Sweet Home Alabama - Musique
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Biographie de l'artiste pour Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd Est Un Des Fondateurs De Ce Qu'on Appelle Le Rock Sudiste Un Style De Rock Bien Particulier Provenant Du Sud Des États-Unis. Il Fut Fondé En 1964 Par Robert Burns Allen Collins Gary Rossington Et Ronnie Van Zant Quoique Le Nom Actuel Du Groupe Ne Fut Adopté Qu'en 1970 À Partir Du Nom De Leur Professeur De Gymnastique Au Lycée Robert E. Lee High School De Jacksonville Leonard Skinner. Gary Rossington Se Souvient "On Jouait Free Bird Depuis 1969. C'est Allen Collins Qui A Trouvé Le Riff Et L'a Développé Un Peu Partout En Répètes En Bagnole Dans Sa Chambre... Mais Ronnie Van Zant Trouvait Que C'était Trop Compliqué Comme Chanson. Au Bout De Trois Mois Il A Redemandé À Allen De Lui Rejouer Le Titre Puis A Écrit Le Texte En 20 Minutes. C'était Une Chanson Comme Une Autre Juste L'histoire D'un Gars Qui Quitte Sa Vieille Ville..." "Au Début Le Titre Durait Beaucoup Moins Longtemps Que Ça. Puis À Force De Jammer En Club On A Rallongé La Fin. Faut Dire Qu'on Manquait De Chansons À L'époque." Simple Roadie Billy Powell Imagine Une Brillante Partie De Piano Qui Lui Vaut Une Place Dans Le Groupe. C'est À La Mort Des Allman Brothers Que Free Bird Prend Des Allures D'hymne. Nous Sommes En 1971 Et Lynyrd Skynyrd Sarcle Sans Trêve Ni Relâche Ce Qu'on Conviendra D'appeler Le Southern Slave Circuit. Certains Clubs Sont Dangereux Malfamés. Le Groupe Une Bande De Chevelus Forts En Gueule Ne Craint Ni Patron Ni Clients. Acharnés De La Picole Et De La Castagne Les 6 Musiciens Rentrent Souvent Moulus De Coups Et Ornés De Cicatrices Fraîches Dans Leur Floride Natale. Pour Lynyrd Skynyrd Groupe Sudiste Fou De Rock Tout A Commencé Dans Une Cabane De Rondins Dans Les Marais De Jacksonville. C'est Là Que Ronnie Van Zant Lycéen Démissionnaire S'acharne À Faire Jouer Et Rejouer "Psycho Daisies" À Ses Deux Guitaristes. Parfois Il Exige Des Solos Qui Se Répondent Parfois Il Force Gary Rossington Et Allen Collins À Jouer Les Mêmes Notes Ensemble. Finalement De Frustration Il Incorpore Un Vétéran Du Groupe Strawberry Alarm Clock Le Lourd Edward King. Ce Guitariste Est Un Professionnel. Sous Sa Direction Dans La Cabane Le Groupe Répète Douze Heures Par Jour Et Enregistre Une Floppée De Démos À Muscle Shoals. Bien Entendu La Première Maquette De Free Bird Est Refusée Par Neuf Maisons De Disques Atlantic Columbia Warner A&M RCA Records Epic Elektra Polydor Et Capricorn . Le Groupe Reprend Le Chemin Des Clubs La Rage Au Ventre. C'est Là Qu'un Al Kooper Encore Auréolé De Sa Gloire Dylanienne Repère Cette Bande De White Trash "Je Les Ai Vus Quatre Soirs De Suite. Chaque Soir J'ai Aimé Une Nouvelle Chanson... Finalement J'ai Plongé." Signé Sur Le Label Sound Of The South Étiquette Jaune Distribution MCA Pour Seulement 9 000 $ Le Gang De Furieux Entre En Studio Le 27 Mars 1973. Le Choix Du Studio One De Doraville Georgie En Dit Beaucoup Sur Les Maigres Ressources Du Groupe Et De Son Producteur. L'enregistrement Se Déroule Donc À Une Vitesse Folle Chaque Musicien Connaissant Sa Partie Et La Jouant Depuis Des Mois. Les Relations Entre Les Deux Camps Sont Tendues "En Studio On Fait Comme Al Kooper A Dit Ou On Fait Pas" Commenterait Plus Tard Ronnie Van Zant. Une Bagarre Oppose Les Musiciens Au Producteur Et Met Un Terme Aux Séances. Puis Le Groupe Revient À La Raison Et Cloue Simple Man Et Things Goin' On D'une Seule Traite. Le 30 Avril Le Disque Est Terminé. Free Bird Divise Les Distributeurs. Terminé À Plus De 9 Minutes Le Titre N'emballe Pas Les Pontes De MCA Qui Tentent D'obtenir Une Version Courte De 3 Minutes "pour Les Radios". Sur Ce Coup Ronnie Van Zant Devient Balistique. Moitié Blaguant Moitié Menaçant Il Écrit À L'intention De La Maison De Disque Une Sauvage Bluette Intitulée "Workin' For MCA" Qu'on Trouve Sur Le Second Album Et Qui Ouvrira Tous Les Concerts Du Groupe Jusqu'à L'accident D'avion De 1977 . Sorti En Août 1973 Le Premier Lynyrd A Tout Pour Séduire Les Fanatiques Du Rock D'en Bas. Dans L'incontournable Magazine Creem On Compare Lynyrd Skynyrd Aux Rolling Stones Et À The Allman Brothers Band. Une Longue Tournée En Première Partie Des Who Tournée Quadrophenia Fera Le Reste Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd Trouvera Rapidement 100 000 Acheteurs. Le Groupe A Été Interrompu De Manière Définitive Le 20 Octobre 1977 Par Un Accident D'avion Qui A Coûté La Vie À Plusieurs Membres Du Groupe Dont Le Chanteur Ronnie Van Zant Et Le Guitariste Steve Gaines. Les Autres Membres Du Groupe Malgré De Graves Blessures S'en Sortent Vivants. Reformé Avec Les Survivants En 1987 Lynyrd Skynyrd Poursuit Encore Aujourd'hui Une Carrière Estimable Enchaînant Tournées Et Albums Malgré De Nombreux Changements De Personnel. En 2006 Lynyrd Skynyrd Connaît La Consécration En Faisant Son Entrée Officielle Au Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Frogtoon Musique - Informations sur la chanson: Sweet Home Alabama
Lynyrd-Skynyrd - Endangered Species
Creation And Recording 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-C 9-G Chord Progression . In Interviews Ed King Has Said That During The Night Following The Practice Session The Chords And Two Main Guitar Solos Came To Him In A Dream Note For Note. King Then Introduced The Song To The Band The Next Day And A Hit Was Born. Also Written At This Session Was The Track That Would Follow "Alabama" On The Second Helping Album "I Need You." A Live Version Of The Track On The Compilation Album Collectybles Places The Writing Of The Song During The Late Summer Of 1973 As The Live Set Available On The Album Is Dated October 30 1973. 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. Ed King Used A Marshall Amp Belonging To Allen Collins. The Guitar Used On The Track Was A 1972 Fender Stratocaster. However King Has Said That Guitar Was A Pretty Poor Model And Had Bad Pickups Forcing Him To Turn The Amp Up All The Way To Get Decent Volume Out Of It. This Guitar Is Now Displayed At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum In Cleveland Ohio. The "Turn It Up" Line Uttered By Ronnie Van Zant In The Beginning Was Not Intended To Be In The Song. Van Zant Was Just Asking Producer Al Kooper And Engineer Rodney Mills To Turn Up The Volume In His Headphones So That He Could Hear The Track Better. Following The Two "woo's" Leon's The First Ed's The Second At The Start Of The Piano Solo Van Zant Can Be Heard Ad-Libbing "My Montgomery's Got The Answer." The Duplicate "my" Was Produced By Kooper Turning Off One Of The Two Vocal Takes. For Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1976 Film Free Bird This Final Line Was Changed To "Mr. Jimmy Carter Got The Answer." In A Reference To The 1976 Presidential Election. Citation Needed There Is Also A Semi-Hidden Vocal Line In The Second Verse After The "Well I Heard Mr. Young Sing About Her" Line At Approximately 0 50 . In The Left Channel You Can Hear The Phrase "Southern Man" Being Sung Lightly. 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. According To Leon Wilkeson It Was Al Kooper's Idea To Continue And Echo The Lines From "Southern Man" After Each Of Van Zant's Lines. "Better...Keep Your Head"..."Don't Forget What Your / Good Book Says" Etc. But Ronnie Insisted That Kooper Remove It Not Wanting To Plagiarize Or Upset Young. Kooper Left The One Line Barely Audible In The Left Channel. The Count-In Heard In The Beginning Of The Track Is Spoken By Ed King. The Count-In To The First Song On An Album Was A Signature Touch That Producer Kooper Usually Put On Albums That He Made. "Sweet Home Alabama" Was A Major Chart Hit For A Band Whose Previous Singles Had "lazily Sauntered Out Into Release With No Particular Intent." The Hit Led To Two TV Rock-Show Offers Which The Band Turned Down. 2 None Of The Three Writers Of The Song Were Originally From Alabama. Ronnie Van Zant And Gary Rossington Were Both Born In Jacksonville Florida. Ed King Was From Glendale California. Controversy "Sweet Home Alabama" Was Written As An Answer To Two Songs "Southern Man" And "Alabama" By Neil Young Which Attacked 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. 2 Van Zant's Musical Response However Was Also Controversial With References To Alabama Governor George Wallace A Noted Supporter Of Segregation And The Watergate Scandal In Birmingham They Love The Governor Boo Boo Boo Now We All Did What We Could Do
Now Watergate Does Not Bother Me
Does Your Conscience Bother You?
Tell The Truth In Addition The Final Chorus Rhymes "where The Skies Are So Blue" With "and The Governor's True." In 1975 Van Zant Said "The Lyrics About The Governor Of Alabama Were Misunderstood. The General Public Didn't Notice The Words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' After That Particular Line And The Media Picked Up Only On The Reference To The People Loving The Governor." 3 "The Line 'We All Did What We Could Do' Is Sort Of Ambiguous " Kooper Notes "'We Tried To Get Wallace Out Of There' Is How I Always Thought Of It." 3 Journalist John Swenson Argues That The Song Is More Complex Than It Is Sometimes Given Credit For Suggesting That It Only Looks Like An Endorsement Of Wallace. 3 "Wallace And I Have Very Little In Common " Van Zant Himself Said "I Don't Like What He Says About Colored People." 3 In 1976 Van Zant And The Band Supported Jimmy Carter For His Presidential Candidacy Including Fundraising And An Appearance At The Gator Bowl Benefit Concert. Muscle Shoals One Verse Of The Song Includes The Line "Now Muscle Shoals Has Got The Swampers/And They've Been Known To Pick A Song Or Two." This Refers To The Town Of Muscle Shoals Alabama A Legendary Location For Recording Popular Music Due To The "sound" Crafted By Local Recording Studios And Back-Up Musicians. "The Swampers" Referred To In The Lyrics Included Among Others Jimmy Johnson David Hood Barry Beckett Roger Hawkins Eddie Hinton Pete Carr And Spooner Oldham Who Crafted The "Muscle Shoals Sound". Sometimes Recording Under The Identity Of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section These Musicians Included Jimmy Johnson Guitar Roger Hawkins Drums David Hood Bass And Barry Beckett Keyboards And They Were Inducted Into The Alabama Music Hall Of Fame In 1995 For A "Lifework Award For Non-Performing Achievement." The Nickname "The Swampers" Was Given To The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section By Singer/songwriter Leon Russell. Part Of The Reference Comes From The 1971-1972 Demo Reels That Lynyrd Skynyrd Had Recorded In Muscle Shoals With Johnson As A Producer/recording Engineer. Johnson Helped Refine Many Of The Songs First Heard Publicly On The "Pronounced" Album And It Was Van Zant's "tip Of The Hat" To Johnson For Helping Out The Band In The Early Years And Essentially Giving The Band Its First Break. Lynyrd Skynyrd Remains Connected To Muscle Shoals Having Since Recorded A Number Of Works In The City And Making It A Regular Stop On Their Concert Tours.
