Best classic southern rock groups

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

I just re-discovered an old fave of mine- The Outlaws "Bring It Back Alive". Remember their old hit There Goes Another Love Song? I'd forgotten all about it.

My other "Southern" fave is Molly Hatchet (from Florida, actually). Remember Gator Country? Bounty Hunter? Flirtin' With Disaster?

I'm sure there are many more fantastic Southern groups (I'm bettin' ten bucks the next poster has Lynyrd Skynyrd at the top of their list). Suggestions?

[mistertrickster]

1. Allman Bros and Marshall Tucker . . . forget Charley Daniels and

Lynard Skynard, not only are they right-wingers, they suck musically too.

I think "Tied to the Whippin' Post" is the best anti-war song that isn't about war that's ever been written. Like "Paint It Black" by the Stones.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Greg Allman is fantastic

I never stopped mourning the death of his little brother Duane. I have four Marshall Tucker cds. Charley Daniels can play a mean fiddle, but I discount him because he's basically a fat redneck tobacco farmer.

[driver8]

18. Duane Allman...

What an amazing guitar player...so sad that he died so young. I cannot even imagine the music that the Allman Bros. would have been playing if Duane had stuck around.

I know Dicky Betts was the other guitarist, but who was the other guitarist after Duane?

[mistertrickster]

20. "Devil Went Down to Georgia" is embarrasing. It is also a rip off of

"The Devil and Daniel Webster," and not a good rip off. Real country fiddling is Vachel Clements . . . that's the real deal there.

[maveric]

10. The original Skynard werent RWers.

After the crash and subsequent deaths of the other founding members, the remaining original guys found jesus and bu$h.
Ronnie Van Zandt was cool.

[jobycom]

12. Neither

Charlie Daniels nor Lynard Skynard sucked musically. Skynard defined southern rock, and everyone else you mentioned, as well as Molly Hatchet, Outlaw, 38 Special, and the rest would admit to that. Daniels lost it around the time he started singing about hats, but his early stuff was great. Politically, I'd like to see his ass kicked no matter how old he is.

[RagingInMiami]

3. Of course I'm going to say Lynyrd Skynrd

[jobycom]

5. Me, too. All others are followers. Some are great, but still followers.

[SHRED]

6. I made the mistake of seeing LS recently

Of course it is only a shell of the former band.

They waved the confederate flag and advocated violence. The music was sub-par at best. It was unadulterated "showoff" bullshit. No substance. No musicianship. Just loud rehashing of licks that are long dead, with that stupid roll on the stage floor fake enthusiasum.

:puke: :puke:

[jobycom]

16. That doesn't count. LS died in the plane crash.

What's going around now pretending to be Lynard Skynard is just a cover band with some of the former members, no matter what they call it. When they first reformed the survivors into a band, they called it the Rossington Collins Band, and no one went to see them because they sucked, so the reformed "Lynard Skynard." They still suck, but some people go see them because of the name. It's pathetic.

[donheld]

9. Am i mistaken in thinking

there was never a more republican, maybe even racist, group than lynyrd skynrd?

[jobycom]

14. Yes, very mistaken. nt.

[mistertrickster]

19. Nope, you're exactly right

"Sweet Home Alabama" was when rock and roll went from counter-culture to co-option by the "establishment."

Interestingly, it was just about this time that long hair went from being cool, radical chic, to being red-neck and Harley.

Punk and grunge tried to pump a little of the "stop the materialistic madness" spirit back into music for awhile, but alas, it didn't last . . .

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

34. Remember Neil Young's musical response to that song?

"Southern Man" was a total dig at them. The funny part is, Young's a Canadian...

[jobycom]

37. Backwards

Young's song came first, "Sweet Home Alabama" was a response. Hence the line "Heard ole Neil put us down."

Don't make Young a hero for that. He made things a lot harder in the south. "Sweet Home Alabama" is evidence. There were a lot of people in the South trying to change things, too, but when Neil Young and others kept attacking all southerners, it set things back. Many people who were trying to change just got mad, and quit trying, or rebeled, as Skynard did with that song.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

39. Yeppir, you're right.

Dyslexic I am!

[Zomby Woof]

36. We had 2 threads on this the other day

If you can find them in the recent Lounge archives, both myself and RagingInMiami refuted quite well that Skynyrd was NOT racist, republican, or against Neil Young.

Ronnie wore a Neil Young shirt on their albums, said "Neil Young is a genius" more than once, and best of all, they campaigned for Jimmy Carter in 1976, raising tens of thousands for him. They wrote an anti-racist song called "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" (same album as Sweet Home Alabama). It's amazing that 30 years later, the point of the song still needs defending.

Neil Young wrote "Powderfinger" and "Sedan Delivery" for Skynyrd to cover, but the plane crash occurred before that could happen.

Skynyrd had anti-Vietnam, anti-poverty, pro-environmental, and best of all, an anti-gun song in their repertoire.

[jobycom]

38. I think you mean

That you refuted that they were racist, not that they were NOT racist,judging by the rest of the post.

[Zomby Woof]

41. exactly

Thanks for catching that.

