Mr. HiggyPiggie and I were at breakfast and the Allman Brothers came on, and I had to confess that when it comes to music, my knowledge of Southern rock is lacking. So, who is Southern rock (and who is not?)
Well, obviously, Allman Brothers, yes. Skynyrd, definitely. Then we were stumped. I said that ZZ Top should be on the list. Sure, that sounds right. I thought of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gov't Mule. We thought about it for a while.
Tom Petty? Mr. HP said no, but I disagreed. BTO always felt like Southern rock to me, although they are Canadian. We pondered a bit. What about Graham Parsons? Mr. HP didn't know who that was (we're now divorced. Oh, I'm kidding. Mostly.) I was like, you know, The Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", Flying Burrito Brothers, "Love Hurts", died of a drug overdose, his friends tried to burn his body in the desert...That's when Mr. HP looked at me like I was nuts or something. (And I started to wonder, did I dream this -- he's a real guy, right?) "We need Wikipedia," declared Mr. HP.
Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, has a fairly broad definition. Too broad. I think we both feel that Southern rock was not only a genre but an era as well. Wikipedia pulls in all sorts of acts. If it had anything to do with the South, it's Southern rock. R.E.M.? Really? B-52s? Come on! Bo Bice? Influenced by, sure, but that's a stretch to call him "Southern Rock." But we did add Molly Hacket, .38 Special, and Black Oak Arkansas to the list of what we feel is real Southern rock.
But no Tom Petty.
2 comments:
I agree about Tom Petty. He may have his Florida roots -- but I always look at Florida as not part of the South, but where everybody who has once been cold in their lives ends up living.
(generalization)
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