Southern Rock Genre Breakdown
- Roy Fry
- Nov 2, 2021
- 14 min read
Southern Rock, Southern Rock with Blues Influence and Southern Rock with a Jazz influence.
Its popularity started around the 1960s to '70s. Southern Rock is a sub-genre of Rock. Southern Rock also has a strong connection with country music and just like Country Rock, Southern Rock is considered as a contemporary country music subgenre. The rich history of this subgenre is a combination of Rock & Roll, Country and Blues.
The instruments used mainly for Southern Rock are:
Guitar
Slide Guitar
Bass Guitar
Drums
Piano
Two of the main original bands playing Southern Rock genre were:
The Allman Brothers Band was considered one of the founding bands of the Southern Rock style. Some Southern Rock bands had a strong country influence feel about their style, and other Southern Rock bands went for more of a 'bluesy' or even jazz feel. The Allman Brothers Band released a song titled Ramblin Man, which became a classic Southern Rock hit. This so demonstrates the country influence and sound that can be associated within Southern Rock. The Allman Brothers Band were recognized for their connection to the blues and jazz side of Southern Rock music. The Allman Brothers came from Jacksonville, Florida. Video to the left below demonstrating their country influences of the band.
The Marshall Tucker Band incorporated a flute into their Southern Rock sound. Just like the Allman Brothers, they were also influenced by country, blues and jazz music. (Check out the clip below.)
Some of the other bands and artists that have been helped shape Southern Rock from the beginning are listed below.
Little Feat
Elvin Bishop
The Charlies Daniel Band
Wet Willie
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Two of the main studios for their recordings were FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in the town of Muscle Shoals, these studios helped develop the Southern Rock sound.
Rick Hall was a producer at FAME the house band of the studio was The Swampers. Below they are talking about their early days and the Southern Rock sound at Muscle Shoals.
Here are some studio pics of where the Southern Rock sound originated along with some of the studio equipment they used to create the classic sound 'Southern Rock'.
One of Southern Rock Iconic Superstar Bands is- Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd's sound has become the classic sound of Southern Rock.
Lynyrd Skynyrd pays tribute to the studio that helped them develop their sound and style of Southern Rock, through their song lyrics and title Sweet Home Alabama.
Below- Here is Lynyrd Skynyrd performing live in Oakland. This live sound is the ground roots of Southern Rock in the 70s.
Studio Floor Plan in Georgia, depicting Microphones used and Recording Techniques for Lynyrd Skynyrd
When Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded Sweet Home Alabama at Studio One (Northern Atlanta suburb of Doraville, Georgia) Produced by Al Kooper, and Engineered Al Kooper & Rodney Mills. I should imagine this would have been the way they probably recorded nearly most of the bands that visited the studio.
Band Members and instruments.
Bob Burns - Drums
Gary Rossington - Bass Guitar
Billy Powell - Keyboards
Ronnie Van Zant - Vocals
Allen Collins - Electric Guitar
Ed King - Electric Guitar
Leon Wilkeson - Electric Guitar
Drums microphone recording and mixing technique.
Drum Kit microphone setup
Inner kick - Electrovoice RE20
Snare - Shure SM56
On the Toms - Sennheiser 421s
Hi-Hats - Neumann 81
Overheads - AKG 451s
No room microphones were used for ambiance.
Kick and Snare were put on separate tracks along with Hi-Hats, Toms and Overheads were put onto 2 tracks, which gave the engineers 4 tracks to create the drum mixes from. They used the 2 mixed tracks with Hi-Hats, Toms, and Overheads and would ride the faders up and down to have more control over the blend of Hi-Hats and Toms volume levels.
Other instruments recording setup.
Bass guitar - DI Box and Neumann U87 microphone were combined into one track.
Electric Guitars - they mainly only used 1 microphone.
Piano - Neumann U87 on the low part of the keyboard and an AKG 451 to capture the middle and high parts. the 2 microphones were blended into 1 track.