50 Titres similaires:
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son Boston - More Than A Feeling Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising ZZ Top - La Grange Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing Ram Jam - Black Betty Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild Free - All Right Now Aerosmith - Dream On ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin' Steve Miller Band - The Joker Eric Clapton - Cocaine Aerosmith - Walk This Way Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town Eagles - Hotel California The Allman Brothers Band - Midnight Rider The Doobie Brothers - Listen To The Music The Who - Baba O'Riley Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You The Animals - The House Of The Rising Sun Heart - Barracuda The Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man Kiss - Rock And Roll All Nite The Who - Behind Blue Eyes The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter America - A Horse With No Name The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' Mountain - Mississippi Queen The Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See Eagles - Take It Easy The Rolling Stones - I Can't Get No Satisfaction Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven Remaster Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Old Time Rock & Roll Kansas - Dust In The Wind Journey - Any Way You Want It Derek And The Dominos - Layla Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet Blue Öyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper Steve Miller Band - Take The Money And Run Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky Boston - Peace Of Mind The Doors - Riders On The Storm
POPULAIRES
PISTES
MIXES
ALBUMS
Video 1 : 50
Tags de musique pour Lynyrd Skynyrd:
Biography - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd Est Un Des Fondateurs De Ce Qu'on Appelle Le Rock Sudiste Un Style De Rock Bien Particulier Provenant Du Sud Des États-Unis. Il Fut Fondé En 1964 Par Robert Burns Allen Collins Gary Rossington Et Ronnie Van Zant Quoique Le Nom Actuel Du Groupe Ne Fut Adopté Qu'en 1970 À Partir Du Nom De Leur Professeur De Gymnastique Au Lycée Robert E. Lee High School De Jacksonville Leonard Skinner. Gary Rossington Se Souvient "On Jouait Free Bird Depuis 1969. C'est Allen Collins Qui A Trouvé Le Riff Et L'a Développé Un Peu Partout En Répètes En Bagnole Dans Sa Chambre... Mais Ronnie Van Zant Trouvait Que C'était Trop Compliqué Comme Chanson. Au Bout De Trois Mois Il A Redemandé À Allen De Lui Rejouer Le Titre Puis A Écrit Le Texte En 20 Minutes. C'était Une Chanson Comme Une Autre Juste L'histoire D'un Gars Qui Quitte Sa Vieille Ville..." "Au Début Le Titre Durait Beaucoup Moins Longtemps Que Ça. Puis À Force De Jammer En Club On A Rallongé La Fin. Faut Dire Qu'on Manquait De Chansons À L'époque." Simple Roadie Billy Powell Imagine Une Brillante Partie De Piano Qui Lui Vaut Une Place Dans Le Groupe. C'est À La Mort Des Allman Brothers Que Free Bird Prend Des Allures D'hymne. Nous Sommes En 1971 Et Lynyrd Skynyrd Sarcle Sans Trêve Ni Relâche Ce Qu'on Conviendra D'appeler Le Southern Slave Circuit. Certains Clubs Sont Dangereux Malfamés. Le Groupe Une Bande De Chevelus Forts En Gueule Ne Craint Ni Patron Ni Clients. Acharnés De La Picole Et De La Castagne Les 6 Musiciens Rentrent Souvent Moulus De Coups Et Ornés De Cicatrices Fraîches Dans Leur Floride Natale. Pour Lynyrd Skynyrd Groupe Sudiste Fou De Rock Tout A Commencé Dans Une