Southern Rock

[Adam W]

This isn't really "Southern Rock," but it is Jacksonville Rock-related, so I figure it's a somewhat interesting story:

A couple of weeks ago, my buddy Paul was over here in London for vacation. I met up with him and we went record shopping, because he loves to do that sort of thing. I ended up being stuck in the basement of a record store in Notting Hill for hours while Paul sorted through stacks and stacks of cut-price CDs. Since I was getting bored and had looked through all the CDs a bunch of times, I decided to go and take a quick look through the vinyl. After about 5 minutes, I managed to find this little gem, on sale for 10p:



I couldn't believe it. This EP was self-released by local Jax band Beggar Weeds sometime around 1988 on their own label Junior Highness Records. It never got released on a "real" record label and never was distributed properly. I bought a copy of it when it was released and reviewed it for my HS newspaper (the Stanton Devil's Advocate). I have no idea how many they pressed, but I'd be shocked if it was more than 1000 - 2000. Anyway, somehow a copy of the record ended up in the basement of a record shop in Notting Hill, West London. For the equivalent of 15 cents.

Needless to say, I bought it!

[sheclown]

Here's a video for the Vikings. It looks like Kevin made this and posted it on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/tfMN5ODAoGk

Edit: couldn't figure out how to embed the video, so just posted a link.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tfMN5ODAoGk?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/tfMN5ODAoGk?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

The Vikings were a band from Jacksonville, Florida in the early 1960s. The members were brothers Bill Snow (tenor sax) & Ronnie Snow (alto sax), Larry Dreggors (lead guitar), Billy Harden (rhythm guitar), Tommy House (bass guitar) and Claude "Butch" Trucks (drums). They released one 7" record titled "Rosemary/You're The One" in 1964, which featured guest vocalist & pianist Dana Burney on side B.

After The Vikings disbanded, Dreggors and Harden went on to join the Deep Six, and later Mouse & The Boys. Trucks went on to become one of the founding members and one half of the drumming duo of The Allman Brothers Band in 1969.

They should not be confused with another 1960s group of the same name, a British group formed in the Birmingham area who included vocalist Carl Wayne, bassist Ace Kefford and drummer Bev Bevan, all of whom later joined The Move. They are usually remembered as 'Carl Wayne and the Vikings', to avoid confusion with their US contemporaries.

[Adam W]

Thanks!

[sheclown]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zbt6L8mFwmY?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Zbt6L8mFwmY?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

Songwriters: ALLMAN, GREGG L.
Transcribed by Joshua Zemel

Last Sunday morning, the sunshine felt like rain.
Week before, they all seemed the same.
With the help of God and true friends, I come to realize
I still had two strong legs, and even wings to fly.

And oh I, ain't wastin time no more
'Cause time goes by like hurricanes, and faster things.

Lord, lord Miss Sally, why all your cryin'?
Been around here three long days, you're lookin' like you're dyin'.
Just step yourself outside, and look up at the stars above
Go on downtown baby, find somebody to love.

Meanwhile I ain't wastin' time no more
'Cause time goes by like pouring rain, and much faster things.

You don't need no gypsy to tell you why
You can't let one precious day slip by.
Look inside yourself, and if you don't see what you want,
Maybe sometimes then you don't,
But leave your mind alone and just get high.

Well by and by, way after many years have gone,
And all the war freaks die off, leavin' us alone.
We'll raise our children in the peaceful way we can,
It's up to you and me brother
To try and try again.

Well, hear us now, we ain't wastin' time no more
'Cause time goes by like hurricanes
Runnin' after subway trains
Don't forget the pouring rain.

[sheclown]

Rolling Stone ranks Duane Allman Number Two of the Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003 and Number 9 in 2011

Shortly after Duane's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird", to the memory of Duane Allman

Remembering Duane Allman

POSTED: October 29, 4:16 PM ET | By Rolling Stone

Duane Allman slammed his foot down on the kick-start of his Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle on an autumn evening 38 years ago today in Macon, Georgia. A few miles down the road, he clipped the rear end of a flatbed truck, sustaining fatal injuries. The lead guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, who was gaining substantial recognition as an electric guitar revolutionary, was dead at age 24.

"It's clear that Duane Allman was one of the true innovators of the electric guitar to rise in the Sixties; arguably on par with Hendrix, he was just beginning to sort out the universe of sound in a high distinctive and moving way," wrote Lester Bangs in the February 1, 1973 issue of Rolling Stone. RS recently ranked Allman Number Two on our list of the Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Outside of the Allman Brothers, Duane played a substantial role in other projects, like Wilson Pickett's 1968 album Hey Jude. He recorded with the likes of Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, B.B. King, and Clarence Carter, and in 1970, Eric Clapton snagged him to record on his album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, which featured the famous licks of "Layla." "I just heard this wailing guitar coming through the air, louder than anything else," Clapton said of experiencing Allman for the first time. "You could just hear the band and then this really high in the air sound like a siren. It was just amazing."

