Is Southern Rock Dead ?

   Howdy from ol’ Skydog ! First off, let me tell you a little about myself...or more correctly, my selves. Then you’ll understand my answer. My dominant self is an old Southern Rocker...born and bred on Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker, and the like. I grew up (and still live) in South Carolina, home of The Marshall Tucker Band and the site of the last show of the original Skynyrd band. Southern Rock was the soundtrack to my growing up in the South of the 60's and 70's. It was the expression of the frustration of a changing way of life. The South was no longer the home of good ol’ boys and pickup trucks...but some of us found a little comfort in the fact that we had an outlet for that pent-up frustration. Every few months, a bunch of long-haired, hippie-type folks would roll into town and set up a stage, run a few power cords and spend several hours playing music that said everything we wanted to say. “It Just Ain’t My Cross To Bear”...”Can’t You See”...”The Needle and The Spoon” and finally, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again.” And these bands formed bonds with us that were never broken over the years. Their hair got grayer, more than a few went to rehab, some of the best died. And so did we...

   My other self is the eternal optimist...as we lived through and endured the 80's , with the disco eruption; and the 90's, with hip-hop, rap, electronic dance music, there was still hope, however dim. But during that time, The Allman Brothers Band decided to quit fussing in the late 80's and the life started to return to the music. Lynyrd Skynyrd rose up from the tragic plane crash and the Freebird flew again. Charlie Daniels kept on being Charlie Daniels and riled up folks from time to time. Slowly, and with a few missteps, Southern Rock still lived. The huge arenas with thousands of screaming fans were gone...but the faithful fans still come. The music still has the same fire. Southern Rock will never die.

   What Southern Rock has to have is a new generation in order to survive. There are a whole new group of bands out there. Bands who have learned from the masters like Skynyrd and the Tuckers and then put their own souls into the music. They’re our kids...you know, the ones who HAD to listen to us play Skynyrd and Charlie Daniels over and over on the stereo. The ones who grew up with hair-metal and singers that weren’t exactly sure if they were male or female...or black or white. I guess a little of that had to bleed through, and these kids grew up to start bands that had the fire and passion of the original Southern Rockers, but with a little more flair for the “different”.

   So...is Southern Rock dead ? Not as long as Charlie and Skynyrd are around...and not as long as bands like The Regulators, Dallas Moore & the Snatch Wranglers, Rebel Storm, The Graveyard Boogie Band, The Frank Pilgrim Band and far too many more to name are continuing the tradition. They are the future of Southern Rock .

   Is Southern Rock dead ? The answer is NO....Hell NO !

   Southern Rock lives on.

By Joe Clem

http://www.skydogmusic.com