Fused with rock, country and blues, southern rock experienced its highest point of popularity in the '70s. To this day, the music genre continues to evolve. The following 10 Best Southern Rock Songs are the highest-rated on AOL Radio's Southern Rock station.
This is the first single the band recorded after the death of bassist Berry Oakley. A 2006 article in the Wall Street Journal called the piece "a true national heirloom."
Daniels refused to play the song in concert for several years because of the song's reference to drug use. Because the public wanted the song so badly, he changed the line "I get high in the morning" to "I get up in the morning."
This is the only single from the band's 1980 album of the same name. The song is the band's most recognizable and has been featured in 'The Dukes of Hazard' movie and the sitcom 'My Name is Earl.'
The song is about a brothel in La Grange, Texas. The brothel the band sings about is the same one that served as inspiration for the Broadway show, 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'
The name of the song was taken from the name of the Rolling Stones' 1966 'Best Of' album. While it was a common belief that the song is about marijuana use, it is actually about deceased rock 'n' roll legends.
Coming to bassist Ed King in a dream, the song is a response to Neil Young's songs 'Southern Man' and 'Alabama,' which deal with racial discrimination in the South. Though the song is very pro-South, the three writers were from Florida and California.
The opening line "If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me?" was a question guitarist Allen Collin's girlfriend asked him. Lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant discovered keyboardist Roadie Billy Powell playing the instrumental version of what would later become 'Free Bird.'
