Glenelg Guitar Studio

“Sweet Home Alabama” was released Oct 30th 1973 by  Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd that first appeared in 1974 on their second album, Second Helping. It reached #8 on the US charts in 1974, and was the band’s second hit single.

For those too young to remember or not even born then, this was a period of great social unrest in the US. “In 1963, the state was the site of massive civil rights activism, as thousands of demonstrators led by Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to desegregate downtown businesses and was the scene of some of the most violent moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Segregationist police chief Bull Connor unleashed attack dogs and high-pressure water cannons against peaceful marchers, including women and children; just weeks later, Ku Klux Klansmen bombed a black church, killing four little girls.”,

This classic song is just 3 years older than the guitar I’m playing it on. It was a fine clear day in 1976 when I caught the train to Adelaide from Brighton. I headed to Regent Music (now Harrison Music) in Regent Arcade and picked up my brand new Ibanez electric for the princely sum of $220. Not bad for a 16 year old still at Brighton High School, although I admit I had a brief trial apprenticeship shortly before that which gave me the money. Luckily a life in music has worked out for me as I could hardly have seen myself completing that Hairdressing apprenticeship!

And yes, the case you often see it in is the original as well.

This song is attainable for intermediate students, so if you want to try it, let me know next time we catch up.

Leigh