Lynyrd Skynyrd, live, on
November 7,
2015, in
Montgomery Alabama,
USA, at the
Garrett Coliseum on the final night of the
Alabama State Fair. Here's this town's (and state's) favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song, "
Sweet Home Alabama." "Sweet Home Alabama" first appeared in
1974 on their second
album, SECOND HELPING. It was recorded in Junes
1973 and released in 7 inch format on June 25, 1974 by the
MCA label, and produced by
Al Kooper. THe
B-side was "Take Your TIme." Sweet Home Alabama" reached #8 on the
US charts in 1974 and was the band's second hit single and is certified
Platinum by
RIAA. The song, written by
Ed King,
Gary Rossington, and
Ronnie Van Zant, was in reply to "
Southern Man" and "
Alabama" by
Neil Young;
At a band practice shortly after bassist Ed King had switched to guitar,
King heard fellow guitarist Gary Rossington playing a guitar riff that inspired him (in fact, this riff is still heard in the final version of the song and is played during the verses as a counterpoint to
the main D – C9 – G chord progression). The track was recorded at
Studio One in
Doraville, Georgia, using just King, bassist Wilkeson, and drummer
Burns to lay down the basic backing track. King used a
Marshall amp belonging to
Allen Collins.
The guitar used on the track was a
1972 Fender Stratocaster. The famous "
Turn it up" line uttered by Ronnie Van Zant in the beginning was not intended to be in the song.
Van Zant was simply asking producer Al Kooper and engineer
Rodney Mills to turn up the volume in his headphones so that he could hear the track better. "Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young
Young, noted by name in the song's lyrics. "Southern Man" and "Alabama" , which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the
American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. In his
2012 autobiography
Waging Heavy Peace, Young commented on his role in the song's creation, writing "My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue". There is a semi-hidden vocal line in the second verse after the "Well, I heard
Mr. Young sing about her" line
. In the left channel, you can hear the phrase "Southern Man" being sung lightly (at approximately 0:55). This was producer Al Kooper doing a Neil Young impression and was just another incident of the band members messing around in the studio while being recorded.
Following the two "woos" (Wilkeson's, the first;
King's, the second) at the start of the piano solo (at approximately 4:08), Van Zant can be heard ad-libbing "My,
Montgomery's got the answer."
Music historians examining the juxtaposition of invoking
Nixon and
Watergate after
Wallace and
Birmingham note that one reading of the lyrics is an "attack against the liberals who were so outraged at
Nixon's conduct" while others interpret it regionally: "the band was speaking for the entire
South, saying to northerners, we're not judging you as ordinary citizens for the failures of your leaders in Watergate; don't judge all of us as individuals for the racial problems of southern society" The nickname
Lynyrd Skynyrd originally formed in 1964 as
My Backyard in
Jacksonville, Florida, the band used various names such as The
Noble Five and One Percent, before coming up with Lynyrd Skynyrd in
1969.
The band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its live performances and signature tunes "Sweet Home Alabama" and "
Free Bird". At the peak of their success, three members died in an airplane crash in
1977, putting an abrupt end to the band's most popular incarnation. The surviving band members re-formed in
1987 for a reunion tour with lead vocalist
Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of lead singer and founder Ronnie Van Zant. The re-formed band continues to tour and record with co-founding member Gary Rossington and core members Johnny Van Zant, along with guitarist
Rickey Medlocke, who recorded with the band for a short time in the early
1970s.
Drummer Michael Cartellone has recorded and toured with the band since
1999. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13,
2006.
Current band members:
Gary Rossington - guitarist - the last original member still with the band.
Rickey Medlocke - drummer (1970-71) guitarist (
1996 -present)
Johnny Van Zant - lead vocalist (1987-present) - younger brother of the late Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder and former lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, and of the
.38 Special founder,
Donnie Van Zant.
Michael Cartellone - drummer (1999–present)
Mark Matejka - guitarist. (2006 - present)
Peter “Keys” Pisarczyk - keyboards (2009 - present)
Johnny Colt - bass guitar (2012 - present)
www.lynyrdskynyrd.com
MVI 2739
- published: 09 Nov 2015
- views: 1280