Southern Rock - 1980s and 1990s: Continuing Influence

1980s and 1990s: Continuing Influence

By the beginning of the 1980s Southern rock icons the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd had broken up, Capricorn Records was bankrupt, and Jimmy Carter out of office. As with most all of rock, leading acts of the genre had become thoroughly enmeshed in corporate arena rock. With the rise of MTV, New Wave, and glam metal, most surviving Southern rock groups were relegated to secondary or regional venues. Bands such as Better Than Ezra, Drivin N Cryin, Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock, Kentucky Headhunters and Third Day emerged as popular Southern bands across the Southeastern United States during the 1980s and 1990s. One notable exception was The Georgia Satellites who had some widespread popularity in the mid to late 1980s.

During the 1990s, the Allman Brothers reunited and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music. Incarnations of Lynyrd Skynyrd also made themselves heard. Hard rock groups with Southern rock touches such as Jackyl renewed some interest in Southern rock. Classic rock radio stations played some of the more familiar 1970s works, and Charlie Daniels's Volunteer Jam concerts were still going. Phil Walden resurrected Capricorn Records only to fall back into bankruptcy. One of the final Capricorn issues was a solo effort by former Wet Willie front man Jimmy Hall entitled Rendezvous With the Blues.

Some rock groups from the South, such as Georgia's R.E.M., The B-52's, Widespread Panic, and Black Crowes, Florida's Sister Hazel, Blind Melon's Mississippian lead guitarist, and Texas's Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Joe Ely incorporated Southern musical and lyrical themes without explicitly allying with any Southern rock movement.

The 1990s also saw the influence of Southern rock touching metal. Early in the decade, several bands from the Southern United States (particularly New Orleans with its metal scene) such as Eyehategod, Acid Bath, Soilent Green, Corrosion of Conformity and Down, influenced by the Melvins, mixed Black Sabbath style metal, hardcore punk and Southern rock to give shape to what would be known as sludge metal. Most notable sludge metal bands hail from the Southern United States.