Nov 13 2022
0

Top 20 Best Southern Rock Bands Of All Time

By David Presley
Top 20 Best Southern Rock Bands Of All Time

Top-20-Best-Southern-Rock-Bands-Of-All-Time-2

We list some of the best Southern rock bands of all time. From its very beginnings, two traditions–blues and country–and two cities–Memphis and Nashville–have shaped southern rock music. One of the clearest statements about southern identity was Charlie Daniels’s Volunteer Jam, an annual concert that started in 1975. At the Jamboree at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro in 1975, he invited fellow southern rock musicians from the Marshall Tucker Band and the Allman Brothers Band to play along with the Charlie Daniels Band. The show included not only its trademark country conclusion, “The Tennessee Waltz,” but also a version of “Mountain Dew” featuring Hee Haw banjo player Ronnie Stoneman. This genre is characterized by melodious backing tracks that accompany great lyrics that would usually mirror the ideals of a young Southern man in the 70s.

1. Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival, often referred to as simply Creedence or CCR, was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. CCR’s musical style is a mix of roots rock, swamp rock, blues rock, Southern rock, country rock, and blue-eyed soul. With their origins starting out in the East Bay sub region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the band often plays in a Southern rock style, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River, and other elements of Southern United States iconography.  The compilation album Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, originally released in 1976, is still on the Billboard 200 album chart and reached the 500-weeks mark in December 2020. It has been awarded 10 × platinum.

Stream Creedence Clearwater Revival songs

Read more:

2. Kings Of Leon

Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band’s early music was a blend of Southern rock and blues influences, but it has gradually evolved throughout the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, Because of the Times, also reached the number one spot.

Stream Kings Of Leon songs

Read more:

3. Lynyrd Skynyrd

When you think of southern rock n roll, one of the first bands to come to mind is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their blues-hard rock, three-guitar weaving line-up was a Southern image hard to forget. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a Southern Rock band, formed in Jacksonville, Florida, USA in 1964. Their debut album, was a big hit, and was stronger than any other debut album released by any other band. Being the opening act for The Who’s Quadrophenia tour in 1973 also help expose the band too. But it was the song “Free Bird,” a tribute to the recently deceased Duane Allman, with it’s great guitar ending that really got the band going. The song is still today considered one of rock’s best ever. After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band’s career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.

Stream Lynyrd Skynyrd songs

Read more:

4. Zac Brown Band

Zac Brown Band is a Southern rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Frontman Zac Brown sold the music club and restaurant he and his father opened in the Lake Oconee area of Georgia, called Zac’s Place, to buy a tour bus and started touring full-time. That same year, the band managed to release their first independent album, Home Grown. The band became stars in the late 2000s on the strength of the number one country hits “Chicken Fried” and “Toes,” songs that seemed like throwbacks to the country-rock of the ’70s. They have also 16 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay chart, of which 13 have reached number 1.

Stream Zac Brown Band songs

Read more:

5. ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock trio formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The remnants of two Houston area garage bands — Moving Sidewalks (Billy Gibbons) and American Blues (Frank Beard and Dusty Hill) — formed the band. They began to get significant attention with the release of their third album in 1973, Tres Hombres. The blues-based, guitar-driven boogie beat made them distinctive, as did their signature sunglasses, long beards, and flashy outfits. By the time of Hill’s death in 2021, ZZ Top had become the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music. In 2004, the members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Stream ZZ Top songs

Read more:

6. The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers are an Southern rock group who had their greatest success in the 1970s. The band rose from the ashes of one of history’s most acclaimed hippie groups to keep the dream alive with feel-good hits like “Listen to the Music,” “China Grove,” and “Black Water.” Their self-titled debut album in ’71 went beyond just leather and motorcycles, revealing even more musical layers; sweet three-part harmonies and rootsy, introspective, acoustic flavors. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 7, 2020.

Stream The Doobie Brothers songs

Read more:

7. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesville, Florida, USA and led by Tom Petty. The band was part of Southern rock, but also at the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp who arose in the late 1970s and 1980s. The genre eschews the synthesizer-based music and fashion elements popular in synthpop and New Romanticism in favor of a straightforward classic rock sound, and lyrics based on relatable, blue collar issues. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, their first year of eligibility.

Stream Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs

Read more:

8. The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Macon, Georgia, United States, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums). Though they defined Southern rock in the ’70s, the Allman Brothers Band were far more than just a rock band hailing from the South. They melded elements of blues, jazz, R&B, country and rock into their own unique sound, as evidenced by the diversity of classic rock radio staples like ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ ‘Melissa,’ ‘Midnight Rider,’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’ and ‘Whipping Post.’ Butch Trucks died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 24, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida at the age of 69. Gregg Allman died from complications arising from liver cancer on May 27, 2017 at his home in Georgia, also at 69. The band was awarded seven gold and four platinum albums, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Stream The Allman Brothers Band songs

Read more:

9. Alabama

Alabama is a Country/Southern rock music band from Fort Payne, Alabama. The band’s blend of traditional country music and Southern rock combined with elements of bluegrass, folk and pop music gave it a crossover appeal that helped lead to their success. Alabama’s biggest success came in the 1980s, where the band had over 27 No. 1 hits, seven multi-platinum albums and received numerous awards. Alabama’s first single on RCA Records, “Tennessee River”, began a streak of 21 No. 1 singles, including “Love in the First Degree” (1981), “Mountain Music” (1982), “Dixieland Delight” (1983), “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)” (1984) and “Song of the South” (1988). The band has over 41 number one country records on the Billboard charts to their credit and have sold over 75 million records, making them the most successful band in country music history.

