Southern Rock: The South Rises in Song
- Music History Hall
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Southern Rock
Country Music had grown out of the blues, hillbilly, and folk music. However, in the 1970s, there were a few southern rebels who weren't interested in Nashville. They wanted to do things their own way, and country music moved south and west and took on a decidedly rebellious tone.
The 1970s were a period of renewal for the American South. Bands from places like Macon, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida, and Austin, Texas were inspired by the blues and brought a rebellious attitude and hard rock sensibility to country music.
The birth of Southern Rock stemmed from the Delta Blues as young southern musicians like Duane Allman and the band Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded with the Swampers down in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and found the blues-based southern rock sound.
The South had a difficult past, and its image was badly tarnished after opposing the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and integration. The Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, had been a staunch segregationist throughout the civil rights era.
The Confederate flag made a resurgence during the 1970s and became a widely used symbol for southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. One of their songs in particular, Sweet Home Alabama, became a southern rock anthem—the lyrics defend the South, while acknowledging its bloodstained past and hope for a brighter future.
Southern Rock gave the people of the South a renewed sense of pride.
