I was interested in why, after it had taken the west by storm in the mid 70s, with the possible exception of Britain, southern rock faded into obscurity, given that there were such good bands and it was great “road trip” music.

An AI search brought this up:

“Southern Rock | Country Music Project Southern country rock faded from the mainstream due to a combination of tragic deaths (notably Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977), the rise of MTV prioritizing visual aesthetic over bluesy, jam-heavy music, and mainstream country music absorbing the Southern sound. As 70s rock evolved, it became more polished, while country music rebranded to adopt rock elements, taking its audience.”

There are a few things I could add. In large places such as the US and Australia, both where I spent time, long road trips were better fitted by ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, Allman Bros, Byrds, Doors, CSN&Y, Marshall Tucker, Elvin Bishop and so on, the surf rock having largely gone its way. Brit rock and glam was more suited to Brit pubs, seaside piers and promenades perhaps.

To say that Yes and Floyd were more “thinking” prog rock, before being overrun by punk and post punk … that just adds weight to the dismissal of southern rock as hick music … the rhythm and whooping it up being more important and in this is another truism … it’s more “fun”, more simple perhaps, redolent of nicer days past.

Interesting some of the players on this album below:

Brits might recognise a few of those names. Another point is that the studio version was often better than the live, the solos more distinct and so, this track is from the studio album, even though it’s a partying number at its core: