Reeling from the psychedelic hangover of the late 1960s, traditional, roots-based rockers like the Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival found favor with the record-buying public. This back-to-basics approach was mixed with 'chooglin'' beats and outlaw-country attitude and became known as Southern rock. The Allman Brothers Band was one of the first to fuse the extended jams of the Grateful Dead with the boogie shuffle of John Lee Hooker, but it was Lynyrd Skynyrd who cemented the free-wheeling, hard-rocking foundations of the genre. Skynyrd's astute lyrics and triple-guitar attack was tremendously popular, until a 1977 airplane crash took the lives of singer Ronnie Van Zandt, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing-vocalist Cassie Gaines. By then Molly Hatchet, Little Feat, and Black Oak Arkansas had emerged to help bring the Southern sound to the masses. Florida's .38 Special had a string of hits in the mid-'80s, but new, flashy MTV bands soon began deflating the scene. Only the image-conscious Georgia Satellites and the roots-rock-inspired Black Crowes were able to keep the spirit alive.

Notable Artists: Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, the Dixie Dregs