Sweet Home Alabama

"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album '' Second Helping'' (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's songs " Southern Man" and "Alabama", which the band felt blamed the entire Southern United States for slavery; Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single.

The song remains a staple in southern and classic rock, and, along with " Free Bird", is arguably the band's signature song.

The political lyrics of the song compare Richard Nixon and his Watergate scandal with the governor of Alabama George Wallace and his political supporters in Birmingham. The lyrics have been perceived as mocking the American liberals and their outrage at Nixon's conduct.

Background and recording

None of the three writers of the song were from Alabama; Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was from Glendale, California. In an interview with '' Garden & Gun'', Rossington explained the writing process: "I had this little riff. It's the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. Ronnie and I were sitting there, and he kept saying, 'play that again'. Then Ronnie wrote the lyrics and Ed and I wrote the music."

The introductive signature riff, prevalent throughout the song, was written and played by Ed King.

"Sweet Home Alabama" was written in answer to two songs by Neil Young, " Southern Man" and "Alabama", because the songs "took the entire South to task for the bloody history of slavery and its aftermath." "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. The lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama" include the following lines:

In Young's 2012 autobiography '' Waging Heavy Peace'', he commented on his song: "My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue."

The basic track was recorded with guide lead vocals, Ed King's lead guitar, Leon Wilkeson's bass, and Bob Burns' drums. The final lead vocals from Van Zant, along with Rossington and Collins' rhythm guitars and Powell's piano were added later.

"Sweet Home Alabama" was a major chart hit for a band whose previous singles had "lazily sauntered out into release with no particular intent." The hit led to two television rock show offers that the band declined. In addition to the original appearance on ''Second Helping'', the song has appeared on numerous Lynyrd Skynyrd compilations and live albums.

'' Record World'' called it the group's "most commercial single entry so far."

Controversy

Part of "Sweet Home Alabama" was controversial in its reference to George Wallace, the governor of Alabama and supporter of racial segregation:

The choice of Birmingham in connection with the governor (rather than the capital of Montgomery) is significant because it was the site of civil rights activism and violence in the 1960s, most notably Martin Luther King's Birmingham campaign. The lyrics then juxtaposition the reference with the Watergate scandal, which was ongoing when the song was released. Music historians examining the juxtaposition of invoking Richard Nixon and Watergate after Wallace and Birmingham note that one reading of the lyrics is an "attack against the liberals who were so outraged at Nixon's conduct" while others interpret it regionally: "the band was speaking for the entire South, saying to northerners, we're not judging you as ordinary citizens for the failures of your leaders in Watergate; don't judge all of us as individuals for the racial problems of southern society."

In 1975, Van Zant said: "The lyrics about the governor of Alabama were misunderstood. The general public didn't notice the words 'Boo! Boo! Boo!' after that particular line, and the media picked up only on the reference to the people loving the governor."Ballinger, Lee. (2002 999. ''Lynyrd Skynyrd: An Oral History''. Los Angeles, California: XT377 Publishing. "The line 'We all did what we could do' is sort of ambiguous," Al Kooper notes, We tried to get Wallace out of there' is how I always thought of it." Journalist Al Swenson argues that the song is more complex than many believe and is not an endorsement of Wallace. Van Zant said: "Wallace and I have very little in common. I don't like what he says about colored people."

Ed King, the song's cowriter, contradicted his former bandmates in a 2009 post on his website. He claimed that the song was originally intended as the unabashed defense of Alabama, and even Wallace, that the song appears to be:

Further complicating the racial politics of the song is the fact that Merry Clayton and Clydie King, two well-known black studio singers, are heard on the track as backing vocalists. In a 2013 interview, Clayton spoke at length about her decision to take the job. In her recollection, her initial response was negative: " lydie Kingsaid the song was 'Sweet Home Alabama.' There was a silence on the phone for quite a while. I said, 'Clydie, are you serious? I'm not singing nothing about nobody's sweet home Alabama. Period. Nonetheless, Clayton was persuaded to take the job, to "let the music be erprotest".

