Posted on 03/30/2005 4:35:33 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Maybe it was during the Grammy Awards, when an all-star band jammed to this song onstage, reminding us of a time when you had to play an instrument to be considered a musician. Maybe it was when I was at P.J. Clarke's on State Street on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, and green-clad revelers of all ages started dancing when the song came on the jukebox. I didn't see a man who danced with his wife, but I did see a girl who wasn't born when the song was released -- and she was singing along with every word, as if it had been her homecoming theme.
Maybe it was when I heard the song as the theme for a NASCAR video game.
Maybe it was when Hilary and Hailey Duff appeared at an event at the W Hotel City Center on Adams a couple of weeks ago, and the crowd went wild when DJ AM incorporated the song's famous opening riff into his mix.
Maybe it was when the song popped up during a screening of the upcoming Matthew McConaughey-Penelope Cruz movie "Sahara" -- just the latest of many, many, many films to use this tune on the soundtrack.
Maybe it was all those factors, building to a crescendo.
All I know is that somewhere along the way, it hit me.
"Sweet Home Alabama" is the greatest rock and roll song of all time.
Some Lynyrd Skynyrd purists will tell you that "Sweet Home Alabama" isn't even the greatest Skynyrd song of all time, that the honors should go to "Tuesday's Gone" or some lesser-known album cut. (But probably not the overrated "Freebird.") Still, no Lynyrd Skynyrd song, and few rock songs from any band, have cut such a wide and lasting swath through the popular culture, while somehow retaining power and freshness.
'Big wheels keep on turnin' '
When I hear the first notes of "Stairway to Heaven" or "Smoke on the Water," I lunge for the radio dial. Enough is enough. When I hear the first notes of "Sweet Home Alabama," well, I turn it up.
The opening guitar lick is one of the most recognizable and electrifying intros in the history of popular music, right up there with the first notes of "Ohio," "Layla," "Baba O'Reilly" and "Revolution."
The lead vocals are muscular and clear and unapologetic.
Everybody knows the first line: "Big wheels keep on turnin.' " Not everybody knows the second line ("Carry me home to see my kin"), but it doesn't matter, you can keep singing anyway and catch up with "And I think it's a sin, yeah."
The chorus is just about perfect. You cannot and should not resist singing along with it.
The guitar work is killer.
The chick-singer background work is heavenly.
The lyrics matter. Yes, they're a bit incendiary. The founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were from Florida, and they embraced the Confederate flag as a stage prop. "Sweet Home Alabama" was written in part as a response to Neil Young's "Southern Man," and it includes a line seemingly sympathetic to Gov. George Wallace. But Ronnie Van Zant and his bandmates in Skynyrd also recorded "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe," an important song that embraced black music and spoke of the young Van Zant's rebellion against institutional racism.
It's everywhere
Taken as a whole and in the context of the times, "Sweet Home Alabama" is not in any way a racist song. Neil Young understood that, and so did Jimmy Carter, a liberal who welcomed the band's support.
Enough with the defense. If I'm casting my vote for the song with the best message about tolerance and peace and love, I could come up with countless better selections, from "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds to "What's Going On?" by Marvin Gaye.
But we're talking pure rock. And as piece of pure rock, "Sweet Home Alabama" kicks ass.
It's also a pop culture touchstone, more so now than 30 years ago. "Sweet Home Alabama" has been featured in "Forrest Gump," "The Girl Next Door" and "To Die For," among other films. Of course there's also the movie "Sweet Home Alabama," with a cover version from Jewel.
In "Con Air," when the inmates take over the plane and party to the sounds of "Alabama," Steve Buscemi's Garland Greene character makes the immortal observation: "Define irony: a bunch of idiots dancing around on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash."
Then there's the scene in "8 Mile" when Eminem's B-Rabbit customizes the lyrics to reflect the sad state of his own life: "Cuz I live at home in a trailer/Mom I'm comin' home to you!"
Over the last five decades, there have been enough great rock and roll songs to make an iPod cry. Rolling Stone magazine recently listed its top 500, with Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" at the top. I could list 100 stronger contenders, from "Won't Get Fooled Again" to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "Hey Jude" to "November Rain" -- but none surpasses "Sweet Home Alabama."
Turn it up.
For me it's Aretha Franklin's "Spirit in the Dark"
I like the "Day Tripper" opening lick even better.
I just got a new set of BOSE 901's and the opeing lick of "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straights also sounds purty darn cool
"Straght On" by Heart also rocks
It's right up there with The Sack of Rome by Minny and the Mongols.
Right now,
it's Jo Dee Messina's "My Give A Damn's Busted" that makes me very happy :)
I believe it's "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu."
Cream,Sunshine of your love.
Hmm... I got those same looks from the good folks in Winslow, Arizona.... ;-)
I know, I deserved that!
You must mean "Dancing in the Streets" by Van Hailen- the opening riff does something physical to me...
Ok, the single most recognizable drum intro-
"We're an American Band" - Grand Funk Railroad.
Ride of the Valkeries - Wagner
"Have you seen her?
So fine and pretty. fooled me with her style and ease.
And I feel her from across the room.
Yes, it’s love in the third degree.
Ooh, baby, baby.
Won’tcha turn your head my way?
Ooh, baby, baby.
Come on, take a chance.
You’re old enough to dance the night away.
Oh, come on, baby, dance the night away.
A live wire.
Barely a beginner, but just watch that lady go.
She’s on fire, ’cause dancing gets her higher than
Anything else she knows.
Ooh, baby, baby.
Won’tcha turn your head my way?
Ooh, baby, baby.
Well, don’t skip romance, ’cause you’re old enough to dance
The night away.
Oh, come on, baby, dance the night away.
Dance the night away.
Dance, dance, dance the night away."
(repeat and fade)
Free for All for guitar licks and I also want to throw Molly Hatchet a bone for Gator Country.
Also, somebody mentioned Seger. I've always been partial to Night Moves (I sing along word for word everytime it comes on. Drives my 13y.o. daughter nuts.) and "Turn the Paaaaaaaaaaaaag-UH". The daughter hates it when I sing that one too! And Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles.... Come to think about it, she hates it when I sing Waylon & Willie too! Dang.... I thought I sounded pretty good.
Or Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll."
Bump for later read. Thanks!
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