Big wheels keep on turning...
BLACK
CREEK
- Nowadays, most simply refer to it as "Sweet Home" when mentioning Lynyrd
Skynyrd's 1974 classic song Sweet Home Alabama. It is known for
one of the greatest guitar riffs in Rock & Roll history and it's an
down-home ode to the Heart of Dixie. Ed King and Gary Rossington came up
with the famous guitar riff before one of the band's notorious rehearsal
sessions at the Hell House and Ronnie Van Zant put the lyrics to it
shortly thereafter. Oddly enough, nobody in the band was from Alabama,
but they had spent enough time in Muscle Shoals recording and playing
National Guard armories around the State to know that Neil Young didn't
have clue about Alabama, nor what he was talking about. "We thought Neil
was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van
Zant at the time.
According to Rossington, "Everyone thought it was about Neil Young, but
it was more about Alabama". Yeah,
it was a Southerner's counter punch to the Canadian's Southern Man
(1971) and Alabama (1972) songs, but it was so much more than
that. It encompassed beauty, family, attitude, independence and good
old-fashioned Southern pride. It was actually the second single released
from the band's second album entitled Second Helping
and reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in August of 1974.
Over the years, the song has earned an eternal place in the hearts of
many Southerners, even beyond the borders of the Yellowhammer State.
Also since then, the song has become an anthem for the State of Alabama
and it is the unofficial fight song for the University of Alabama's
Crimson Tide football team. It has become part of the culture in
Alabama. As a tribute to the song, you can now get "Sweet Home Alabama"
on your Alabama car tag. In Week 8 of the BDFL, the Freebirds felt right
at home on the Black Creek Reservation as they soared past the
PowerSleds (35-18) and moved into second place in the greedy Green Horn
Division.
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd LIVE from Oakland, CA in
1977
Final Scores
SM
ARM
20
33
WIL
BEL
14
31
PS
FRE
18
35
GRE
BLZ
29
16
DOG
MAY
20
18
BD
BUL
13
20
JUG
GAM
21
27
DOR
CHE
24
23
Complete 2020 BDFL scoring data
from the Aladdin Scoring System (@$$)
Turning it back to 70s Southern Rock
DORAVILLE,
GA - In
honor of the late great Charlie Daniels, Ronnie Van Zant, Duane Allman,
Gregg Allman and others, the BDFL is turning the clock back to the 1970s
when Southern Rock was rocking the USA especially the southeastern part
of the country. From Texas to the Carolinas and from Florida to
Kentucky, there was a new rock sound with a Southern accent. In 2021,
the BDFL will dial the clock back with a Throwback Week to examine,
re-live and
honor these Southern Rock legends. The BDFL will pay tribute to 16 acts with
each act receiving an
honorary BDFL team for the week and each BDFL team will represent one of these honorary
Southern Rock teams during Week 6 of the 2021 season. The Commissioner of the BDFL,
Iron Hand, is now working on these honorary team names and assigning
BDFL clubs. Sixteen Southern Rock acts from the 1970s have already been
chosen including the following: Charlie Daniels Band, Allman Brothers
Band, Lynyrd Skynyd, Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, ZZ Topp,
Grinderswitch, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Wet Willie, Black Oak Arkansas
Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Amazing Rhythm Aces
and .38 Special. All you wild-eyed Southern boys and girls should be
rockin' into the night at Rickwood Field, until the City of Birmingham
pulls the power.