5/30/2023 0 Comments Neil young lynyrd skynyrdRonnie Van Zant was among the dead, and he remains the ghost in the room when the intent of the song is discussed.Īnd yet, there she is on the finished track. In 1977 - just three years after the song hit the airwaves - three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and their road manager, as well as a pilot and copilot, died when their chartered plane went down. That's another thing: The definitive take on the meaning of "Sweet Home Alabama" may have left the world decades ago. I'm sure if you asked the other guys who are not with us anymore and are up in rock and roll heaven, they have their story of how it came about." But he also added that there were "a lot of different interpretations. We put the 'boo, boo, boo' there saying, 'We don't like Wallace,' " Rossington said. "A lot of people believed in segregation and all that. Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington co-wrote "Sweet Home Alabama," and in the Showtime film he addressed that line. In 1963, when he was elected to his first term, Wallace famously said, "I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever." "In Birmingham, they love the governor (boo! boo! boo!) It's an integral part of our nation's history." "At the root of it is a very human dilemma of bigotry and stereotyping," Kemp says. Mark Kemp, originally from Ashboro, N.C., offers one perspective he's the author of a book called Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South, a memoir about his relationship with rock and roll from the region. And in the documentary, Van Zant offered this: "Everybody thinks we're a bunch of drunken rednecks. Back then, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed in front of a large Confederate flag - at the suggestion of its record label. " From what I'm told you were born in Canada."Įven as the song was positioned to dispel some stereotypes of the South, the band was embracing others. "What are you talking about, you know?" Van Zant said. Listen to Young’s emotional tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977 with his performance of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, too easy to misconstrue.” I don’t like my words when I listen to it today. Young would never play ‘Alabama’ again after that night, saying in his 2012 memoir Waging Heavy Peace“‘Alabama’ richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. There is, however, as with most Young gigs, a bootleg to enjoy. There remains a hotly disputed legend that Van Zant is even buried in his Tonight’s The Night shirt.Ī few weeks after the accident, while Young was performing at a charity concert for a children’s hospital in Miami, the singer played a medley of ‘Alabama’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ It’s a beautiful tribute to the band that sadly there’s no footage of. Sadly, Ronnie Van Zant and other members of the band died in a plane crash before they could ever record it. We love his music.” The idea Young may think otherwise worried the singer and he began wearing a Young shirt while on stage.Ĭlearly, the pair made up as Young sent across a demo of his legendary song ‘Powderfinger’ for Lynyrd Skynyrd to see if they wanted to cover it. We just laughed like hell and said, ‘Ain’t that funny.’ We love Neil Young. “We wrote ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ as a joke,” Van Zant admitted a few years after its release.
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