
When I started writing my book, This Is My South: The Essential Travel Guide to the Southern States, I knew music would be an important part of it. Because what’s more important than good music when traveling? It was certainly a big part of my life growing up in this region.
I put together a list of what I considered to be essential tunes from around the region and across all genres for the front of the book. I’ve since turned it into a Spotify playlist and added some more songs. If you have some you’d like to see added, leave them in the comments!
An Essential Southern Playlist
There’s no denying how greatly Southern music has impacted the rest of the country. But each state and region has its own style. There’s the Mississippi and Arkansas blues, Old Time music in North Carolina, bluegrass in Kentucky and Virginia, zydeco and jazz in Louisiana, country in Tennessee, and modern rock, rap, and hip-hop in Georgia. All of the artists mentioned in this playlist hail from the region and some might surprise you.
- These Arms of Mine, Otis Redding
- When the Saints Go Marching In, Louis Armstrong
- Birmingham, Shovels and Rope
- Jolene, Dolly Parton
- Back Down South, Kings of Leon
- Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show
- Home, Marc Broussard
- Suspicious Minds, Elvis
- The Thrill is Gone, BB King
- Deep River Blues, Doc Watson
- Hold On, The Alabama Shakes
- Ms. Jackson, OutKast
- Time, Hootie and the Blowfish
- Oh My Sweet Carolina, Ryan Adams
- Stand by Your Man, Tammy Wynette
- Call Me, St. Paul and the Broken Bones
- Love Shack, the B-52s
- Get on Up, James Brown
- Zip City, Drive-by Truckers
- Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
- My Town, Montgomery Gentry
- Crash, Dave Matthews Band
- Dream a Little Dream of Me, Ella Fitzgerald
- Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash
- Hit ‘Em Up Style, The Carolina Chocolate Drops
- Cripple Creek, Earl Scruggs
- Stay Fly, Three 6 Mafia
- Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn
- Ramblin’, Marshall Tucker Band
- Bring It On Home To Me, Sam Cooke
Absolutely, the Allman Brothers Band and/or Gregg Allman are a must for this list. Melissa and. Midnight Rider come to mind.
Awesome post! Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.