repeated artists. Also, I have to point out that I like to say favorite, which is much different than saying best. This is purely subjective. And with that preamble concluded, here goes:
1. The Allman Brothers Band – Brothers and Sisters (1974) 2. ZZ Top – Tres Hombres (1973) 3. Marshall Tucker Band – Searchin’ For a Rainbow(1975) 4. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Street Survivors (1977) 5. The Black Crowes – The Southern Har- mony and Musical Companion (1992) 6. The Charlie Daniels Band – Fire on the Mountain (1975) 7. Wet Willie – Drippin’ Wet (1973) 8. The Outlaws – Outlaws (1975) 9. Atlanta Rhythm Section – Red Tape (1976) 10. Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill (2012)
What are your feelings on the state of Southern Rock in 2014? It seems to me that Southern rock is most alive and well within the commercial country genre today. If you turn on country radio it sounds more like Lynyrd Skynyrd than it does Hank Williams. That’s a pretty big cultural shift, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily a great thing. I’m a big fan of traditional country music, as well as Southern rock, and I tend to appreciate the purity of each genre in its ear- lier incarnation. There are, however, some contemporary Southern rock bands that are marketed as country groups that I think are fantastic. Blackberry Smoke, the Cadillac Three, and Whiskey Myers come to mind.
You are now working on another book, this one about the Bakersfield Sound. I know that includes the great Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, but tell us just a bit about the book. As I mentioned, I grew up around country music in Nashville, but I didn’t pay much at- tention to it when I was a kid. When I was in
college I got into writing songs. I got into Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, and then my dad turned me on to Steve Earle. That led to Emmylou Harris, which led to Gram Parsons, and all the way back to George Jones, Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, and the Carter Family. I went all the way back to the begin- ning. Of course I discovered Buck Owens and Merle Haggard along the way, but it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles fourteen years ago that I thought about how strange it was that Buck, who was probably the biggest country artist of the 1960s, and Merle, who was probably the biggest country artist of the 1970s, were both based in the seemingly ran- dom town of Bakersfield, California. Having a bit of a contrarian spirit, I enjoyed uncovering all the country music history in California that had taken a back seat to the Nashville- dominated narrative. I spent a lot of time in Bakersfield, and interviewed well over a hun- dred people – many of whom have since died. I’ve got mounds of interviews and research, which is why it’s taken me nearly ten years to get my Bakersfield book off the ground. It’s all coming together now, though, and I look forward to finally presenting that story in a more comprehensive way than I think it’s been told so far.
If folks want to keep up with your ca- reer, you have a website. Do you also have other websites they can find infor- mation about you on? I try to make sure my personal website at
www.ScottBBomar.com stays up to date with my various goings-on. That’s probably the best hub for people to keep up with what’s happening in my world. •
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