To clarify: We asserted and proved that they were NOT racist, Repuke, or against Neil Young.

We are in full agreement, judging by your posts. I have been a fan for over 25 years, and I am still as liberal as ever. Never saw a conflict with my views and that of "Saturday Night Special", "All I Can Do Is Write About It", and many more... :-)

[jobycom]

47. The opening notes of

Sweet Home Alabama or Free Bird have been known to bring tears to my eyes and that triple guitar lineup sounds more religious to me than any religious symbol I know of. To me they aren't just a band, they are a spiritual musical experience, and I guess you have to have grown up in the south in the 70s to get that.

And for the record, the first time I had ever heard even the concept of gun control had to be "Saturday Night Special," and having grown up in a gun culture where guns were more common than cars and gun deaths more common than any other form of death except old age, that was a revolutionary idea to me. I have no idea how much of a role that played in my becoming a liberal, against all odds where I grew up, but it wasn't a small role.

As for the idea that LS popularized long hair in the south-- BS. You could get beaten up on the streets and thrown out of just about any respectable establishment in the south at the time of "Sweet Home Alabama" for looking like that. Rather, LS was the introduction of the counter-culture into southern culture. It might look like a small step from the outside, but on the inside it was huge.

[DinahMoeHum]

60. Lynyrd Skynyrd had anti-drug songs too. . .

That Smell
The Needle and the Spoon


:bounce:

[RagingInMiami]

51. That's just a typical misconception about the band

No different than the hundreds of misconceptions about southerners in general.

[SHRED]

4. Allman Bros.

They still are #1.

Go and see them:

http://tinyurl.com/5g9j8

[Skip Intro]

7. Flirtin' w/ Disaster - many a beer to that. Blackfoot rocked too.

Train, train - take me on out of this town....

[maveric]

8. I partied with the Outlaws in Tampa, 1976.

In this little Honky Tonk where they got their start at. I cant remember the name of the place but it was on Hillsborough Ave.
They were cool guys and were amused by our Boston accents. We bought pitchers of beer for each other all night long.
Its a shame most of that band now resides in Rock n Roll Heaven.
Great guitar licks!

[6000eliot]

11. Agreed

"Green Grass and High Tides" rules! I also love "Hurry Sundown."

[NorthernSpy]

59. Green Grass and High Tides!

I love that song!

:toast:

[auburngrad82]

57. Harvey Arnold of the Outlaws lives in the Raleigh, NC area.

I worked with him when I first moved to NC. Really nice guy. Played bass with the Outlaws for a couple years during the 70s.

[driver8]

13. I saw Molly Hatchet when I was in high school...

Has got to be the loudest concert I have ever been too!

Other southern favorites:

Lynyrd Skynyrd
Outlaws
Allman Bros.
Marshall Tucker Band

[Zomby Woof]

30. yep

Molly Hatchet caused me to lose some of my hearing in my left ear. :-)

[jjmalonejr]

15. Allman Brothers Band

No one else comes CLOSE!

[tuvor]

17. Not much of a fan of "Southern Rock" but I LOVE the Kings of Leon.

Any opinions?

[Lithos]

21. There are many

Allman Brothers is tops. Guaranteed to put me in a good mood.

Others that I really like, (they all get pulled out when I'm in a Southern Rock)

Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Pure Prairie League (Aimee)
Atlanta Rhythm Section (Champagne Jam)
Little Feat (Waitin' for Columbus)
Edgar Winter

Would ZZ-Top count?

Others I remember

Black Foot
Molly Hatchet
Marshall Tucker
Wet Willie
Lynyrd Skynyrd (over played)
38 Special
Charlie Daniels Band (Not as good as he thinks he is)

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

24. Great list!

Aimee is at the top of my MP3 favorites folder, along with several others you mentioned.

I still remember the night Edgar Winter did Tobacco Road live on the old Midnight Special, many long years ago. That performance turned me on to live music more than anything else ever did!

ZZ Top is usually classifed as "Texas Rock" along with others such as Stevie Ray Vaughn. Not to say they're inferior- they've played a LOT of great music over many years! And Vaughn's death was another untimely one.

[EC]

28. Good list

Some I thought of too, knew a guy that played with Little Feat and forgot about Edger Winter

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

31. 'bout time somebody mentioned ARS

Great solos...props to Wet Willie too...PPL and whenever the subject of southern rock comes up, the first song that comes to mind is Dixie Chicken.

[Lithos]

44. Dixie Chicken

You can start a party just by putting on something by Little Feat. I'm still mad they butchered Waiting For Columbus when they originally issued it as a CD (cut out "Don't Bogart That Joint" and "Apolitical Blues"). Thankfully they came to their senses and put out a two CD version.

L-

[jobycom]

40. Glad someone else remembers Wet Willie

I wondered if you had to be from around Mobile to know them.

[Lithos]

42. They were good

My only introduction to them was a friend who would occasionally play "Dripping Wet". The only song I have though is "Keep On Smiling" which is good, but doesn't highlight the band as I remember in "Dripping Wet".

