HISTORY: How Redneck Is Southern Rock?

“The genesis of Southern Rock came with the guys who played on the soul records being made at Muscle Shoals and Stax studios,” - Mark Kemp

It’s our opinion that Charlie Daniels, Gram Parsons  and The Allman Brothers solidified Southern Rock as a genre but there has always been a deeper rooted story. Like anything else, these glorious sounds that most assume was invented by long haired and bearded white dudes may not have taken the time to look into the black artists’ connections, the rich history, controversy and mythology.

“After Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968, a lot of the black artists felt they had to consider the ramifications of working with a white band. A line was drawn. So these white backing bands had to start playing with other white artists, which resulted in albums like the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, which sounded like Southern Soul music, or they formed their own bands, like Duane did with the Allman Brothers. These musicians began to look for their own sound, and it turned out to be what we think of as Southern Rock. Add to that the influence of British Invasion rock, and that’s Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers in a nutshell.” - Mark Kemp

Gibson.com’s Ted Drozdowski takes a short but closer look at Southern Rock roots, racism, the forefathers and a good look at Mark Kemp’s book Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South.

Check out the article HERE, then check out The GTC interview with Charlie Daniels HERE.

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