They would double track the vocals and guitars whenever it was required. Their recording skills were pretty good, so it didn't take them too long to double track. All the songs they recorded were part of their live sets, so every song was well-rehearsed prior to going into the studio for recording.
Analysis of Southern Rock sonic sounds aesthetics.
Studio One in Georgia, recorded a lot of Southern Rock bands/artists as well as the studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama and l feel that a lot of the studios would have used similar recording techniques as they did with Lynyrd Skynyrd's (Sweet Home Alabama). So based on that I'm going to treat how they recorded Sweet Home Alabama as a general guideline for that period of time of recording techniques.
The rhythm section of the band (Referring to Drums and Bass Guitar) sounded very analog or can l say organic, compared to the modern digital recording sounds of today. You can hear the snare with a drumstick being laid across the skin and hitting the snare rim during the verse to give the song some dynamic feel before changing hand position to hit the snare skin with the drumstick. It has a real crisp mid bright sound.
The kick is sitting just under the bass guitar and it can be hard to tell exactly what the kick drum is playing. What l can hear of the kick it seems to have a very natural kick sound and sounds full.
The bass guitar has a full body sound tonality about it, and it gives the bass guitar a warm sound and the bass guitar is placed a little louder than the kick drum.
The electric guitar rhythm has a very light edge distortion sound to it which sounds like they are getting the distortion sound straight from the amplifier by cranking up the pre-gain on the amplifier. Which seems to be the common effect they put on a lot of rhythm guitars for this subgenre.
The electric lead uses a lot more crunchy distortion on it and lifts the songs vibe whenever they bring in a solo.
The piano has a nice clean tonal sound for the song. The sound fits pretty good with the rest of the band's sound. When the piano does a little solo at the end, they only turn the volume up just a fraction.
The vocals sound pleasant and seem well balanced in the mix. The harmony vocals sit under the main vocal and give the main vocal support. All the vocals sound very warm and natural.
The equipment they used.
The instruments and amplifiers varied from band to band in the Southern Rock genre. There was not a great deal to choose from like there is in today's sonic spectrum, and effect pedals were basic and still being developed.
In the Lynyrd Skynyrd video clip below, you can see they're using Peavey amplifiers and mainly Gibson guitars except for the bass guitarist who is using a Fender. (I wonder how many bands might have been given sponsorship deals).
Another Southern Rock classic by Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
How to create an early echo effect used in studios in the 70s' that helped create Southern Rock.
An early echo chamber room or a reverb room was created solely for the purpose of adding an anolog echo or reverb effect. This was the preferred way of creating the effect sound compared to the digital equipment. It was a common technique they all used in the studios back then. A microphone pointing directly at a small speaker. The microphone and speaker were enclosed in a spare room that had its four walls plastered with stucco to create a concrete box effect or some other form of treatment to create solid hard surfaces for the sonic wav to bounce off.
By moving the microphone forwards or backward from the speaker, would create an echo due to the physics of the frequency wav and allow adjustment of the effect delay of the echo in time with the music.
To create a reverb sound, the microphone was placed at one end of the room and the amount of reverb you needed was controlled through a separate fader on the console. I found a couple of great YouTubes sites that demonstrate how to make a home reverb/echo chamber.
Links below
Reverb tutorial: Setting up your own reverb chamber: The architecture | lynda.com
How To Make A Reverb Chamber With An Empty Room
Sounds of the instruments.
The Southern Rock sound mainly uses a clean sound for the drums, bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals.
The electric guitarist generally uses a distortion effect on the guitar, (It also depends on the style of southern rock). Southern Rock bands normally have an edgy distorted rhythm sound and the lead guitarist will put a lot of distortion on their guitars for lead solos. How heavy they use the distortion depends on the individual band.
Southern Rock Bands with blues influences go more Blues Rock
Some of the Southern Rock bands have based their sound around Blues-Rock, Boogie-Rock, and Hard-Rock. (maybe even a little Texas-Blues.)
In the 70s some of the Southern-Rock bands started to mimic the piano boogie-woogie beat styles from the 1920s to the mid-1940s. These were incorporated into their southern rock sound of the '70s, plus there were also influences from the blues giants, artists like BB King, Muddy Water, Jimmy Reed, Howlin' Wolf, and the Chicago blues scene. Other influences would have come from the English music invasion of the 60s, artists like John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers (who was credited for being the first band to be labeled Blues-Rock when Eric Clapton was in the band), Fleetwood Mac along with other English artists created Blues-Rock.
With the blues influence becoming more part of the Southern Rock sound, bands like Molly Hatchet started to add more of a boogie beat to their music and at the same time keeping in touch with their southern roots.
Other bands like ZZ Top started off as southern rock sound but ended up being labeled Blues-Rocks. ZZ Top's first album titled 'ZZ Top's First Album' had a Southern-Rock influence about it, and by the third album 'Tres Hombres', ZZ top was well established as a Blues-Rock band. (On that note a lot of Southern Rock band created their own versions of Blues-Rock.)
Instruments used in Southern Rock with Blues influences (Blues-Rock)
Electric Guitar
Sidle Guitar
Bass Guitar
Drums
Keyboard
Harmonica
Listed below are some Southern Rock bands who also played Blues in their music and helped establish the Blues-Rock genre in the 70s. Depending on the influence of the blues style would determine their Southern Rock band sound. Some bands went more by the traditional American blues influence and others by the Blues-Rock sound that came from England.
ZZ Top
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Allman Brothers Band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Marshall Tucker Band
Molly Hatchet
Blackfoot
The band 'Blackfoot' are considered to be part of the southern rock with blues influences. If you have a listen to the video clip to the left, you can hear the influence in the rhythm section (bass guitar and drums) and the guitar sound.
Another good example of a fast rocking boogie blues is shown below 'Blackfoot' song Train Train.
The band 'Molly Hatchet' (below)
You can hear the blues influence within the rhythm section and the guitarist rhythm is following the boogie feel of the beat as well.
I feel that this track to the left of ZZ Top's first album probably would be considered Southern Rock due to the melodic structure of the melody and the way the instruments are played. They have added an effect (phaser maybe?) onto the guitar sound.
I had to add this track because you can hear it is straight-out blues. This track like the track above is from their first album titled 'ZZ Top's First Album'. (But should the group's name, based on the 'promo' in the clip be spelled Zee Zee Top?)
Analysis of Southern Rock with Blues influences Aesthetics
This style of music is unique in the way they blend their blues influences into the Southern Rock feel and sounds. The Boogie-Woogie beat influences straight from the piano onto the guitars, bass guitars, and drums usually have simple instrumentation and a very rhythmic feel to it. It depends on the song who sets the rhythmic groove, sometimes its the guitarist and other times it could be the drums and bass guitarist that set the groove. Southern Rock has a lot of different influences when they started adding Blues/Blues-Rock influences into their Southern Rock music.
The guitar work is usually captivating with its chordal and melodic structure. They use distortion on the rhythm guitars to give it the Blues-Rock feel and the riff or rhythm are usually playing within the drums and bass guitar rhythm beat pattern and structure.
The lead guitarist users a combination of country licks and Blues-Rock licks.
In their guitar sound, they use a lot of distortion that has a lot of sustain quality about the texture of the sound. The guitarist during lead solos will share the lead work if there is more than one lead guitarist playing in the band. Their lead sound usually has more treble on it, so it can be heard above the rest of the band. The lead guitarist has different lead tones when there is more than one lead guitarist in the band, thus creating their own individual guitar tones that are slightly different to each other and that makes it easier for the listener to distinguish not only between the lead guitarist but also creating a bigger sound for the bands. A lot of Southern Rock Guitarists generally stick with the Blues-Rock sounding distortion. In general, they will use the same format when it comes to song arranging for their lead guitar solo between one another and arrange a simple melodic riff or solo where they can play the melody in harmony with each other.
The drum sound has more of a rock sound than a country sound. The kick drum sounds full and has a mid to low tone to it while the snare is full of snap that cracks through the other band sounds.
The bass guitar has a deep full tone that usually sounds meaty and gutsy and helps drive the overall sound.
The piano has a nice rounded full clean sound and l find that a lot of times they have the piano sitting in the background as a support instrument. (I think it depends on the song where they place it).
The influence of Jazz music within the Southern Rock style is decades in the making. Jazz music has a rich history in the American performing arts and has influenced all genres throughout the American music industry scene. The bebop jazz combos are where Rock & Roll was born or created from. So it's not surprising that Southern Rock music has been influenced by jazz. Jazz Bebop combos from the 1940s and let's include western swing as it has a pretty rich history as well.
Southern Rock and the influence of Jazz/Bebop Jazz Fusion
The influence of Jazz music within the Southern Rock style is decades in the making. Jazz music has a rich history in the American performing arts and has influenced all genres throughout the American music industry scene. The bebop jazz combos are where Rock & Roll was born or created from. So it's not surprising that Southern Rock music has been influenced by jazz.
Jazz Bebop combos (4 piece Bands) from the 1940s and let's include western swing as it has a pretty rich history as well. The jazz influence helped bands carve out there own interpretation of bebop jazz, country jazz, and blend it into their own style of Southern Rock. To understand Southern Rock with a jazz influence, we need to have a little listen to the history of artists and also the influences of the Southern rock bands and who they were inspired by.
Some examples
The Allman Brothers Band is considered the band that established the Southern Rock sound and they were heavily influenced by blues and jazz music artists. Like the Bebop Jazz combo bands of the 1940s, they would also improvise during their concerts. So the jazz influences of the past greats (artists) would live and remerge through the Southern Rock veins. Artists like:
Davis Miles
John Coltrane
Robert Howard
Wes Mongomery
Tal Farlow
Kenny Burrell
The Marshall Tucker Band who also came on the Southern Rock scene in the 70s at the same time as The Allman Brothers Band did, They were also influenced by jazz. Their influences were from the mainstream Jazz (swing - Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and the big bands like the Glenn Miller Orchestra.)
So the Jazz music scene has influenced Southern Rock as much as what the Blues music has. The basic instruments still remain the same, but they add more percussion or brass instruments. The Marshall Tucker Band included Flute and Saxophone which isn't surprising if you read this link below.
Right - The Marshall Tucker Band with the saxophone solo, he seems to be improvising like the jazz masters of old.
The Allman Brother Band still doing its version of Southern Rock with a jazz influence, at the Jazz Festival in New Orleans in 2007.
Instruments usually used for Southern Rock with a Jazz/Jazz Fusion influence
Guitar
Slide Guitar
Bass Guitar
Drums
Piano/Organ
some use a Horn section
some use Percussion
The Southern Rock with jazz influences aesthetics
The Southern Rock sound that has been influenced by jazz/ jazz fusion generally sounds smoother and has a relaxed easy listening style to the sound, even though it still has an edgy sound on the guitar.
The drums and the percussion is what gives this southern rock style a different feel about it.
The beats have a smooth groove that supports the music feel and feels relaxed compared to southern rock that has a more blues-rock feel.
The bass guitar still sounds full and has a mid to low frequency tone to it. It still sits a little louder than the drums.
The electric guitar still has an edgy distortion sound to it. I think they use distortion to give the music more of a rock feel even though they have a strong affiliation with the jazz influence side. The electric guitar lead solo sound has a crunchy sustained distortion tone which is mid to mid-high frequency sounding.
