[bz3]

Sorry I was referring to Little Feat.

To take things a little sideways - are the Ozark Mountain Daredevils regarded as Southern, I often get confused where the line for Southern States is drawn in the USA - is it largely based on what were previously the Confederate States?

Largely, but many border states/territories are now regarded as part of the south, at least parts of them. Texas is generally included too, though arguably only east Texas truly is southern. Most of Maryland and anything connected to the DC entity in VA are most definitely not southern any longer.

 

[Jay]

Moloch!...................

 

[SixFootScowl]

Another good one is 38 Special.

 

[pianozach]

Probably not "the best" (especially where the rock press were concerned), but my favourites are definitely Black Oak Arkansas. And they had a "three guitar army" before Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I was waiting for someone to mention BOA. They seemed like a fun time, but to me they always sounded a bit too sloppy.

 

[pianozach]

I always liked the Outlaws. They were great guitar players and they have more of a country influence to their music. When they played here in Syracuse along time ago, Hughie Thomasson used my buddy's Mesa Boogie amp.

Cool!

Three guitarists, and three lead vocalists. They harmonized very well. Wrote their own material. Yeah, I'd rate 'em very highly, like 10/10 highly.

 

[progmatist]

2 great recent southern/roots bands are Alabama Shakes, and Tedeschi Trucks Band. Derek Trucks played with Allman Brothers for a while, "filling" the unfillable shoes of Duane...as much as humanly possible.

Probably not "the best" (especially where the rock press were concerned), but my favourites are definitely Black Oak Arkansas. And they had a "three guitar army" before Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I was waiting for someone to mention BOA. They seemed like a fun time, but to me they always sounded a bit to sloppy.

I remember BOA being caught up in the "Satanic" scare of the early 80s. When everyone started playing Stairway to Heaven backward, Jim Dandy actually spoke backward in concert. Perhaps poking fun at the entire ridiculousness?

 

[elgar's ghost]

I was waiting for someone to mention BOA. They seemed like a fun time, but to me they always sounded a bit to sloppy.

They could be very tight when they needed to be. In my experience Jim Dandy's foghorn vocals seemed more of a turn off for potential fans than whatever musical limitations the band may or may not have had. But JD played a washboard - extra kudos for that. He doesn't on the video below, but this is a good funky song with some equally good guitar interplay.

 

[SanAntone]

Of course the best SR band will always be The Allman Brothers, but some other bands come to mind:

Marshall Tucker
Charlie Daniels Band
Molly Hatchet
Gov't Mule
North Mississippi Allstars

And to some extent Hank Williams, Jr.

 

[Merl]

I was a massive fan of Southern Rock back in the late 70s and early 80s. My first southern band was probably the same as most people (Skynyrd) but then I started collecting all sorts of southern artists. I had a huge southern collection on vinyl and still have a sizeable collection left as its hard to shift but have replaced ALL my southern vinyl with digital tracks. Here's just some of the southern (or southern-sounding) bands I was into (some are newer) ...

Marshall Tucker Band
Charlie Daniels
Dickie Betts
Allman Bros
Blackfoot
Bottle Rockets
Backberry Smoke
Little Feat
38 Special
Les Dudek
North Mississippi Allstars
Mamas Pride
Grinderswitch
Doobie Bros
Drive-by Truckers
Henry Paul
Elvin Bishop
Molly Hatchet
Zz Top
Van Zant
Stillwater
Point Blank
Wet Willie
Outlaws
Doc Holiday
Firefall
Poco
Rossington Collins Band
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Winters Brothers Band
Widespread Panic
Johnny Winter
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Dixie Dreggs
George Hatcher Band

There are some southern rock albums I view as classics (some are rarer) but amongst the best known ones anyone who likes southern rock has to have a copy of...