Cabane De Rondins Dans Les Marais De Jacksonville. C'est Là Que Ronnie Van Zant Lycéen Démissionnaire S'acharne À Faire Jouer Et Rejouer "Psycho Daisies" À Ses Deux Guitaristes. Parfois Il Exige Des Solos Qui Se Répondent Parfois Il Force Gary Rossington Et Allen Collins À Jouer Les Mêmes Notes Ensemble. Finalement De Frustration Il Incorpore Un Vétéran Du Groupe Strawberry Alarm Clock Le Lourd Edward King. Ce Guitariste Est Un Professionnel. Sous Sa Direction Dans La Cabane Le Groupe Répète Douze Heures Par Jour Et Enregistre Une Floppée De Démos À Muscle Shoals. Bien Entendu La Première Maquette De Free Bird Est Refusée Par Neuf Maisons De Disques Atlantic Columbia Warner A&M RCA Records Epic Elektra Polydor Et Capricorn . Le Groupe Reprend Le Chemin Des Clubs La Rage Au Ventre. C'est Là Qu'un Al Kooper Encore Auréolé De Sa Gloire Dylanienne Repère Cette Bande De White Trash "Je Les Ai Vus Quatre Soirs De Suite. Chaque Soir J'ai Aimé Une Nouvelle Chanson... Finalement J'ai Plongé." Signé Sur Le Label Sound Of The South Étiquette Jaune Distribution MCA Pour Seulement 9 000 $ Le Gang De Furieux Entre En Studio Le 27 Mars 1973. Le Choix Du Studio One De Doraville Georgie En Dit Beaucoup Sur Les Maigres Ressources Du Groupe Et De Son Producteur. L'enregistrement Se Déroule Donc À Une Vitesse Folle Chaque Musicien Connaissant Sa Partie Et La Jouant Depuis Des Mois. Les Relations Entre Les Deux Camps Sont Tendues "En Studio On Fait Comme Al Kooper A Dit Ou On Fait Pas" Commenterait Plus Tard Ronnie Van Zant. Une Bagarre Oppose Les Musiciens Au Producteur Et Met Un Terme Aux Séances. Puis Le Groupe Revient À La Raison Et Cloue Simple Man Et Things Goin' On D'une Seule Traite. Le 30 Avril Le Disque Est Terminé. Free Bird Divise Les Distributeurs. Terminé À Plus De 9 Minutes Le Titre N'emballe Pas Les Pontes De MCA Qui Tentent D'obtenir Une Version Courte De 3 Minutes "pour Les Radios". Sur Ce Coup Ronnie Van Zant Devient Balistique. Moitié Blaguant Moitié Menaçant Il Écrit À L'intention De La Maison De Disque Une Sauvage Bluette Intitulée "Workin' For MCA" Qu'on Trouve Sur Le Second Album Et Qui Ouvrira Tous Les Concerts Du Groupe Jusqu'à L'accident D'avion De 1977 . Sorti En Août 1973 Le Premier Lynyrd A Tout Pour Séduire Les Fanatiques Du Rock D'en Bas. Dans L'incontournable Magazine Creem On Compare Lynyrd Skynyrd Aux Rolling Stones Et À The Allman Brothers Band. Une Longue Tournée En Première Partie Des Who Tournée Quadrophenia Fera Le Reste Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd Trouvera Rapidement 100 000 Acheteurs. Le Groupe A Été Interrompu De Manière Définitive Le 20 Octobre 1977 Par Un Accident D'avion Qui A Coûté La Vie À Plusieurs Membres Du Groupe Dont Le Chanteur Ronnie Van Zant Et Le Guitariste Steve Gaines. Les Autres Membres Du Groupe Malgré De Graves Blessures S'en Sortent Vivants. Reformé Avec Les Survivants En 1987 Lynyrd Skynyrd Poursuit Encore Aujourd'hui Une Carrière Estimable Enchaînant Tournées Et Albums Malgré De Nombreux Changements De Personnel. En 2006 Lynyrd Skynyrd Connaît La Consécration En Faisant Son Entrée Officielle Au Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
read less
read more
16 Artistes Similaires à Lynyrd Skynyrd - Frogtoon Musique
Molly Hatchet The Allman Brothers Band The Marshall Tucker Band Blackfoot ZZ Top The Outlaws Bad Company .38 Special Foghat Joe Walsh Creedence Clearwater Revival Free Charlie Daniels Band Ted Nugent Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Deep Purple.
