Southern Rock since day was born

1950s and 1960s – origins Rock music's origins lie mostly in the music of Southerners, and many stars from the first wave of 1950s rock and roll such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Jerry Lee Lewis hailed from the Deep South. But the British Invasion, and the rise of folk rock and psychedelic rock in the middle 1960s, shifted the focus of new rock music away from the rural south and to large cities like Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.In the late 1960s, traditionalists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival (from Northern California), and The Band (Canadian, though drummer Levon Helm is a native Arkansan) revived interest in the roots of rock. See Muscle Shoals Music. 1970s – peak of popularity Eventually the spotlight once again turned to bands from the American South. The Allman Brothers Band out of Macon, Georgia made their national début in 1969 and soon gained a loyal following. Their blues-rock sound on one hand incorporated long jams informed by jazz and classical music, and on the other hand incorporated softer elements of country and folk with a Southern feel. The death of guitarist and leader Duane Allman in 1971 did not prevent them from gaining widespread popular appeal for the next several years, until internal tensions broke them apart after 1976. Because a certain type of blues music, and essentially, rock and roll, was invented in the South, Gregg Allman has commented that "Southern rock" is a bit redundant; it's like saying "rock rock."[1] The Allman Brothers were signed to Capricorn Records, a small Macon outfit headed by Phil Walden (former manager of Otis Redding). A number of somewhat similar acts also recorded on Capricorn, including the Marshall Tucker Band from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Wet Willie from Alabama, Grinderswitch from Georgia (and comprised of Allman Brothers' roadies), and the Elvin Bishop Band from Oklahoma. Not on Capricorn, but loosely associated with this first wave of Southern rock, were Barefoot Jerry from Tennessee and the Charlie Daniels Band from Tennessee. Indeed it was Charlie Daniels, a big-bearded fiddler with a knack for novelty songs, who gave Southern rock its self-identifying anthem with his 1975 hit, "The South's Gonna Do It Again", whose lyrics mentioned all of the above bands and then asserted: "Be proud you're a rebel / Cause the South's gonna do it again." A year earlier, Daniels had started the Volunteer Jam, an annual concert held in Tennessee that would bring together many Southern rock artists in a loose setting. The Winters Brothers Band from Franklin, Tn. was a band Charlie Daniels helped to get started with "Sang Her Love Songs", "Smokey Mountain Log Cabin Jones," and more. They still are preforming and have an annual jam in Nolensville, Tennessee every year. In the early 1970s, a different wave of hard rock Southern groups emerged that emphasized stripped down boogie rhythms, fast guitar leads derived from heavy metal, and lyrical themes borrowed from the concurrent outlaw country movement. Also mentioned in "The South's Gonna Do It", Lynyrd Skynyrd out of Jacksonville, Florida dominated this genre until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash. After this tragic plane crash members Allen Collins and Gary Rossington started another band called The Rossington-Collins Band. Groups such as John Mellencamp, .38 Special, The Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Point Blank and Black Oak Arkansas also thrived in this genre for a time. The Allmans Brother's Southern feel came more from the temperament of its music ("Hot 'Lanta", "Little Martha", interpolations of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken") than any explicit cultural identification. Phil Walden, the Allman Brothers, and other Capricorn artists had also played a part in Jimmy Carter's successful, unity-based run for the presidency; Carter himself was an avowed Allman Brothers' fan.[citation needed] Even within the Skynyrd branch of Southern rock, the appearance of Molly Hatchet on the dance-oriented show Solid Gold showed that the Southern rock/metal combination had some universal appeal. Not all Southern rock artists fit into the above molds. The Atlanta Rhythm Section and the Amazing Rhythm Aces were more focused on tight vocal harmonies, Louisiana's Le Roux ranged from Cajun-flavored Southern boogie early on to a more arena rock sound later on, while the Dixie Dregs and Allman Brothers' offshoot Sea Level explored jazz fusion. 1980s and 1990s – continuing influence Southern rock gained popularity far beyond the American south, and influenced groups as far flung as Australia's AC/DC, whose original vocalist, Bon Scott was known to wear rebel flag belt buckles at concerts. However, by the beginning of the 1980s, with the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd both broken, with Capricorn Records in bankruptcy, and with Jimmy Carter out of office, much of Southern rock had become thoroughly enmeshed into corporate arena rock. A Southern rock group which began to also gain popularity during this time was Doc Holliday. With the rise of MTV, New Wave, and glam metal, most surviving Southern rock groups were relegated to secondary or regional venues[citation needed]. Bands such as Better Than Ezra, Drivin N Cryin, Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock and Third Day emerged as popular Southern bands across the Southeastern United States during the 80's and 90's. One notable exception was the The Georgia Satellites who had some popularity in the mid to late 1980s. During the 1990s, the Allman Brothers reunified and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music (although the scene also owed much to the Grateful Dead, a group that relied heavily on Southern music traditions). Incarnations of Lynyrd Skynyrd also made themselves heard. Hard rock groups with Southern rock touches such as Jackyl renewed some interest in Southern rock. Classic rock radio stations played some of the more familiar 1970s works, and Charlie Daniels's Volunteer Jam concerts were still going. Phil Walden resurrected Capricorn Records only to fall back into bankruptcy. One of the final Capricorn issues was a solo effort by former Wet Willie front man *Jimmy Hall entitled Rendezvous With The Blues. With the demise of Capricorn this much sought after album fell off the shelves until a fortunate 2006 re-release with bonus tracks. But some rock groups from the South, such as Georgia's R.E.M., B-52's, Widespread Panic, and Black Crowes, Florida's Sister Hazel, and Mississippi's Blind Melon, incorporated Southern musical and lyrical themes without explicitly allying with any Southern rock movement