Allman's unique style launched the Allman Brothers Band's 1971 album At Fillmore East head-first into becoming one of the greatest live albums ever recorded (with over three million albums sold) and influencing artists like Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd. "For a slide, I've always used a glass Coricidin bottle, just like Duane Allman," Rossington has said. "Duane was one of my heroes and, in my opinion, he was the best slide player who ever lived."

Jerry Wexler's eulogy for Duane rang clear and crisp: "This young and beautiful man who we love so dearly but who is not lost to us, because we have his music, and the music is imperishable."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/staff-blog/remembering-duane-allman-20091029#ixzz2C3EgXEd0

Good info on the beginnings of the band.

Nashville, TN is the birthplace of brothers Howard Duane & Gregory Lenoir Allman. Duane was born to Willis & Geraldine Allman on November 20, 1946 and baby brother Gregg was born on December 8, 1947. Their dad was a career Army sergeant and moved the family to Norfolk, Virginia soon after Gregg arrived.

In 1949 Willis Allman was murdered by a veteran after Willis befriended the man. After Willis’ death, Geraldine moved the family back to Nashville and finally moved the boys to Daytona Beach, FL when Duane was 11 and Gregg 10.

In 1959 while visiting relatives in Nashville, young Duane & Gregg attended a concert by the great B.B. King. Both boys fell in love with the music they heard that day and at one point Duane turned to Gregg and said “We got to get into this.”

Soon after, Gregg began playing guitar after hearing a neighbor playing country standards on an acoustic guitar. It was 1960 and older brother Duane decided to also try his hand at guitar. A few weeks later, Gregg stopped playing guitar and concentrating on his vocals because, as he recalled in an interview, once Duane began playing “he…passed me up like I was standing still”.

In 1961 the two brothers began playing in local bands and Duane quit high school to concentrate on his learning the guitar. The band the brothers eventually began playing with was called The Escorts. This band morphed into the Allman Joys, with Maynard Portman on drums and Bob Keller on bass.

........
http://www.bigleathercouch.com/2008/09/tuneage-tutelage-allman-brothers-band.html

[sheclown]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXP4JE8YnrA?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/SXP4JE8YnrA?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

"Midnight Rider" is a popular and widely covered song by The Allman Brothers Band, from their album Idlewild South. Written by Gregg Allman and Robert Kim Payne,[1] the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard.[2] Renditions by Joe Cocker, Gregg Allman himself, and Willie Nelson have all reached the charts as singles.

"Midnight Rider" uses traditional folk and blues themes of desperation, determination, and a man on the run:

    I've got one more silver dollar,
    But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no ...
    Not gonna let 'em catch
    The midnight rider.

The verses arrangement features Duane Allman's acoustic guitar carrying the song's changes, underpinned by a congas-led rhythm section and soft, swirling organ.[2][3] Dickey Betts' lead guitar phrases ornament the choruses and the instrumental break, while Gregg Allman's powerful, soulful singing, featuring harmony-producing reverb, has led to the song becoming known by some as Allman's signature piece.[2] Music writer Jean-Charles Costa stated in 1973 that, "'Midnight Rider' has been recorded by other bands and it's easy to see why. The verse construction, the desperate lyrics, and the taut arrangement make it standout material,"[3] while musician and writer Bill Janovitz said that the recording successfully blended elements of blues, country music, soul music, and Southern rock.[2]

"Midnight Rider" has been a concert staple for the band in decades since; it is usually played fairly closely to the original template, and was not used as the basis for long jams until the Allman Brothers' annual New York City run in 2010.

[sheclown]

Number 24 on the list of top 100:  "Black Betty" by Ram Jam

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/lJJg3ezoraA?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/lJJg3ezoraA?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

Ram Jam was an American 1970s rock band, best known for their 1977 hit single, "Black Betty."

The band members were Bill Bartlett (guitar), Pete Charles (drums), Myke Scavone (lead singer), and Howie Arthur Blauvelt (bass). Also, Jimmy Santoro, who toured with the band in support of their debut album, joined on guitar for the follow-up album. Bartlett was formerly lead guitarist for bubblegum group The Lemon Pipers, while Blauvelt played with Billy Joel in two bands, The Hassles and El Primo.