Creation and Recording:
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-C+9-G chord progression). In interviews, Ed King has said that, during the night following the practice session, the chords and two main guitar solos came to him in a dream, note for note. King then introduced the song to the band the next day, and a hit was born. Also written at this session was the track that would follow "Alabama" on the Second Helping album, "I Need You."
A live version of the track on the compilation album Collectybles places the writing of the song during the late summer of 1973, as the live set available on the album is dated October 30, 1973.
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. Ed King used a Marshall amp belonging to Allen Collins. The guitar used on the track was a 1972 Fender Stratocaster. However, King has said that guitar was a pretty poor model and had bad pickups, forcing him to turn the amp up all the way to get decent volume out of it. This guitar is now displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
The "Turn it up" line uttered by Ronnie Van Zant in the beginning was not intended to be in the song. Van Zant was just asking producer Al Kooper and engineer Rodney Mills to turn up the volume in his headphones so that he could hear the track better.
Following the two "woo's" (Leon's the first, Ed's the second) at the start of the piano solo, Van Zant can be heard ad-libbing "My, Montgomery's got the answer." The duplicate "my" was produced by Kooper turning off one of the two vocal takes. For Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1976 film Free Bird, this final line was changed to "Mr. (Jimmy) Carter got the answer." in a reference to the 1976 Presidential Election.[citation needed]
There is also a semi-hidden vocal line in the second verse after the "Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her" line (at approximately 0:50). In the left channel, you can hear the phrase "Southern Man" being sung lightly. 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. According to Leon Wilkeson, it was Al Kooper's idea to continue and echo the lines from "Southern Man" after each of Van Zant's lines. "Better...keep your head"..."Don't forget what your / good book says", etc. But Ronnie insisted that Kooper remove it not wanting to plagiarize or upset Young. Kooper left the one line barely audible in the left channel.
The count-in heard in the beginning of the track is spoken by Ed King. The count-in to the first song on an album was a signature touch that producer Kooper usually put on albums that he made.
"Sweet Home Alabama" was a major chart hit for a band whose previous singles had "lazily sauntered out into release with no particular intent." The hit led to two TV rock-show offers, which the band turned down.[2]
None of the three writers of the song were originally from Alabama. Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida. Ed King was from Glendale, California.
Controversy:
"Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs, "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which attacked 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.[2] Van Zant's musical response, however, was also controversial, with references to Alabama Governor George Wallace (a noted supporter of segregation) and the Watergate scandal:
In Birmingham, they love the governor (boo boo boo)
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth
In addition, the final chorus rhymes "where the skies are so blue" with "and the governor's true."
In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor."[3] "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Kooper notes "'We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it."[3] Journalist John Swenson argues that the song is more complex than it is sometimes given credit for, suggesting that it only looks like an endorsement of Wallace.[3] "Wallace and I have very little in common," Van Zant himself said, "I don't like what he says about colored people."[3]
In 1976, Van Zant and the band supported Jimmy Carter for his presidential candidacy, including fundraising and an appearance at the Gator Bowl benefit concert.
Muscle Shoals:
One verse of the song includes the line "Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers/And they've been known to pick a song or two." This refers to the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a legendary location for recording popular music due to the "sound" crafted by local recording studios and back-up musicians. "The Swampers" referred to in the lyrics included (among others) Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Eddie Hinton, Pete Carr and Spooner Oldham who crafted the "Muscle Shoals Sound". Sometimes recording under the identity of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, these musicians included Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass), and Barry Beckett (keyboards), and they were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1995 for a "Lifework Award for Non-Performing Achievement." The nickname "The Swampers" was given to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section by singer/songwriter Leon Russell.
Part of the reference comes from the 1971-1972 demo reels that Lynyrd Skynyrd had recorded in Muscle Shoals with Johnson as a producer/recording engineer. Johnson helped refine many of the songs first heard publicly on the "Pronounced" album, and it was Van Zant's "tip of the hat" to Johnson for helping out the band in the early years and essentially giving the band its first break.
Lynyrd Skynyrd remains connected to Muscle Shoals having since recorded a number of works in the city and making it a regular stop on their concert tours. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.