L-

[jobycom]

46. My girlfriend's older brother used to play their records

We'd go to his house and listen to Wet Willie. She didn't appreciate them, but I loved them. I kind of miss her, too.

I've got an MP3 of Keep on Smiling and Street Corner Serenade.

The lead singer went solo in the early 80s. I saw him at a concert in Mobile with Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, Leon Russel, and of all groups, Cheap Trick. The Wet Willie guy held his own. Actually, he was a lot better than CD or the AB (who were notorious for sucking in concert).

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

48. Gimme that Country Side of Life :)

[auburngrad82]

58. I love Keep on Smilin' eom

[mistertrickster]

22. Hey, don't forget THE BAND. I think they pre-date all these other

groups. And the Byrds had their country dude--what was his name, somebody White, and later Gram Parsons.

[Sufi Marmot]

23. 4/5 of the Band were actually Canadian...

...all except (if memory serves) Levon Helm, who was from Arkansas. They did kinda have that Southern gestalt going on, and being interviewed in front of a big Confederate flag during "The Last Waltz" only reinforces the perception...

-SM

[EC]

26. I think Robbie Robinson was Canadian...n/t

never mind, just saw you said "all but"

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

27. Another foreign group that sang in the "southern style" was

a band called Mississippi. They did exactly one album, and they were from Austrailia, although by listening you could never tell it. It took me many years to track down the cd after selling the LP I had.

They reformed later as a band you may have heard of-- The Little River Band.

http://www.geocities.com/soho/square/8216/mississippi.htm

[EC]

25. zz top

black oak arkansas
outlaws (waylon jennings)

[MrSlayer]

29. CCR. While not from the south they have that southern rock sound.

Fogerty's voice has always been one of my favorites to imitate. I like screaming vocalists.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

32. I think they did more mainstream stuff than "southern"

and Fogerty, after being screwed by the rest of the band, went country for a long time. He says the bitterness of them stealing his songs is gone, but I don't believe it myself.

And none of the band has ever been anywhere NEAR a bayou, btw... :evilgrin:

[The_Casual_Observer]

33. Doug Sahm - "She's about a mover". The beginning and the end

as far as I'm concerned.

[Bridget Burke]

56. Yup. He referred to the "Annals of Texas Music" in an intro....

(T-Bone Shuffle?) But he WAS the Annals of Texas Music. Country, Rock, Blues, Cajun--he could play it all.

In the terms of "classic" Southern rock, I'd go with the Allmans. One big musical regret is not hearing them live before Duane died; "Live at the Fillmore" is unbeatable.

[Zomby Woof]

35. Ronnie Van Zant hated the term 'southern rock'

He knew it was just a way for record labels to sell records. He rightfully pointed out that all of the southern groups were different, citing the Allmans, Wet Willie, and Marshall Tucker as examples.

He should rise from the grave and kick his younger brother's ass for the travesty abusing Skynyrd's name today.

Ronnnie loved Molly Hatchet too... he wanted to produce their debut album, but died before that came to pass.

He was my Elvis.


Besides Skynyrd, the Allmans, and Hatchet, I also love the ARS, OLD .38 Special (pre-1983), and pre-freeper CDB.

I liked the Rossington-Collins spinoff of Skynyrd too. Having a soulful female vocalist was a coup for the genre.

[Zomby Woof]

43. The best Molly Hatchet song

"Fall of the Peacemakers", from Danny Joe Brown's 1983 comeback album with them called 'No Guts...No Glory'. Written in tribute to MLK and Lennon, copping phrases from their speeches/songs in the lyrics. Moving and heartfelt song in defense of those working for peace, and unfortunately felled by the assassin's bullet.

Their pro-MLK song predated U2's song by a year, as I love pointing out. And U2's has a classic gaffe, putting the time of the assassination in the morning for some reason. :shrug:

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

45. Fall Of The Peacemakers

A king without a sword
A land without a king
A truth without a voice
One song left to sing
One song to sing

A wise man told me there's something you should know
The way you judge a man is to look into his soul
And you'll soon see everything.

A voice from the past cried "Give peace a chance"
He paid our price now he's free at last
Imagine, we called him a dreamer!
How many times must good men die?
How many tears will the children cry?
'Til they suffer no more sadness
Stop the madness,
Oh, stop the madness.

If ashes are ashes and dust is dust
At our journey's end then return we must
To the sands of the shore
White doves in flight
Peace to all
But tell me why the peacemakers fall
Must we bury anymore?

The hush of the crowd as the horse rode by
A black lace veil hid the tears from her eyes
And we all wept in silence
How many times must good men die?
How many times will the children cry?
'Til they suffer no more sadness
Oh, stop the madness
Oh, stop all the madness.

[livetohike]

49. Allman Brothers Band

is definitely my favorite.

[CarpeVeritas]

50. None.

yuck.

[MissMillie]

53. Agreed

Blech. Icky poo.

[LosinIt]

52. Blackfoot hands down

I have a CD of theirs for those long commutes when I need some pumping up. Train, Train .....

[DelawareValleyDem]

54. Wet Willie

[Butterflies]

55. The Allman Brothers Band

of course!