Early days

Bill Bartlett went on from the Lemon Pipers to form a group called Starstruck—originally including Steve Walmsley (bass) and Bob Nave (organ) from the Lemon Pipers—later replacing Walmsley with David Goldflies (who later played for years with Dickie Betts and Great Southern, and the Allman Brothers). While in Starstruck, Bartlett took Leadbelly's 59 second long "Black Betty," arranged, recorded and released it on the group's own TruckStar label. "Black Betty" became a regional hit, then was picked up by producers in New York who formed a group around Bartlett called Ram Jam. They re-released the song, and it became a hit nationally. The Ram Jam "recording" was actually the same one originally recorded by Starstruck, the band at that time composed of Bartlett, lead guitar and vocals, Tom Kurtz, rhythm guitar and vocals, David Goldflies, bass, David Fleeman on drums. The rest of the tracks on the first studio album containing "Black Betty" was played by the Ram Jam lineup. The song caused a stir with the NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality calling for a boycott due to the lyrics.[citation needed]

Despite the controversy, the song reached number 18 on the singles chart in 1977 in the U.S. and Top Ten in the United Kingdom and Australia, while the Ram Jam album reached the U.S. Top 40. It was also a hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 4.

[sheclown]

Number 52 on our list:  Willin' Little Feat.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/xrCMlSWlDX8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/xrCMlSWlDX8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

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.

Although the band has undergone several changes in its lineup, the music remains an eclectic blend of rock and roll, blues, R&B, boogie, country, folk, gospel, soul, funk and jazz fusion influences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Feat

http://www.littlefeat.net/index.php?page=welcome2
------
(As a side-note, it is hard to describe the whole trucker-smokey-and-the-bandit-18 wheeler-craze of the early 70s unless you lived through it.  I was there, and I don't even understand it...except that it was really cool to have CB radios [considering that cell phones weren't even dreamed of] and we all thought it was magical to talk to each other as we drove down the highway...weed, whites and wine...no comment).

[sheclown]

And they proudly announce:  "We're from Jacksonville, Florida!"

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/rMclpOK7a2w?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/rMclpOK7a2w?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

Number 21 on the List: "Train, Train" Blackfoot

[Adam W]

That Ram Jam song is new to me. I've not heard it before. Not really my cup of tea, though it's not completely terrible, I guess.

It really doesn't sound too much like Southern Rock to me, I had to admit. And they look like guys who used to frequent some of the 7-Elevens I was responsible for in Connecticut.

[sheclown]

Sliding it around on a rainy Thursday afternoon.  Statesboro Blues number 30 on the list.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ezPZxfS1jys?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ezPZxfS1jys?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

"Statesboro Blues" is a blues song in the key of D written by Blind Willie McTell; the title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. Covered by many artists, the version by The Allman Brothers Band is especially notable and was ranked #9 by Rolling Stone in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time[citation needed]. In 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranked "Statesboro Blues" number 57 on its list of 100 Songs of the South.[1]

The most familiar version of the song is by The Allman Brothers Band,[12] as recorded at the Fillmore East in March 1971 and first released on the 1971 album At Fillmore East. This version is famous also for Duane Allman's slide guitar playing, which, as Rolling Stone would write years later, featured "the moaning and squealing opening licks [that] have given fans chills at live shows."[13]

Allman's slide riffs on "Statesboro Blues" have been analyzed and transcribed in guitar magazines many times over[14][15][16][17] and the tones of Allman and Dickey Betts's guitars on the song were hailed by Guitar Player as some of the "50 Greatest Tones of All Time."[18] After Allman's death in a motorcycle accident later that year, the performance was included on the 1972 album Duane Allman: An Anthology. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Allman Brothers Band's version of "Statesboro Blues" as #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.[13]

The song is still a staple of The Allman Brothers Band's live shows, now often with Derek Trucks on slide. Dickey Betts also continues to play the song live.[19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statesboro_Blues

[sheclown]

#50:  "Tuesday's Gone"  Lynyrd Skynyrd

<a href="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/e-f2y1QC_yg?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/e-f2y1QC_yg?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

[Spence]

Just last week attended a funeral service for a buddy whose family was .38 special.
JAX NEEDS this bond among its local legends and budding talent.
Does such an endeavor necessitate an investment in real estate?
OR
Can a group form and meet and jam at rotating venues who may consider hosting at no charge?
Karpeles?
Friday Musicale?
future new owners of 9th&Main?
RAM?
MetPark?
The Landing?

feedback?

[johnwells1955]

I have always been interested in adding the local music to the Main Street cruise. Jacksonville has a VERY rich history in music. In the 60's and 70's several groups came out of Jacksonville that became famous "worldwide": Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, The Allman Bros., 38 Special, etc. Maybe the Southern Rock is not your style of music but it had a huge impact on the music world!! NEVER has Jacksonville embraced this legacy and it's about damn time they did!! The original muscians from these groups are getting older and we have already lost some. Dave Hlubek was at the last cruise and loved it. Dave founded the Molley Hatchet band in 1975 and wrote most of the hits. He is the only original member still playing with the current band. He is not able to come to Nov. or Dec. because they will be on tour in Europe, but plans on coming back in January. Most of these bands still live here locally. We are actively seeking ways to get them to Main Street for the cruise and to play the music. If anyone has any contacts with these bands please let us know. We want to celebrate them!!!

[sheclown]

Dave Hlubek at the last Main Street cruise, loving the art on this car!!!