To use modern parlance, Southern rock slaps. It’s got force and it’s got twang. It’s got sentimentality and it’s got a rough exterior. It’s got storytelling and it’s got homespun pride. It’s got it all and the music is enough to rattle your rough and shake your soul.
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Here below, we wanted to explore three prime examples of the rock subgenre. A trio of tracks that both showcase how magnetic the music can be, but also make a case that Southern rock might be the best style of rock there is. Indeed, these are three 1970s Southern rock songs that might show its the best music out there.
[RELATED: How Jacksonville Florida Became the Mecca for Southern Rock]
“Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers from Idlewild South (1970)
This acoustic-driven man on the run song from the Jacksonville, Florida-born Southern rock band is the rebel track that goes straight to your heart. With vocals that feel like they’re sent down from some wise vigilante to music that sways like a Florida breeze, this offering is a prime example of Southern rock skill and The Allman Brothers’ appeal. But of course the band has a plethora of other hits, including “Whipping Post” and “Soulshine.” On this tune, lead vocalist Greg Allman sings,
Well, I’ve got to run to keep from hidin’
And I’m bound to keep on ridin’
And I’ve got one more silver dollar
But I’m not gonna let ’em catch me, no
Not gonna let ’em catch the midnight rider
“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd from Second Helping (1974)
This is perhaps the first song anyone thinks of when they consider the Southern rock genre. From the icons Lynyrd Skynyrd, this is a track about love of home. It’s also a response—a diss track?—to Neil Young, who criticized Southern living and ways of thinking in his song “Southern Man.” On this one, though, the Jacksonville, Florida-born band’s lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant sings about what he cherishes about the state of Alabama, belting,
Big wheels keep on turnin’
Carry me home to see my kin
Singin’ songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again, and I think it’s a sin, I said
Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard old Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don’t need him around, anyhow
“La Grange” by ZZ Top from Tres Hombres (1973)
This Texas-born rock trio were known for their long beards, sunglasses, and songs about legs and tushes. And this hit song doesn’t exactly stray from that territory. It’s about a brothel that was well known at the time in Texas—so well known there was a movie about it starring Dolly Parton. Subject matter aside, this track rocks. It’s a Texas tune done right. And on it, lead vocalist Billy Gibbons sings between killer guitar solos and buzzy chords,
Rumor spreading ’round in that Texas town
About that shack outside La Grange
And you know what I’m talking about
Just let me know if you wanna go
To that home out on the range
They gotta lotta nice girls
Have mercy
Phtoo by Clayton Call/Redferns
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