Sweet Home Alabama

For the film, see Sweet Home Alabama (film).

"Sweet Home Alabama"
1974 Spain single sleeve
Single by Lynyrd Skynyrd
from the album Second Helping
B-side"Take Your Time"
ReleasedJune 24, 1974
RecordedJune 1973
Genre
Length4:43
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Al Kooper
Lynyrd Skynyrd singles chronology
"Don't Ask Me No Questions"
(1974) 		"Sweet Home Alabama"
(1974) 		"Free Bird"
(1974)
Audio sample
Sweet Home Alabama
Live video
"Sweet Home Alabama" on YouTube

"Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album Second Helping (1974). It was written in response to Neil Young's songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama", which the band felt blamed the entire Southern United States for slavery;[5] Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single.[6]

The song remains a staple in southern and classic rock, and is arguably the band's signature song.[7][8][9][10]

  1. ^ Brown, Charles T. (1986). Music U.S.A.: America's country & western tradition. Prentice-Hall. p. 150. A good example of the southern pride expressed in country rock was Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home, Alabama,'
  2. ^ "Southern Comforts: 25 Best Songs About the South". Rolling Stone. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Planet of the Apes: Hard Rock". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 106. ISBN 031214704X. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  4. ^ Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (November 22, 2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-4408-6579-4.
  5. ^ Contreras, Felix (December 17, 2018). "Unfurling 'Sweet Home Alabama,' A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort". npr.com. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021. This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action.
  6. ^ Sweet Home Alabama song information Archived September 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Songfacts.com
  7. ^ "Untitled". canuck.seos.uvic.ca. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  8. ^ "600 Greatest Rock Songs". digitaldreamdoor. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Gallucci, Michael (January 15, 2016). "Top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  10. ^ Guitar World Staff (August 23, 2018). "The 25 Greatest Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs of All Time". guitarworld. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.