Skrewdriver, a neo-Nazi band who interpreted the song as being in support of segregation, covered it on their album ''After the Fire''. In their version the lyrics are changed to include a line pledging allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan.

Personnel

Partial credits (those noted with a reference) mostly via Richard Buskin and Rodney Mills.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

* Ronnie Van Zant – lead vocals
* Ed King – lead guitar, backing vocals (first "woo" at the end of the last chorus)
* Leon Wilkeson – bass guitar, backing vocals (second "woo" at the end of the last chorus)
* Bob Burns – drums
* Billy Powell – piano
* Allen Collins – rhythm guitar (left channel)
* Gary Rossington – rhythm guitar (right channel), acoustic guitar (left channel)

Additional personnel and production staff

* Al Kooper – backing vocals (left channel), producer, engineer
* Clydie King – background vocals
* Merry Clayton – background vocals
* Rodney Mills - engineer

Richard Buskin and Rodney Mills claim that the female backing vocals were performed by The Sweet Inspirations instead of Clydie King and Merry Clayton; Buskin also does not credit the acoustic guitarist but also recalls that the band did not like when their producer Al Kooper overdubbed himself onto their records, which means the acoustic guitar is likely played by Rossington, Collins, or King.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

Certifications and sales

"All Summer Long"

Kid Rock's 2008 song " All Summer Long" interpolates "Sweet Home Alabama" on the chorus and uses the guitar solo and piano outro, as well as the "turn it up" shout before the guitar solo; Billy Powell is featured on the track. "All Summer Long" also samples Warren Zevon's " Werewolves of London", which has a similar chord progression to "Sweet Home Alabama".

The song is credited to Matthew Shafer, Waddy Wachtel, R.J. Ritchie, Leroy Marinell, Warren Zevon, Edward King, Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. Since "All Summer Long"'s release, the original song has also charted at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.

Other uses

* In September 2007, Alabama governor Bob Riley announced that the phrase "Sweet Home Alabama" would be used to promote Alabama state tourism in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign. In 2009, the state of Alabama began using the phrase as an official slogan on motor-vehicle license plates, and Riley noted that the song is the third most-played that refers to a specific destination.
*In 2002, the song inspired the title and plot of the film '' Sweet Home Alabama''.
*American heavy metal band Metallica used the intro riff for their 1983 song "The Four Horsemen", which gained controversy as the riff was used without permission from the band.
*The song is used in the soundtrack for the motion picture ''Forrest Gump''.
*The song is also used as the opening theme for NASCAR Thunder 2002. It is also featured in NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience as well as NASCAR 21: Ignition.
*The song featured in the soundtrack of the 2010 animated film ''Despicable Me''.
*The song featured in the soundtrack of the 1997 film '' Con Air''.
*The song was parodied and mocked by Warren Zevon in "Play It All Night Long," a song from his 1980 album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School.
* The song's title is often quoted as a humorous allusion to incest.

Recognition and awards

* In May 2006, ''National Review'' ranked the song #4 on its list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs.
* In July 2006, CMT ranked it as the #1 southern rock song.
* In 2009, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

See also

* Muscle Shoals, Alabama
* The Swampers

References

External links

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young: Friends or Foes?
��An analysis of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Southern Man"



"Sweet Home Alabama"
song guide, lyrical analysis, historical context and allusions, teaching guide

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1974 songs
1974 singles
1974 controversies in the United States
1974 in American politics
Works about the Watergate scandal
Cultural depictions of Richard Nixon
Works about George Wallace
Music of Alabama
Lynyrd Skynyrd songs
Songs about Alabama
Alabama culture
Answer songs
Song recordings produced by Al Kooper
Songs written by Ed King
Songs written by Gary Rossington
Songs written by Ronnie Van Zant
Alabama (American band) songs
MCA Records singles
Neil Young
Race-related controversies in music
Diss tracks