Stream Alabama songs

Read more:

10. Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes is an American rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. In late 2011, the band’s song “You Ain’t Alone” was used in a Zales jewelry ad and Alabama Shakes made MTV’s list of Eleven Artists To Watch In 2012. In the span of less than a year, the band went from virtual obscurity to playing venues such as the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee and in Los Angeles, the Troubadour and Music Box Theater. The band recorded its second record, Sound & Color, which was released in 2015, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and won four Grammy Awards.

Stream Alabama Shakes songs

Read more:

11. NEEDTOBREATHE

NEEDTOBREATHE is an American Christian rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. They were formed in 1998. The band was formed by brothers Bear and Bryant “Bo” Rinehart, who were born and raised in rural Possum Kingdom, South Carolina, where their pastor father ran a church camp. After moving to nearby Seneca, the two siblings were exposed to a variety of music and started playing instruments themselves. Five of their albums have reached No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart.

Stream NEEDTOBREATHE songs

Read more:

12. Whiskey Myers

Whiskey Myers is a American Southern rock/country group whose fifth full-length self-titled studio album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart, and No. 2 on Billboard’s active rock chart. The band kept the sound of the South alive in the 2010s, turbo-charging the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams, Jr. that earned them a strong cult following within the margins of Texas’ Red Dirt country scene.

Stream Whiskey Myers songs

Read more:

13. Marshall Tucker Band

The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Compared to Southern rock pioneers and label-mates The Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker had a more country and western feel, with the flute being a key lead instrument in their sound. The band’s blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s.

Stream Marshall Tucker Band songs

Read more:

14. Canned Heat

Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists. The band’s breakthrough moment occurred with the release of their second album, establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences as the “kings of the boogie.” As a way of paying homage to the musician they got the idea from in the first place. Three of their songs — “Going Up the Country”, “On the Road Again”, and “Let’s Work Together” — became international hits.

Stream Canned Heat songs

Read more:

15. 38 Special

38 Special (also written .38 Special or Thirty-Eight Special) is an American rock band that was formed by neighborhood friends Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant in 1975 in Jacksonville, Florida. The band’s first two albums had a strong southern rock vibe. By the early 1980s, 38 Special shifted to a more accessible arena rock style without abandoning its southern rock roots. This shift helped to usher in a string of successful albums and singles. They are best known for their early 1980s hit singles “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up in You”, along with other Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s and early 1990s, including Rockin’ into the Night, “You Keep Runnin’ Away”, and “If I’d Been the One”.

Stream 38 Special songs

Read more:

16. Little Feat

Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. The band is known for having mixed blues, R&B, country and rock and roll styles together. Their first two albums received nearly universal critical acclaim, and “Willin'” became a standard, subsequently popularized by its inclusion on Linda Ronstadt’s album Heart Like a Wheel.  Though the band earned some success on album-oriented radio, the group was derailed after George’s death in 1979.

Stream Little Feat songs

Read more:

17. My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3PciCWIGLE

My Morning Jacket is a rock band which formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Hailed as the new heroes of the alt-country scene when they debuted in the late 1990s, My Morning Jacket matured into an eclectic, sonically diverse ensemble whose work encompassed indie rock, psychedelia, folk, blues, and even dashes of funk and prog rock.

Stream My Morning Jacket songs

Read more:

18. Blackberry Smoke

Blackberry Smoke is an American southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They have performed throughout the United States as both headliner and as the supporting act for artists such as Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, ZZ Top & Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their debut album, Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime, was released in 2003. Blackberry Smoke are the first independently-released artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album charts in modern history.

Stream Blackberry Smoke songs

Read more:

19. The Georgia Satellites

The Georgia Satellites are a Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The Georgia Satellites are differentiated from, and not to be confused with a band from Union, New Jersey named “The Satellites”, which had already released an album in 1980, entitled “A Brand New Episode” on Sharpshooter Records, a New York based independent label. Their album, Georgia Satellites, was their most successful album to date, featuring the track “Keep Your Hands To Yourself”. That song went all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard chart, topped only by Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”. It went into extremely heavy MTV rotation at the time. Other hits included “Battleship Chains” (No,. 86) and “Can’t Stand The Pain”.

Stream The Georgia Satellites songs

Read more:

20. Atlanta Rhythm Section

Atlanta Rhythm Section, sometimes abbreviated ARS, is an American rock band from the South The band unofficially formed in 1970 as former members of the Candymen and the Classics IV became the session band for the newly opened Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, near Atlanta. Often described as a more radio-friendly version of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers, the Atlanta Rhythm Section was one of many Southern rock bands to hit the upper reaches of the charts during the late ’70s. In January 1978 ARS released what would turn out to be its most successful album, Champagne Jam, which led off with the song “Large Time”, a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, some of whom had lost their lives in a plane crash the previous October. Champagne Jam became their biggest-selling album, selling over a million and certified platinum. The album provided two more hits for the band, “Imaginary Lover” (No. 7) and “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight” (No. 14).

Stream Atlanta Rhythm Section songs

Read more:

Honorable mentions

You may also like:

Posted inUncategorized

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *