Craig Thompson
Rock ‘n’ roll is arguably America’s most successful cultural export ever. From the Sahara to the Steppes, from the Midwest’s suburbs to Medellín’s favelas, rock ‘n’ roll—devilishly charming bastard child of the blues and country-western—crosses every linguistic, cultural, and even religious barrier. Promiscuous by nature, she blends seamlessly with local rhythms wherever she goes—amalgamating accordion riffs in Argentina, Tuareg melodies in Algeria, or Viking poetry in Iceland. But in all languages and cultures, she evokes that same sweet emotion of freedom, rebelliousness, and the thrill of being young. While rock ’n’ roll now belongs to the world, her native country is the American South, and as much as she has traveled and morphed, that distinctive Southern drawl of her youth will never entirely fade.
The open road, another quintessential symbol of America, pairs as deliciously with rock ‘n’ roll as infatuated groupies with lead guitarists. The following road trip, cutting across the heart of the South, showcases five cities seminal to rock history: Jacksonville, Macon, Muscle Shoals, Chattanooga, and Memphis.
From Little Richard and Elvis to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bessie Smith, these cities have produced a Pleiad of virtuosos, trailblazers, and wildly colorful characters. In each city, we’ll explore rock history but also listen to latter-day rockers keeping the genre as exhilarating today as it was in the ’70s or ’50s. Our journey covers four states—Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee—with topographies as varied as the Atlantic coast, the Appalachian Mountains, and the muddy shores of the Mississippi River. So, cue up Sticky Fingers or Eat a Peach, drop the top back, and get ready to rock, baby.