\n<\/p>\n
Like so much rock ‘n’ roll from the earliest and most formative years, Southern rock took a little bit from here and a little bit from there.<\/p>\n
Not to be confused with its lighter-touched country rock cousin, Southern rock mixes blues, soul and country and spins it through heavy rock’s\u00a0affinity for loud guitars and improvisational spirit for a genre truly distinct in tone and style.<\/p>\n
In the below list of the\u00a0Top 35 Southern Rock Songs, as\u00a0chosen by the UCR staff, the twin pillars of the music – the Allman Brothers Band <\/a>and Lynyrd Skynyrd<\/a>\u00a0– are well-represented, checking in, in one form or another, with more than a third of the entries. But Southern rock doesn’t end with them, even if the story begins there. Records\u00a0from the ’70s through the ’00s all find a place. As the late Ronnie Van Zant famously once asked, “What song is it you wanna hear?”<\/p>\n 35. The Allman Brothers Band, “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” (From Eat a Peach<\/em>, 1972)<\/strong><\/p>\n Two months after Duane Allman<\/a> died in a 1971 motorcycle accident, his brother Gregg<\/a>\u00a0and bandmates laid down this tribute to the late guitarist. Gregg Allman had already written the music for “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” before his sibling died (the group had started recording\u00a0its third album,\u00a0Eat a Peach<\/a><\/em>, too); he then penned new lyrics for an anthem about living every day to the fullest and moving\u00a0on amid tragedy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 34. The Allman Brothers Band, “Jessica”\u00a0(From Brothers and Sisters<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n Rebounding from the deaths of guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley, the Allman Brothers Band\u00a0streamlined on their fourth album<\/a>. The result paid off with their only No. 1. Written by guitarist Dickey Betts<\/a> for his infant daughter, the instrumental\u00a0 “Jessica” (shortened by nearly half of its album length when released as the follow-up single to “Ramblin’ Man”) became a concert showcase for Betts and the Allmans.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 33. 38 Special, “Caught Up in You”\u00a0(From Special Forces<\/em>, 1982)<\/strong><\/p>\n More than any other Southern rock band, Jacksonville, Florida’s 38 Special<\/a> benefited from MTV’s introduction in 1981. Their pop hooks went a long way to getting the band’s videos in heavy rotation on the nascent music video network. “Caught Up in You,” the lead single from their fifth LP, was their first Top 10 hit and like most of the group’s other chart songs it’s sung by Don Barnes, who cowrote the song with members of Survivor<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 32. Blackfoot, “Train, Train”\u00a0(From Strikes<\/em>, 1979)<\/strong><\/p>\n Formed by\u00a0Rickey Medlocke, an early and then later Lynyrd Skynyrd member, Blackfoot\u00a0rarely reached the commercial highs of many of their Southern rock peers. They\u00a0hit their peak on 1979’s Strikes<\/em>, which includes their only Top 40 single, “Highway Song.” For the follow-up, they chose a song written and\u00a0first recorded by Medlocke’s grandfather, Shorty. “Train, Train” powers along a rhythm as old as the South.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 31. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Tuesday’s Gone”\u00a0(From [Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd]<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n Southern rock draws as much from the region’s vintage soul music as it\u00a0does from the boogie-laced guitars that can be traced to rock\u00a0‘n’ roll’s blues connection. Three key tracks from\u00a0Lynyrd Skynyrd’s genre-defining debut are rooted in ’60s soul, starting with “Tuesday’s Gone,” the slow-burning second song on\u00a0(Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd)<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>that\u00a0includes adorning strings\u00a0supplied by producer Al Kooper<\/a>‘s Mellotron.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Top 35 Country Rock Songs<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 30. Hank Williams Jr., “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight”\u00a0(From Major Moves<\/em>, 1984)<\/strong><\/p>\n Hank Williams Jr. has always played a tougher form of country music than his peers and trailblazing father. But his 1984 hit\u00a0“All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” grazes the edges of Southern rock with its blazing guitars and raucous subject. The song took on a life of its own later in the decade when it was tapped as the opening theme song to Monday Night Football<\/em>, a position it held for the next two decades.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 29. 38 Special, “Hold On Loosely”\u00a0(From Wild-Eyed Southern Boys<\/em>, 1981)<\/strong><\/p>\n 38 Special was more pop-oriented than many of their Southern rock brethren, unafraid to go for the big hook when needed. Inspired by an equal mix of the Cars <\/a>and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the group’s\u00a0first Top 40\u00a0single was one of three songs on their fourth LP,\u00a0Wild-Eyed Southern Boys<\/a><\/em>, not sung by Donnie Van Zant, the younger brother of late Skynyrd singer Ronnie. Vocal duties here fall to “Hold On Loosely”‘s cowriter Don Barnes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 28. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “That Smell”\u00a0(From Street Survivors<\/em>, 1977)<\/strong><\/p>\n Lynyrd Skynyrd’s fifth album was covered in a dark cloud. As band members’ drug and alcohol abuses\u00a0increased, singer Ronnie Van Zant stood back and assessed the situation in a song that warned of the dangers of their excess. “That Smell” even references an incident where guitarist Gary Rossington<\/a> wrecked his car. Three days after\u00a0Street Survivors<\/a><\/em>‘ release, a plane crash claimed the lives of Van Zant and others.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 27. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “What’s Your Name” (From\u00a0Street Survivors<\/em>, 1977)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Using their fifth album to dip into the Southern soul music around them, Lynyrd Skynyrd infused Street Survivors<\/em> songs with horns and backing vocals, recorded parts of it at Muscle Shoals and enlisted Tom Dowd to produce. The opening track and first single “What’s Your Name” is a life-on-the-road tale punctuated with an R&B base that crosses the line from the band’s usual Southern rock. A new era cut short (see above entry).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 26. Georgia Satellites, “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”\u00a0(From Georgia Satellites<\/em>, 1986)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Dan Baird-led Georgia Satellites<\/a> came out of the South in the mid-’90s with a sound equally informed by college radio as the Southern rock of the ’70s. Structured as a basic 12-bar blues, “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” (the band’s debut single) seemed like an anomaly in 1986: a throwback rock ‘n’ roll song with greasy Southern rock grit and even greasier intentions. That it made it to No. 2 is an achievement in itself.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 25. ZZ Top, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”\u00a0(From Deguello<\/em>, 1979)<\/strong><\/p>\n When ZZ Top<\/a> arrived at their sixth LP,\u00a0Deguello<\/a><\/em>, in 1979, they were returning from a two-year break that marked\u00a0a world of difference for the Texas trio. No longer chained to the Southern boogie\u00a0of their first five records, the band, particularly Billy Gibbons<\/a>, discovered new inspiration in the punk and new wave sounds they were hearing, as well as developing technology. “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” links their old and new styles.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 24. The Black Crowes, “Hard to Handle”\u00a0(From Shake Your Money Maker<\/em>, 1990)<\/strong><\/p>\n Never shying away from their heritage,\u00a0Atlanta’s Black Crowes<\/a> gave Otis Redding<\/a>‘s posthumous 1968 song “Hard to Handle” a Southern rock makeover on their 1990 debut,\u00a0Shake Your Money Maker<\/a><\/em>. The band so effortlessly slid into their role that the track is barely distinguishable from their originals. After a couple of tries, the Crowes’ version peaked at No. 26, their highest ranking ever on the\u00a0main singles chart.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 23. Little Feat, “Fat Man in the Bathtub”\u00a0(From Dixie Chicken<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n With two new members (including ace guitarist Paul Barrere) added in 1973, Little Feat<\/a> arrived at the classic lineup that was together until the death of leader Lowell George in 1979. Their first album as a sextet also set them on a course for a thicker mix of R&B and Southern rock, exemplified by many of their live performances from the era. George’s “Fat Man in the Bathtub,” a highlight of Dixie Chicken<\/a><\/em>, became a live staple.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 22. Kings of Leon, “Notion”\u00a0(From Only by the Night<\/em>, 2009)<\/strong><\/p>\n Kings of Leon<\/a>‘s fourth album, Only by the Night<\/em>, is best known for containing the hits “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” that helped drive the\u00a0Tennesseeans into the Top\u00a010 for the first time. The record’s closest tie to the group’s Southern heritage\u00a0appears later: At a compact three minutes, “Notion” doesn’t seem to share much with the band’s Southern rock forebearers, but the\u00a0woozy guitar and chugging rhythm are pure South.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 21. Elvin Bishop, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”\u00a0(From Struttin’ My Stuff<\/em>, 1976)<\/strong><\/p>\n As a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin Bishop had earned his\u00a0status among modern American blues guitarists a decade earlier. As a solo artist, he’d been blending blues, soul and Southern rock on albums since the late ’60s. Future Jefferson Starship<\/a> singer Mickey Thomas<\/a> was a backing vocalist in Bishop’s band at the time and was given the mic on “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” a No. 3 hit in 1976.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NEXT:<\/strong>\u00a0Lynyrd Skynyrd Albums Ranked<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 20. ZZ Top, “Heard It on the X”\u00a0(From Fandango!