Outlaws - Outlaws (Stay with Me and GG&HT are wonderful)
Skynyrd - Street Survivors (just for That Smell and I Never Dreamed but Gaines made this their finest IMO)
Johnny Winter - Still Alive and Well or Captured Live
Zz Top - Tres Hombres (Jesus just left Chicago)
Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
Blackfoot - Marauder (Diary of a Working Man, Good Morning and Fly Away)
Marshall Tucker Band - Greatest Hits
just for Heard it in a Love Song, Can't you See and Fire on the Mountain)
Molly Hatchet - Flirtin with Disaster
Charlie Daniel - Saddletramp (Cumberland Mountain #9)
Allman Bothers - Fillmore East / Eat a Peach Brothers and Sisters
38 Special - Wild Eyed Southern Boys (Fantasy Girl & especially Hold on Loosely)

Of the rarer bands/artists on my list I think there are a few that every Southern rock enthusiast should definitely hear

Les Dudek - Ghost Town Parade
Friend and contributor to the Allmans, Dudek was an amazing guitarist in his own right and released this unbelievably great guitar-heavy album in the late 70s. If you like a good guitar solo then Friend of Mine and Central Park are wonderful tracks but my fave is the the catchy and funky Gonna Move.

Wet Willie - Left Coast Live
caught in their pomp this is a top live album in a smaller venue with the highlight being the lengthy funky/bluesy 'Lucy was in Trouble'.

Point Blank - Both their first two albums were mixed bags of brilliant and filler but sample 'Free Man', the infectious boogie of 'Bad Bees' and the wonderful laid back 'Stars and Bars' for different reasons.

Stillwater - Stillwater & I Reserve the Right
Another one with patchy albums (and not to be confused with the fictional band from the Almost Famous movie) if you like an extended guitar workout then there's two tracks you must hear, I Reserve the Right and especially the mammoth Sam's Jam.

Bottle Rockets - Brooklyn Side
More recent than many of the others but they hardly ever put out a duff album and this was their best. If you've never enjoyed the wonderfullly sardonic and catchy 'Thousand Dollar Car' then get your backside over to youtube and give it a listen.

Drive By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera
An amazing and intriguing concept album about the duality of growing up in the South. Sounds crap? Far from it. The album was described as an all time classic album by Rolling Stone. The wonderful spoken word 'Three Great Alabama icons' is a highlight for me. A fascinating album.

I'm leaving my favourite band of the era till last. Regular visitors to this area of the site will know I was nuts on Black Oak Arkansas. If you know their music you know what to expect. Plain southern rock with Jim Dandy's wonderfully deep vocals. For many the peak of their achievement was the first 6 albums (excluding the Early Times compilation) and there's no doubt that the first eponymous album, High on the Hog and the Live Raunch and Roll (dont you just love that spoken intro to 'Hot Rod') are classics but for me the 1975 album Ain't Life Grand is them at their best. The album recording was great, they had their best guitarist on board (Jimmy Henderson) and it was a great bunch of songs. I have a real love for Dandy's voice on Backdoor Man and Let Life be Good to You.

There ya go....sorry for waffling on

 

[starthrower]

I've listened to the Dixie Dregs more than any other band formed in the south. Although they don't play "southern rock" they were more like a chamber rock group playing Steve Morse's brilliant compositions.

 

[Itullian]

Allman Brothers
no contest

 

[Merl]

I've listened to the Dixie Dregs more than any other band formed in the south. Although they don't play "southern rock" they were more like a chamber rock group playing Steve Morse's brilliant compositions.

And incredible musicians. Rod Morgenstein was a helluva drummer.
Btw, many of the bands I mentioned above didn't play southern rock, they're just bands from the South. People like Wet Willie and Elvin Bishop had jazz, funk and blues roots and this showedin their music. That's why I love that Les Dudek album. There's so many influences on that album (and some mean solos).

Les Dudek - Central Park

 

[starthrower]

I have a compilation of the old Elvin Bishop stuff. He has a great sense of humor and he loves soul music.

 

[NoCoPilot]

I made a "Southern Rock" compilation CD a few years ago and included a track from Foghat -- though I think they were from England?

 

[Merl]

Whilst Foghat were British they relocated to the US early in their career as they were all veterans of the blues-rock boom. Their brand of hard-Rock boogie went down a storm with many fans of southern rock. Whilst their studio output was often erratic their 1977 live album is a boogie wonderland of killer tunes like Road Fever, Home in my Hand and Fool for the City. It went down a storm in America, going double platinum. I actually played it in the car a few weeks ago for the first time in years and thoroughly enjoyed it all over again. I still have the vinyl in a box under the stairs somewhere.

 

[starthrower]

I was never too crazy about Foghat but I like Savoy Brown. Lonesome Dave of Foghat was a member of Savoy Brown before he left to start the band.