Favorite Southern Rock

CMT had a special on the other night that I caught quite called The 20 Greatest Southern Rock Songs with a lot of cool music that I grew up cruising the backroads listening to (while also cranking everything from Motley Crue to Journey). In a small southern town though, southern rock is not a staple, it's a birthright. It all over not just the radio but every party and event. In the 70s, I believe you were given a Skynyrd album when you were baptized. Seriously. It wasn't unusual for the church choir to break out into Tuesday's Gone. Alright, maybe a slight exaggeration (they actually sang Simple Man).

CMT's list was pretty cool, so I figured I'd top them with 25 songs! That's like 5 more songs! A lot of theirs made my list and some didn't. I didn't really listen to bands like The Outlaws or Amazing Rhythm Aces but stayed with what was at the time more mainstream rock like .38 Special (3 songs), Marshall Tucker Band (3 songs), The Allman Brothers (3 songs), Molly Hatchet and of course Skynyrd (7 songs). So obviously, my list leans heavily that way. I also left off more current favorites of the genre like Gov't Mule, Drive-By Truckers and North Mississippi All-Stars, chosing to go with mostly oldies.

My Top 25 (eat that CMT!) Favorite Southern Rock Songs

25. Battleship Chains - Georgia Satellites
24. Jackie Blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
23. Jessica - The Allman Brothers
22. Saturday Night Special - Lynyrd Skynyrd
21. Caught Up In You - .38 Special
20. Midnight Rider - Allman Brothers Band
19. Tuesday's Gone - Lynyrd Skynyrd
18. Fire On The Mountain - Marshall Tucker Band
17. Mississippi Queen - Mountain
16. Black Betty - Ram Jam
15. Hard To Handle - Black Crowes
14. What's Your Name - Lynyrd Skynyrd
13. Rockin' Into The Night - .38 Special
12. Heard It in a Love Song - The Marshall Tucker Band
11. Hold on Loosely - .38 Special
10. Gimme Three Steps - Lynyrd Skynyrd
9. Dixie Chicken - Little Feat
8. Keep Your Hands to Yourself - The Georgia Satellites
7. Train, Train - Blackfoot
6. Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. Flirtin' With Disaster - Molly Hatchet
4. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
3. Can't You See - The Marshall Tucker Band
2. Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band
1. Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

The influence of this stuff is still so obvious today, even with the heavy bands I like. The Deftones have a cool cover of Simple Man, Ozzy's done Mississippi Queen, and bands like Artimus Pyledriver, Black Stone Cherry, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Down all keep the spirit alive, while sandblasting your face off at high volume.

This was then:



This is now: