Southern rock is a sub-genre that has gained appeal beyond the states where it originated. It might have had niche roots, but it became influential in every corner of the U.S. and even overseas. This hybrid sound is the best of both rock and country, melding the two ideas into one jam-packed sub-genre. Below, revisit three of Southern rock’s best intros. These opening riffs couldn’t be mistaken for any other song.
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“Sweet Home Alabama” — Lynyrd Skynyrd
The intro to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” hits like a jolt of lightning. This is one of the most instantly recognizable Southern rock songs in history. The simple guitar riff that sets this song up is shiver-inducing and endlessly iconic.
This riff acts as the backbone of this southern rock staple, becoming as much of a presence as the band itself. Many budding rockers try to play this song when they first start, making it one of the genre’s building blocks. So, not only is this song indelible to southern rock, it’s a mammoth figure in music as a whole.
“Hold On Loosely” — 38 Special
38 Special’s “Hold On Loosely” has a similarly iconic guitar riff intro. Though it’s not as iconic as “Sweet Home Alabama” in the general public’s eyes, it’s still paramount to southern rock.
The riff started it all for this song. According to the band, once they had the guitar intro settled, the rest just fell into place. “[Jeff Carlisi] plays the riff, and I start singing: ‘You see it all around you, good loving gone bad,’” Survivor’s Jim Peterik—one of 38 Special’s main songwriters—once said. “It just started coming. I turned on the tape recorder and said, ‘Guys, I think we have something here.’ We got the song’s stem in the next two days, then I fine-tuned it over the next two or three weeks. I flew down to Jacksonville, where the band was rehearsing, and basically worked out the song with them down there.”
Songfacts: Hold on Loosely | .38 Special
.38 Special had released two albums and were about to issue a third when they got a rough mix of a song by the band Survivor called “Rockin’ into the Night,” which became their first hit when it was tacked on to that third album. That song was written by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan of Survivor. After it became a hit, John Kalodner, who signed Aerosmith, Genesis, Survivor and .38 Special, had Peterik write some songs for .38 Special in addition to his work with Survivor. In our 2004 interview with Peterik, he explained: “That was a major moment for me. It was my first foray into co-writing. Kalodner said, ‘You did great with ‘Rockin’ into the Night,’ I want to put you together with Don Barnes and Jeff Carlisi of .38 to see what you can do.’ That first night, Jeff and Don are at my house in La Grange, Illinois and we’re sitting around the kitchen table. Writing sessions are always like blind dates: It’s like making love without the foreplay. Suddenly you’re sitting there face to face, and you’re thinking, ‘OK, what do we do now? Am I going to embarrass myself? What if my ideas suck?’ So we’re sitting there nervously, just making small talk, and all of the sudden Jeff says, ‘I’ve got this lick,’ and he starts with the opening lick of what became ‘Hold on Loosely.’ I go, ‘That’s really neat,’ and Don says, ‘I’ve got this title – ‘Hold On Loosely,” and I go, ‘Yeah, but don’t let go.’ My wife of 32 years now, this is what broke us apart when we were teenagers – I was getting too close. I was getting too serious for her. She didn’t say, ‘Hold on Loosely,’ but that’s what was in her heart. So when Don said ‘Hold on Loosely,’ I immediately knew what he was talking about. He wasn’t even talking about that exactly, he told me later, he just thought it was a cool title. I immediately saw a story, and it was really my own story. I said, ‘Jeff, play that riff.’ He plays the riff, and I start singing: ‘You see it all around you, good loving gone bad.’ It just started coming. I turned on the tape recorder and said, ‘Guys, I think we have something here.’ We got the stalk of the song in the next two days, then I fine-tuned it in the next two or three weeks. I flew down to Jacksonville where the band was rehearsing and basically worked out the song with them down there.”
“Ramblin’ Man” — The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band’s “Ramblin’ Man” is softer than the previous songs on this list, but that doesn’t mean it rocks any less. The acoustic riff is rough and tumble despite the instrument’s limitations. It hits the listener right in the heart, tickling their nostalgia.
Dickey Betts was the mastermind behind this iconic guitar intro, paying homage to Duane Allman, who passed away a few years earlier.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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