent them from gaining popularity for the next several years, until internal tensions broke them apart after 1976. Because a certain type of blues music, and essentially, rock and roll, was invented in the South, Gregg Allman has commented that "Southern rock" is a redundant term; it's like saying "rock rock". Canned Heat also continued without Wilson but by the mid and late 70's the disco era had taken over and left them playing small clubs with a lousy amount of pay (compared to the large arenas they were used to playing).
In the 50s and 60s, Southern Rock was more a description of an artist's birthplace than a definitive musical style. Artists like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard were identified by their Southern roots, although their musical themes were somewhat broader than the region.
In the late 60s, groups like Creedence Clearwater Revival (California) and The Band (Canada) began achieving some success with a musical style and lyric flavor that evolved into the Southern Rock genre that flourished over the next couple of decades.
In the late 1960s, traditionalists such as Canned Heat (from Los Angeles), Creedence Clearwater Revival (from Northern California), and The Band (Canadian, though drummer Levon Helm is a native Arkansan) revived interest in the roots of rock.
The Allman Brothers were signed to Capricorn Records, a small Macon label formed and headed by Phil Walden (former manager of Otis Redding) and partner Frank Fenter, former European Managing Director of Atlantic Records. Similar acts recorded on Capricorn included the Marshall Tucker Band from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Wet Willie from Alabama, Grinderswitch from Georgia (and composed of Allman Brothers' roadies) and the Elvin Bishop Band from Oklahoma.
Loosely associated with the first wave of Southern rock were acts like Barefoot Jerry from Tennessee and the Charlie Daniels Band from Tennessee. Charlie Daniels, a big-bearded fiddler with a knack for novelty songs, gave Southern rock its self-identifying anthem with his 1975 hit, "The South's Gonna Do It", whose lyrics mentioned all of the above bands, proclaiming: "Be proud you're a rebel / 'Cause the South's gonna do it again." A year earlier, Daniels had started the Volunteer Jam, an annual Southern rock-themed concert held in Tennessee. The Winters Brothers Band from Franklin, Tenn. was a band Charlie Daniels helped to get started with "Sang Her Love Songs", "Smokey Mountain Log Cabin Jones", and more. They still perform and hold an annual festival in Nolensville, Tennessee every year.
In the early 1970s, another wave of hard rock Southern groups emerged. Their music emphasized boogie rhythms and fast guitar leads more aligned with hard rock and heavy metal, along with lyrics concerning the values, aspirations - and excesses - of Southern working-class young adults, not unlike the outlaw country movement. Lynyrd Skynyrd of Jacksonville, Florida dominated this genre until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash. After this tragic plane crash, members Allen Collins and Gary Rossington started The Rossington-Collins Band. Groups such as Ozark Mountain Daredevils, ZZ Top, .38 Special, Confederate Railroad, Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Thunderhead, Point Blank, Black Oak Arkansas, Edgar Winter Group, and The Marshall Tucker Band also thrived in this genre.
The Allman Brothers Southern feel came more from the temperament of its music ("Hot 'Lanta", "Little Martha", interpolations of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken") than any explicit cultural identification. The Allman Brothers, and other Capricorn artists had also played a part in Jimmy Carter's campaign for the presidency; Carter claimed to be a fan of the Allman Brothers. Even within the Skynyrd branch of Southern rock, the appearance of Molly Hatchet on the dance-oriented show Solid Gold hinted at the wider level of popularity Southern rock had achieved.
Not all Southern rock artists fit into the above molds. The Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Amazing Rhythm Aces were more focused on vocal harmonies, Louisiana's Le Roux ranged from Cajun-flavored Southern boogie early on to a more arena rock sound later on, while the Dixie Dregs and Allman Brothers' offshoot Sea Level explored jazz fusion.
Southern rock gained popularity far beyond the American south. The subgenre influenced groups as far flung as Australia's AC/DC, whose original vocalist, Bon Scott, was known to wear rebel flag belt buckles at concerts.
In the 70s, Southern Rock, as exemplified by the likes of The Allman Brothers Band (Georgia), the Marshall Tucker Band (South Carolina), the Charlie Daniels Band (Tennessee), and Lynyrd Skynrd (Florida) emerged with a musical style marked by hard rock guitar, boogie rhythms, and lyrics about the cultural and historical heritage of the South. Groups like the Doobie Brothers often combined Southern Rock with Heavy Metal, though one of that group's biggest hits, "Black Water", has a typical Southern Rock lyric theme.
Through the 80s, Southern Rock grew well outside its original geographical boundaries, as evidenced by successful practitioners like AC/DC (Australia) and Def Leppard (Britain). Groups like ZZ Top (Texas) introduced synthesizers to their traditional instrumental mix, and used music videos effectively to maintain their popularity.
However, by the beginning of the 1980s, with the death of Canned Heat singer Bob Hite in 1981, Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd both broken, Capricorn Records in bankruptcy, and Jimmy Carter out of office, much of Southern rock had become thoroughly enmeshed into corporate arena rock. With the rise of MTV, New Wave, and glam metal, most surviving Southern rock groups were relegated to secondary or regional venues. Bands such as Better Than Ezra, Drivin N Cryin, Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock, Kentucky Headhunters and Third Day emerged as popular southern bands across the Southeastern United States during the 1980s and 1990s. One notable exception was The Georgia Satellites who had some widespread popularity in the mid to late 1980s.
During the 1990s, the Allman Brothers reunited and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music (although the scene also owed much to the Grateful Dead, a group that relied heavily on Southern music traditions). Incarnations of Lynyrd Skynyrd also made themselves heard. Hard rock groups with Southern rock touches such as Jackyl renewed some interest in Southern rock. Classic rock radio stations played some of the more familiar 1970s works, and Charlie Daniels's Volunteer Jam concerts were still going. Phil Walden resurrected Capricorn Records only to fall back into bankruptcy. One of the final Capricorn issues was a solo effort by former Wet Willie front man Jimmy Hall entitled Rendezvous With The Blues. With the demise of Capricorn this much sought after album fell off the shelves until a fortunate 2006 re-release with bonus tracks.
But some rock groups from the South, such as Georgia's R.E.M., The B-52's, Widespread Panic, and Black Crowes, Florida's Sister Hazel, Blind Melon's Mississippian lead guitarist, and Texas's Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Joe Ely incorporated Southern musical and lyrical themes without explicitly allying with any Southern rock movement.
The 1990s also saw the influence of Southern rock touching metal. Early in the decade several bands from the Southern United States (particularly New Orleans with its metal scene) such as Eyehategod, Acid Bath, Soilent Green, Corrosion of Conformity and Down, influenced by Melvins, mixed Black Sabbath style metal, hardcore punk and Southern rock to give shape to what would be known as sludge metal. Most notable sludge metal bands hail from the Southern United States.
In 2001, Kid Rock went from a hard metal rapper to a southern rocker/ country singer using 2001's album "Cocky" as the transformation album. His next two studio releases 2003's "Kid Rock" and 2007's "Rock N Roll Jesus" were mainly straight southern rock jams and country tinged ballads. His 2008 single "All Summer Long" (which samples Sweet Home Alabama and Werewolves Of London) became one of his biggest hits to date without it being available on iTunes. The Allman Brother's Dickey Betts joined Kid Rock as part of his Rock N Roll Revival Tour in 2008 and Lynyrd Skynyrd opened for him. In 2009 they will relaunch the tour under the same name.
In 2005, Southern rock received new exposure from an unlikely source: singer Bo Bice took an explicitly Southern rock sensibility and appearance to a runner-up finish on the massively watched but normally pop-oriented American Idol television program. Fueled by a key early performance of the Allmans' "Whipping Post" and later performing Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and, with Skynyrd on stage with him, "Sweet Home Alabama", Bice demonstrated that Southern rock still had a place in the American music pantheon. In late 2007, Bo Bice joined veteran Southern rock legends Jimmy Hall - Vocals/ Sax / Harmonica (Wet Willie Band), Henry Paul- Vocals / guitar / Mandolin (Outlaws, BlackHawk), Steve Gorman- Drums (The Black Crowes, Jimmy Page), "Dangerous" Dan Toler- Guitar (The Gregg Allman Band, The Allman Brothers, Dickey Betts & Great Southern), Reese Wynans- Keyboards (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Mike Brignardello- Bass (Giant, renowned session player), Jay Boy Adams- Guitar (Texas Blues Solo Artist) to record Brothers of the Southland celebrating Southern rock with a renewed spirit and maturity.
Southern rock currently plays on the radio, but only on oldies stations and classic rock stations. Although this class of music gets minor radio play, a group of loyal fans keeps this style of music alive by having older bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers play in venues with decent size crowds.
Post-grunge bands such as Shinedown, Saving Abel, Saliva, 3 Doors Down, 12 Stones, Default, Black Stone Cherry and Theory of a Deadman, have included a Southern rock feel to their songs and have gone as far as to cover Southern rock classics like "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone". Metallica has also covered "Tuesday's Gone" on their Garage Inc. album.
Additionally, alternative rock groups such as Drive-By Truckers, Bottle Rockets, Black Crowes, Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket, State Line Mob, The Steepwater Band and Kings of Leon combine Southern rock with rawer genres, such as garage rock, alt-country, and blues-rock.
Much of the old style Southern rock (as well as other classic rock) has made its transition into the country music genre, establishing itself along the lines of outlaw country in recent years. Bands such as Skynyrd and Daniels frequently play country music venues, and the influence of Southern rock can be heard in many of today's country artists, particularly male vocalists. Examples include solo artists Toby Keith and Jimmy Aldridge and the duo of Big & Rich.
Southern rock influence can also be seen in the metal and hardcore punk genres. This is showcased by such bands as Maylene & The Sons of Disaster, The Showdown, He Is Legend, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, The Chariot, Mastodon, Cancer Bats, A Life Once Lost, Weedeater Once Nothing, Pantera, Clutch, Dixie Witch, Hellyeah, Zakk Wylde's Pride and Glory and Memphis May Fire and the definitive tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd's drummer Artimus Pyle: Atlanta,Georgia-based band Artimus Pyledriver. These bands have helped to spawn a new sub-genre of metal, known as Southern Metal.
Several of the original early 1970s hard rock Southern rock groups are still performing in 2010. This list includes
Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchet, Outlaws, Gregg Allman, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Black Oak Arkansas, Blackfoot, .38 Special and Dickey Betts.
New groups such as:
Gator Country, Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes, Gov't Mule, Southern Rock Allstars are continuing the Southern rock art form. Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchet, Outlaws, Blackberry Smoke and The Chris Hicks Band
A number of books in the 2000s have chronicled Southern rock's rich history, including:
Randy Poe's Skydog - The Duane Allman Story, Gene Odom's Lynyrd Skynyrd: Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock and Rolling Stone writer Mark Kemp's Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race & New Beginnings in a New South.
Furthermore, the resurgence of Southern Rock has seen newer bands like The Deadstring Brothers and Whitey Morgan and the 78's combining the Southern Rock sound with Country and Blues. This has been propelled by record labels like Bloodshot Records and Lost Highway Records.
Various artists in various songs have promoted the concept that the South will "rise again." So, perhaps, will Southern Rock.
Primary Practitioners
38 Special, AC/DC, Allman Brothers, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Barefoot Jerry, Black Oak Arkansas, Blackfoot, Charlie Daniels Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Def Leppard, Dixie Dregs, Doobie Brothers, Elvin Bishop Band, Elvis Presley, Georgia Satellites
Grinderswitch, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band
Molly Hatchet, Sea Level, The Band, The Outlaws, Wet Willie, ZZ Top
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