<\/em>, 1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n As ZZ Top entered into the planning stages for their fourth album<\/a>, and first following the breakthrough of 1973’s Tres Hombres<\/a><\/em>, they were torn between the obligatory live release and their next studio record. So they compromised and made a side consisting of each. The studio half, Side Two, includes\u00a0their first Top 40 hit, “Tush,” as well as “Heard It on the X,” a fan favorite about influential border radio station X-Rock 80.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 19. Outlaws, “Green Grass and High Tides”\u00a0(From Outlaws<\/em>, 1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n At nearly 10 minutes, the closing song on Outlaws<\/a>‘ debut album comes on like a shaggy sibling of both the Allmans and Skynyrd. Named after a Rolling Stones<\/a> compilation and inspired by late rock ‘n’ roll artists, “Green Grass and High Tides” quickly became a showpiece in Outlaws’ barnstorming concerts, often stretching past the 20-minute marker. The twin guitar solos owe a debt to Southern rock peers, especially Skynyrd.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 18. The Allman Brothers Band “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”\u00a0(From At Fillmore East<\/em>, 1971)<\/strong><\/p>\n “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” – named after a headstone spotted in the Allmans’ hometown of Macon, Georgia – first appeared on the band’s second\u00a0LP in 1970,\u00a0Idlewild South<\/a><\/em>. A year later the group included an expanded version on their breakthrough live album,\u00a0At Fillmore East<\/a><\/em>, where the instrumental takes on truly epic proportions as guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts weave in and out of each other’s notes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 17. The Black Crowes, “She Talks to Angels” (From\u00a0Shake Your Money Maker<\/em>, 1990)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n The Black Crowes came on like a mix of the Stones and Faces<\/a>\u00a0ran through a Southern rock filter on their debut album in 1990. Their first Top 40 single, however, brings the stew to a simmer with a semi-acoustic ballad about\u00a0heroin abuse.\u00a0“She Talks to Angels”\u00a0fits in with tradition, though, going back to the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s penchant for ballads and acoustic songs about deeper and darker subjects.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 16. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Saturday Night Special”\u00a0(From Nuthin’ Fancy<\/em>, 1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n Lynyrd Skynyrd’s third album is often overlooked when judged against their other LPs. Still, Nuthin’ Fancy<\/em> <\/a>was their first to make the Top 10. “Saturday Night Special,” the record’s only single, takes a staunch anti-gun stance that still\u00a0managed to climb\u00a0into the Top 30 in 1975. “Handguns are made for killin’ \/ They ain’t no good for nothin’ else<\/em>,” Ronnie Van Zant matter-of-factly sings over tough, chugging rock ‘n’ roll guitars.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 15. Drive-By Truckers, “Outfit”\u00a0(From Decoration Day<\/em>, 2003)<\/strong><\/p>\n When Drive-By Truckers<\/a> added Jason Isbell<\/a> to their lineup\u00a0on their fourth LP<\/a>, they got more than\u00a0a third guitarist in\u00a0their\u00a0Skynyrd-like attack. They also got a singer-songwriter whose\u00a0words belied his 24 years. “Don’t call what you’re wearing an outfit, don’t ever say your car is broke \/ Don’t sing with a fake British accent, don’t act like your family’s a joke<\/em>,” he sings in “Outfit,” advice passed down from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 14. ZZ Top, “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”\u00a0(From Tres Hombres<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n After a somewhat rocky start on their first two albums, neither of which captured the dynamic energy of the in-sync trio, ZZ Top zeroed in on their collective strengths for their third album, the breakthrough Tres Hombres<\/em>. After the opening one-two punch of “Waitin’\u00a0for the Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill<\/a> and Frank Beard<\/a> tear into\u00a0“Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” like it’s a new statement of purpose.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 13. Ram Jam, “Black Betty”\u00a0(From Ram Jam<\/em>, 1977)<\/strong><\/p>\n Using Lead Belly’s 1930s recording of an old folk song as its basis, “Black Betty” wasn’t even attached to a group when it was recorded by ex-Lemon Piper Bill Bartlett in 1975.\u00a0Two years later, producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz built a band for Bartlett as a vehicle for the song. Ram Jam<\/a> released two albums; only their debut charted. “Black Betty” was their only hit single,\u00a0making the\u00a0Top 20 before the group broke up.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 12. Molly Hatchet, “Flirtin’ With Disaster”\u00a0(From Flirtin’ With Disaster<\/em>, 1979)<\/strong><\/p>\n Jacksonville, Florida’s Molly Hatchet<\/a> came on heavier and harder than most of their Southern rock contemporaries, peaking on their second album, Flirtin’ With Disaster<\/a><\/em> from 1979. The title song sealed their legacy. Trimmed\u00a060 seconds from its five-minute album length, the single stopped short of the Top 40, robbing the band of its only\u00a0big hit. No matter, the song is a rock radio\u00a0favorite that kept Molly Hatchet busy into the ’80s.