country rock

Heartsfield: Music Eyes (1973) Racin’ the Sun (1974) Magic Mood (1975) and Southern Girl (1976)

2014/08/29

Heartsfield rockin’ the Burbs Heartsfield, Oh, Heartsfield, you are the type of southern rock I was searching for all of my life. What if I told you that you could see performing live at your local bar one of the greatest southern rock bands ever? or that this same band hails from our very own…
The Outlaws: Heavenly Blues (1977) and Girl From Ohio (1976)

2014/08/28

The Outlaws Now, ain’t this somethin’. I already had a driving song outlined to highlight from the Outlaws, their “Green Grass and High Tides” track. Since I’m a grown ass man, and I don’t play video games I didn’t realize that track was hell as popular as it is and well known among “gamers” for being…
Poco: Crazy Eyes, Magnolia, and Let’s Dance Tonight (1973)

2014/08/27

Poco in the 70s Have any of y’all ever heard that final three song stretch from Poco’s Crazy Eyes? If, you haven’t, do yourself a favor and play those three songs “Crazy Eyes”, “Magnolia” (a JJ Cale cover), and “Let’s Dance Tonight” first (they’re found at the bottom of this post), then come back and read…
The Marshall Tucker Band:

2014/08/26

The Marshall Tucker Band Now here’s a band that ran with the sound Dickey Betts hinted at with the Allman Brothers. True Southern rockers in all its glory, Spartanburg, South Carolina compadres in music The Marshall Tucker Band exemplified the gamut of sound that could be created within the Southern Rock genre. Led by the…
Dickey Betts: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (1970) and Bougainvillea (1977)

2014/08/25

Dickey Betts 1971 Now we’re getting somewhere. Way down south, in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dickey Betts was born and raised. By far one of my favorite guitarists, he exemplified how you can take country and bluegrass roots into directions that only his humble genius could envision. As important as the Allman Brothers were to…
John Prine: Quiet Man and Donald and Lydia (1971)

2014/08/24

John Prine 1971 John Prine, born and raised in Maywood, Illinois from West Virginia transplants, is an artist that needs a bit of an introduction. There’s something about his music, and his self-titled 1971 album specifically, that moves me in ways no other artist can. At times, it feels like the music an old soul…
Gene Clark: Here Tonight and She’s the Kind of Girl (1972)

2014/08/23

Gene Clark – 1972 Further north from Texas, in Tipton, Missouri, lies the hometown of ex-Byrds singer and songwriter, Gene Clark. Together with Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, they were largely responsible for creating the first strains of country-rock as we know it. Gene Clark was always the most mysterious, and when switched on, the…
Jerry Jeff Walker: Hill Country Rain (1972) and Long Afternoons (1976)

2014/08/22

Jerry Jeff Walker – 1976 Texas is like a vortex, we tend to suck in some of the creatures other places would reject. As long as they’re not Florida crazy, we’ll tend to pay them a mind or two. One artist who needed more than a mind or two is New York born, yet Austinite…
Kinky Friedman: Catfish and Dear Abbie (1976)

2014/08/21

Kinky Friedman – 1976 We’re in Texas now, via a Chicago to Texas transplant, and I’m not talking about my bizarro self but about one of Texas’ treasures the great Kinky Friedman. His contributions to my August driving theme, now stationed in the South, are these pair of awesome country rock songs. Both of these…
Dire Straits: Lions and Wild West End (1979)

2014/08/19

Dire Straits 1979 Before I attempt to present a quasi-Southern journey through the good ole USA, I’d like to stick just a tiny bit more in England, London specifically. From London, hails one of the greatest purveyors of down home open road rock music, Mr. Mark Knopfler. Seemingly, the mutant musical offspring of JJ Cale,…