The piano sound is usually clean and has a full tone when they play. If they use a Hammond organ, it gives the band a fuller sound by the sound of the organ swirling around.
It gives a muddy sound that helps create an ambiance to the music and covers the mid-low to mid-high of the frequency and give the music body.
Another Legendary producer & audio engineer who helped create Southern Rock
Left - Tom Dowd has also been credited with helping create the Southern Rock sound and if you go forward to 14:16 into the video you can hear his thoughts on The Allman Brothers Band. (Tom Dowd created the volume fader that slides up and down on the modern-day consoles in the recording studios today.) The linear channel fader replaced the original volume rotary control knob.
Right - The latest Southern Rock with Jazz Fusion. The Marcus King Band if you listen closely, you can hear The Allman Brothers Band has been a major inspiration and influence behind the band. Their instrumentation is very similar.
Below - The Atlanta Rhythm Section (one of my personal favorites) who came to create their own style of Southern Rock. Their Southern Rock sound was relabeled Soft Rock.
I found this video on YouTube. This year's all-time favorite Southern Rock songs.
Conclusion on Southern Rock's direction
I think there are 2 distinctive styles in Southern Rock. There's The Allman Brother Band style which has the Blues and jazz fusion feel mixed into their Southern Rock sound. I don't know if it is as popular as it was in the 70s', but its style is current and there are still bands today using The Allman Brothers Band as a template to work off and create from.
The other Southern Rock style and sound that bands are using as a template, is the Lynyrd Skynyrd band. Even though they have more of a country influence at times, the band has influenced a string of other bands that have fused blues-rock into their version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band and paid homage to their influence on Southern Rock.
Southern Rock is always going to reinvent itself as it is an iconic sound and a part of American music culture.
References
Madison, K. (2019, August 1). Genre Origins: The Rise of Southern Rock. Retrieved October 19, 2019, from https://www.countrythangdaily.com/genre-origins-southern-rock/.
Beaugez, J. (2015, December 10). The Original Muscle Shoals Sound. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.mixonline.com/recording/original-muscle-shoals-sound-426272.
Songfacts. (n.d.). Aretha to The Black Keys: The Muscle Shoals Story : Song Writing. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.songfacts.com/blog/writing/aretha-to-the-black-keys-the-muscle-shoals-story.
Buskin, R. (2008, January 1). Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Sweet Home Alabama': Classic Tracks. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.soundonsound.com/people/lynyrd-skynyrd-sweet-home-alabama-classic-tracks.
McGuinness, P. (2019, April 26). Muscle Shoals Studio: A History Of The Soul Of America: uDiscover. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/muscle-shoals-studio-history/.
How To Make A Reverb Chamber With An Empty Room. (2019, May 20). Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://youtu.be/EWQnTTbZnug.
Micky. (2019, June 11). The History of Blues Rock. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://www.rockmyworld.com/the-history-of-blues-rock/.
Gordon, K. A. (2019, August 21). When the Blues Blossomed, Despite Disco: the 1970s. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.liveabout.com/the-best-blues-rock-albums-of-the-1970s-404672.
Armstrong, D. (2019, August 9). The Roots of Rock Music Instrumentation in Jazz. Retrieved November 2, 2019, from https://www.donaldearmstrong.com/2019/03/22/the-roots-of-rock-music-instrumentation-in-bebop-jazz/.
Collette, D. (2004, August 28). The Marshall Tucker Band: The Marshall Tucker Band: Beyond the Horizon. Retrieved November 2, 2019, from https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-marshall-tucker-band-beyond-the-horizon-by-doug-collette.php.
Silverstein, D. (2017, July 27). Retrieved November 3, 2019, from https://sonicscoop.com/2017/07/27/pioneers-audio-engineering-tom-dowd/2/.
Jeffgiles. (2014, January 26). Allman Brothers Band Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://ultimateclassicrock.com/allman-brothers-lineup-changes/.
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