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 11. The Black Crowes, “Remedy”\u00a0(From The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion<\/em>, 1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Black Crowes collected lots of Faces and Rolling Stones comparisons with their debut album; they didn’t stop with the follow-up, though the band aligned\u00a0more closely with its Southern\u00a0roots, especially on “Remedy,”\u00a0The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion<\/a><\/em>‘s first single. With a hip-shaking rhythm and snaky swagger, the song is ’90s-style Southern rock – a boiling pot of influences that’s more than mere tribute.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 10. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Simple Man” (From\u00a0[Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd]<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n More than any other Southern rock band of the era, Lynyrd Skynyrd played up the Southerness of their roots – from the barroom honky-tonk politics of “Gimme Three Steps” to the bottle-tipping “Poison Whiskey,” both from their debut album, a cornerstone of the genre. “Simple Man,” however,\u00a0could be the most Southern\u00a0track on the LP, an advice song passed on from mother to son\u00a0about not\u00a0forgetting\u00a0those\u00a0roots.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 9. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Gimme Three Steps” (From\u00a0[Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd]<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut plays like a greatest-hits record, from concert staples such as “Free Bird” to sleeper fan favorite “I Ain’t the One” found among its eight songs.\u00a0Their debut single “Gimme Three Steps” got a boost with a rousing version found on the band’s 1976 live album, One More From the Road<\/em>, but there’s an all-too-real sense of surprise\u00a0to the studio take, complementary to the song’s out-of-his-depth narrator.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 8. The Marshall Tucker Band, “Can’t You See”\u00a0(From The Marshall Tucker Band<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n The centerpiece of South Carolina’s Marshall Tucker Band<\/a>‘s self-titled debut, “Can’t You See” begins with an instrumental passage featuring the flute, not exactly the instrument of choice for Southern rock bands. The song was the group’s first single and\u00a0stalled outside the Top 100; four years later a live version\u00a0hit No. 75. It’s since become a favorite to cover, with Waylon Jennings and Zac Brown Band among its fans.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 7. Little Feat, “Dixie Chicken” (From\u00a0Dixie Chicken<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Little Feat’s second album,\u00a0Sailin’ Shoes<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>from 1972, helped set the template for the band’s easy groove going forward, but it’s their third\u00a0record where they finally put it all together, blending funk, soul,\u00a0country and Southern rock with an assured grace that also translated effortlessly to the stage.\u00a0Dixie Chicken<\/em>‘s title track quickly became the band’s signature song, a distillation of their warm-to-hot allure in four sweat-escalating\u00a0minutes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 6. ZZ Top, “La Grange” (From\u00a0Tres Hombres<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Borrowing a rhythm base and vocal lines from John Lee Hooker’s classic blues “Boogie Chillen,” ZZ Top turbo-charge “La Grange” into something else by the end of the song. The highlight of their breakthrough third album, Tres Hombres<\/em>,” “La Grange” is part blues, part boogie and part Southern rock, gliding along a scuzzy guitar line rivaled by Billy Gibbons’ scratchy haw-haw-haw-haw<\/em> vocal. A nod and a\u00a0bridge from the past.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Allman Brothers Albums Ranked<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 5. The Allman Brothers Band, “Ramblin’ Man” (From\u00a0Brothers and Sisters<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n After Duane Allman died in 1971, the Allmans’ other guitarist, Dickey Betts, stepped up to learn his late bandmate’s slide parts and, in turn, progressed into one of the group’s most relied-upon players. Borrowing its title and country foundation from a Hank Williams song, “Ramblin’ Man” was\u00a0demoed two years before its appearance on 1973’s Brothers and Sisters<\/em>. It hit No. 2, the band’s only Top 10 hit in a decades-long career.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Gregg Allman, “Midnight Rider”\u00a0(From Laid Back<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Allman Brothers Band had already recorded, in what many may say is the definitive version, “Midnight Rider” on their second album, Idlewild South<\/em>. When the song’s main writer Gregg Allman was putting together his first solo album in 1973, he rerecorded it\u00a0as a\u00a0moodier update\u00a0that emphasized the dark nature inherent in\u00a0the song’s groove. The new version went Top 20, surpassing the commercial\u00a0peak of the earlier track.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n