We all have music that cuts closest to our bone. I won’t put thoughts in your head about yours but for me those deepest cuts revolve around music that reminds me of home. On my latest mix for LYL Radio I share, perhaps, what one would say is a vain exploration. Jazzy, pastoral, folksy, and (I’d argue) quite misunderstood — in this mix I give you a taste of the long forgotten, if not fossilized, music of America: southern rock.
It’s in that little understood, little heralded musical genre that I’ve always felt a certain kinship to. I think from a young age — ever since I could pick up a set of car keys and put pedal to the metal — I’ve been enamored, and felt apiece and at peace, nowhere else than driving across these, American roads. And it’s out in our American landscape that I’d create personal mixes of this type for myself, simply letting this kind of music set the scene for my excursions.
You see, where I come from, home to me is America’s southwest. In the region in and around El Paso, Texas, full of arguably America’s most desolate desert-caked horizons and jaw-dropping blue sky-lined, prismatic, mountainous vistas, that’s where I fell in love and learned to understand the music of the southern rocker. This music full of plain-spoken lyricism, seemingly endless melodic riffs and turnarounds, just has a certain something that struck a chord out on the great expanse. Nothing yet that I’ve heard has touched on how it feels to be out there.
Looking back, much like England’s furthering of their long-standing folk tradition into the folk rock of Fairport Convention and the like, America too (for a brief moment) understood and took meandering steps into its own furthering of its folk music, Americana. As heard in the music of groups like the Allman Brothers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Heartsfield and others, “country”, “blues”, and “western” roots took on new hues influenced by jazz, prog, and then/other, forward-thinking ideas.
Somehow, I think, making no bones about hiding where they came from afforded them the opportunity to toil away in semi-obscurity, tapping into some thoroughly unique inspiration. Somehow, the sons of the good ole boys found a way to be good.
In many ways, I can understand why this kind of music has so far remained a distinctly “American” phenomenon/exploit. But, in many ways, I think, by traveling down this less-trodden road, you’re able to discover something that is deeply important. It was with the thought of upcoming 2020 U.S. election that I had the idea of sharing something that spoke to the great potential hidden in others that we sometimes choose to ignore. It shows there is a path to a New South.
For at least an hour, we get to hear a different perspective that taps into our universal song, on a new path they left a trail crumb for. Even in those places we think are devoid of worth, there are those not too far from our coach, waiting for us just to stop and meet. In the end, freedom is just a step away.
Here’s a mix to the surprising music, people, and experiences that you might encounter when you head out on that road again. “You’ve been here, you’ve been there, you’ve been everywhere, and the time has come to really care…”
I’m Free Today
Tracklist:
Rossington Collins Band – I’m Free Today
Marshall Tucker Band – This Ol’ Cowboy
Poco – Faith in the Families
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Rippling Waters
Sailcat – The Thief
Jerry Jeff Walker – Leavin’ Texas
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Spaceship Orion
New Riders of the Purple Sage – All I Ever Wanted
Grin – Sometimes
Dickey Betts – Bougainvillea
The Outlaws – Girl From Ohio
Heartsfield – Racin’ the Sun