The 30 or so Greatest Southern Songs (cont.)

10. The Devil Went Down To Georgia

To this date, the Charlie Daniels Band has only had one No.1 song; but that song was a huge hit. “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” was written by Charlie Daniels and five other band-mates. The song is almost spoken, rather than sung, and features a plot line of a fiddle player in Georgia that has an encounter with the Devil. The Devil is way behind in the stealing of souls and makes a deal with the song’s main character, Johnny. The two face-off in a fiddling competition. If Johnny wins, he gets to keep the Devil’s golden fiddle. If the Devil wins, he gets Johnny’s soul.

To the best of Daniels’ recollection, the “deal with the Devil” theme was inspired by a poem, “The Mountain Whippoorwill,” that Daniels had read in school. The song won the band a Grammy in 1979, as well as the CMA single of the year. The Recording Industry of Association of America (RIAA) has stated that the single is the top selling song of all time that features a name of one of the 50 U.S. states in the title…an amazing accomplishment when considering some of the other hits that would qualify for such designation (“Sweet Home Alabama” and “Georgia On My Mind”).

Following the song’s radio success in 1979, it was prominently featured in the 1980 motion picture Urban Cowboy, where the CDB performed it on stage during a scene in the movie. The song has enjoyed almost 30 years of success and was introduced to a whole new generation of fans in the movie Coyote Ugly, which revived and sexed-up a few traditional dance moves that are heavily associated with Appalachian music.

Other versions of the song, including sequels, have been recorded. But it’s the original recording of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” that continues to be a defining song of the Southern music experience.

9. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)

The impact of Hank Williams Sr. on modern country music can never be exaggerated. His first No.1 hit, released in 1949, was the most successful single of his career. “The Lovesick Blues” spent 16 weeks at the top of the chart. Although Williams’ career is dotted with multiple No. 1 hits, it was the Cajun stylings of his 1952 release, “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” that would prove to be one of his most critically acclaimed (and certainly most unique) songs.

Spending 14 weeks as the top song on the charts, “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” introduced all of America to Cajun culture and cuisine via the lyrics and arrangement of the song. The melody is based on the Cajun song “Grand Texas,” but the lyrics and theme of the song changed. Perhaps the Cajun-French phrases that appear in the song, along with Williams’ references to traditional Louisiana dishes like “jambalaya, crawfish pie and file´ gumbo,” were inspired from Williams’ early performances on the television program Louisiana Hayride, even though the program was based in Shreveport, La., which is far north from traditional Cajun country.

Williams is credited as the song’s writer, but a writer named Moon Mullican is sometimes credited as a co-writer. Williams may have purchased the rights to the song from Mullican. A researcher from within the Mullican family claims the song was written about the good times that were had while visiting a bar owned by Yvonne Little in South Louisiana. A character named “Yvonne” being affectionately mentioned in the song supports this.

The song is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and is listed as one of the top songs of the century. To this day, it is still revered with great pride from the Cajun community.

8. All Hank Williams Jr. Songs

When Hank Williams Jr. began performing at age eight, his mother billed him as a Hank Williams Sr. impersonator. She even went as far as having a wardrobe tailored for the younger Williams that looked similar to that of his late father’s. Through the ‘60s and early ‘70s, “Bocephus” enjoyed some success, but he wanted to have a bigger impact on the music industry than just being the son of a legend.

The music of Hank Jr. changed just after 1973, when he moved to Alabama. While in his parents’ native state he began some groundbreaking collaborations with country stars Waylon Jennings and Charlie Daniels; but he also worked with Southern rockers like the Marshall Tucker Band. As he was trying to reinvent his music, disaster struck. While rock climbing in Montana in 1975, Hank Jr. fell over 400 feet down the side of the mountain. He would spend the next two years going through reconstructive surgeries (he covers up the scars with his trademark thick facial hair and dark sunglasses).

In 1979, with the release of the album Family Tradition, his musical transition was complete. Southern rock, mixed with country, blues and whole lot of attitude, lifted Williams to the top. A string of hits would follow – songs like “Texas Women,” “Dixie On My Mind,” “This Ain’t Dallas,” “Country State Of Mind,” “Young Country,” and “If The South Would’ve Won” – all display Williams’ well-known style. His signature hit was a 1981 No. 1 single, “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” which of course has been adapted as the theme to Monday Night Football. Additionally, University of Arkansas fans have come to adopt the song “Hog Wild” as an unofficial anthem, playing it prior to home football games in Fayetteville.

Hank Jr. sang songs about the South and Dixie before it was cool. All of his songs, even the ones that are not uniquely Southern, deserve a place in Southern history and culture forever.

7. Walkin’ In Memphis

When singer/songwriter Marc Cohn was growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, he probably never guessed he would write a song that would strike an emotional chord with an entire city, and conversely would export that city’s mystique all around the world. He certainly wouldn’t have planned on writing such a song about a city he had never even been to.

Cohn had a life-changing experience when he first arrived in the Mid-South and heard a sermon from The Reverend Al Green. Immersed in blues music, and the legends of W.C. Handy and Elvis Presley, Cohn was moved. But inspiration didn’t come until he traveled a few miles south of Memphis to a Tunica County, Miss., juke joint named “The Hollywood.” There he would have a chance encounter with a 70-year-old black pianist and singer, Muriel Davis Wilkins. The rest is immortalized in his song.

“Walkin’ In Memphis” is a first-person narrative about Cohn’s experiences while visiting Memphis and the emotional appreciation he has for its varying cultures. Giving praise to Al Green, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Delta Blues, Beale Street, gospel music and even fried catfish, Cohn captures the magical spirit of the city. Perhaps the best line in the song is the soulful affirmation of faith when Muriel, the pianist at The Hollywood, asked the Jewish Cohn if he “was a Christian child,” to which Cohn promptly responded, “Ma’am, I am tonight.”

For those who have a passion for Memphis-area culture and history the song will forever be cherished as one of the greatest songs of all time. For people who have never visited The Bluff City, the song becomes an audio tour guide, directing people on how to experience the city. Once people follow in the footsteps of the song, it becomes real easy to forever have an emotional connection to Cohn’s poetry.

Cohn’s own version of the song peaked at No. 13 on the charts and won him a Grammy in 1991 for “Best New Artist.” It is the most requested number at Memphis’ top nightclub and piano bar, Silky O’Sullivan’s on Beale Street. Upon requests, pianist Craig Shuster of Silky’s will be happy to “welcome you to Memphis” with a spirited rendition of the song multiple times throughout your visit.

6. Coal Miner’s Daughter

oretta Lynn had already spent a decade in the music business and garnered eighteen Top 10 songs by 1970; but it was in ‘70 that she recorded the song that would forever be associated with her life story, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

Lynn is the only writer of her signature song, which became the name of her autobiography, which led to a motion picture release as well. The song is simply about growing up amidst humble beginnings and a loving family in Eastern Kentucky. As the song depicts, her father worked in the Van Lear coal mine and raised eight kids on miner’s pay. The lyrics illustrate the devotion to family and the virtue of unselfishness that both Lynn’s parents portrayed. The song garners sympathy for families that are similar to Lynn’s from those whom are more fortunate, but more importantly displays the triumph of the Kentuckian’s accomplishments and—a morale-booster that proves that success can be achieved by anyone from any background.

The song was a No.1 hit in 1970. In 1980, the motion picture, Coal Miner’s Daughter, was released with actress Sissy Spacek playing Lynn. Singing all of Lynn’s songs for the soundtrack, Spacek won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Lynn in the movie. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is listed as one of the songs of the century and one of the greatest country songs ever recorded.

5. Margaritaville

Following his graduation with a history degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, Jimmy Buffett became a reporter for Billboard and moved to Nashville. He had little success as a singer/songwriter in his early career. From 1970-76 he released seven albums, none of which cracked the Top 20. Buffett began a shift in his style of music throughout that time. While playing in New Orleans, country music star Jerry Reed offered to take Buffett to Key West. It was there where Buffett started mixing country, pop, island beats, and folk music together to create his own style.

By the time 1977 rolled around, Buffett was transformed into the performer we know today. He released the album Changes In Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, which contained a single that would forever be known as his signature song, “Margaritaville.”

This was a song perhaps not about a fictitious place, but instead about a state of mind. The song is also a tribute to its namesake, the margarita.

Buffett would go on to create a Margaritaville brand. Selling drink mixes, brewing beer (Land Shark), and opening restaurants across the country. Today, he is not only a musician but an author, businessperson, and part-time beach bum; and it all got started when he was “searching for his long lost shaker of salt.”

4. Every Alabama Song

With the group Alabama’s unprecedented success in the 1980s, the country was introduced to a new sound. With their blend of country and Southern rock, Alabama became one of the most successful acts of all time. The group had 41 No. 1 hits during their career, including a streak of 21 chart-topping hits in a row. Ranking their songs would be near impossible. Listing their famous songs that are uniquely Southern and worthy of acclaim may be an equally daunting task.

Prior to signing a major record deal, Alabama spent most of their time playing at The Bowery, a night-spot in Myrtle Beach, S.C., an experience that would be inspiration for one of their later hits, “Dancin’, Shaggin’ On The Boulevard.” Their first successful release, and arguably the bands signature song, “My Home’s In Alabama,” only made it as far as No.17 on the charts in 1980. With that one release though, the autobiographical theme of the song introduced listeners to the band for the first time. The song is about a young man from Alabama who travels across the country in an effort to make it in the music business while not losing his roots. After hearing the song, it was as if every new fan instantly connected with the band and their music. RCA quickly took notice, signing the foursome to a major record deal. A string of hits would follow, including Southern anthems like “Tennessee River,” “Mountain Music,” “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle In The Band),” “Song Of The South,” “High Cotton,” “Southern Star,” and “Down Home.”

Perhaps their greatest Southern song though, is the band’s overall ninth No. 1 hit, “Dixieland Delight.” This catchy tune was penned by songwriter Ronnie Rogers, and it marked the beginning of a long relationship between Alabama and Rogers’ music. Everything about the song is uniquely Southern, so much so, that best-selling author Clay Travis borrowed the title for his book based on the traditions of SEC football. “Dixieland Delight” is also sung by students and fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium at University of Alabama football games in Tuscaloosa.

In addition to their songs that praise the South and its culture, the Ft. Payne, Ala., group released what could be called the greatest secular Christmas song of all time, “Christmas In Dixie” in 1982. The song remains a Christmas tradition in most every Southern household.

Alabama is retired from touring now (each of its members are doing individual projects). Country music historians widely credit lead singer Randy Owen and the guys for laying the groundwork for future country bands to become successful.

3. Georgia

The stock market crashed in 1929, and Indiana-born attorney Hoagy Carmichael had just lost all of his savings. He was working as a songwriter in New York City at the time and was considering a career change, as he hadn’t realized any success. But later that year Louis Armstrong recorded one of Carmichael’s songs, “Rockin’ Chair.” The recording was enough to keep Carmichael in the songwriting business. He would combine his very next composition with lyrics written by Stuart Gorrell and the two together would go on to write one of the most recognizable songs in all of music, “Georgia.”

Carmichael never lived in Georgia, and it was unclear at the time if the song was about the state of Georgia, or a girl named Georgia (as that was the name of Carmichael’s sister), the lyrics of the song could apply to either. Carmichael set the record straight in his 1965 autobiography when he wrote of an encounter with musician Frankie Trumbauer. Trumbauer told Carmichael, “Write a song called ‘Georgia.’ Nobody lost much writing about the South.” So then it was settled, the composition was based on the state.

Carmichael first recorded the song in 1930. The next year Trumbauer recorded a version that made the Top 10 charts. It wasn’t until almost thirty years later when Ray Charles released his R&B version of the song until it became a monster success. “Georgia” was Charles’ second release from his new label, ABC. The song became a Billboard No. 1, the first of his career, and one of only three that he would ever have on the top of the main chart. Willie Nelson would claim a No. 1 country hit with “Georgia” in 1978.

In 1979, Charles, a Georgia native, would perform the number in front of the Georgia General Assembly, a move that would go far to heal the wounds of race relations in the state as Charles was previously banned from playing there do to his integrationists beliefs. The next month the Georgia Assembly voted to make the “Georgia” the official state song of the Peach State.

“Georgia On My Mind,” taken from the song, would go on to become a slogan for the state. Billboard has the Ray Charles version listed as one of the 50 greatest songs of all time. At Charles’ funeral in 2004, Willie Nelson performed the hit. Music composer Carmichael died in 1981, but not before he saw the song he wrote in 1930 become No.1 hits for two different artists as well as the official state song of Georgia.

2. Sweet Home Alabama

When Lynard Skynard bassist Ed King first heard the band’s guitarist Gary Rossington playing an unusual guitar riff, he was inspired. That night in 1973, King had a dream in which he composed the entire song. The next morning he played the music to a song that would become “Sweet Home Alabama” to the band’s other members. Rossington’s guitar riffs can still be heard at the beginning of the hit.

Written by band members King, Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant, “Sweet Home Alabama” was a lyrical response to two controversial Neil Young songs, “Southern Man,” and “Alabama.” The band felt that Young’s songs (which preached of a history of racism and slavery in the South) were an unfair generalization of the views held by most Southerners. Following “Sweet Home Alabama’s” release in ‘74, Lynard Skynard had to answer some controversy of their own: the song’s second verse, “In Birmingham they love the governor,” which on the surface seemed to be an endorsement of the state’s segregationists governor George Wallace. The response from the band was that the following line, “We all did what we could do,” talks about efforts to vote Wallace out of office. They also make note that the background vocals in the song at that part were “Boo, boo, boo,” which they say is affirmative rejection of Wallace’s politics.

The song only reached as high as No. 8 on the charts, but it became the single greatest Southern Rock anthem of all time. Virtually all rock and country artists that have come along since the 1970s have been influenced in one way or another by Lynard Skynard. The song itself has been incorporated into countless pop culture references. The movies Forrest Gump and Crimson Tide both prominently feature the song. A 2002 motion picture release starring Reese Witherspoon not only featured the song, but also took its name from the song’s title. Recent KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) promotions even feature the recognizable music from the popular song. In 2008, Kid Rock released a hit single, “All Summer Long,” which is a story of a particular summer during Rock’s adolescents spent in Northern Michigan in which he and friends listened to “‘Sweet Home Alabama’ all summer long.” Rock’s hit credits the original Lynard Skynard band members as co-writers.

In addition to being played prior to every home University of Alabama football game, in which the home fans insert the cheer, “Roll Tide, Roll,” following the first line of the chorus, the song has finally been embraced by the state of Alabama. In 2008, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley noted that the song is the third most played song of all time about a specific destination. “Sweet Home Alabama” now is the official slogan for the tourism and marketing arm of the state and it is now read on all state license plates.

No doubt the greatest Southern Rock song of all time, Lynard Skynard’s signature song not only serves as an anthem for residents of Alabama, but it is a song that will forever be embraced by all Southerners…and if Yankee’s like it, then we guess that is okay, too.