Not Just Whistling Dixie
There are few Southern hearts that still fail to skip a beat or two when a military band strikes up “Dixie,” the de facto national anthem of the Confederacy and the song that has undoubtedly… »
The Steel Woods
There’s a Southern accentWhere I come from.The young un’s call it country,And the Yankees call it dumb. Tom Petty, “Southern Accents” (Covered by The Steel Woods) Southern rock and “outlaw country” are experiencing a renaissance… »
Front Porch Braggin’ Rights
My new neighbor Ozzie, who grew up in the Bronx, thinks that the South is a place “without much culture.” Ozzie acts as if he is an expert on the subject, even though his Southern… »
A Love of Place
Southerners love home. This is true of many people throughout history, but place has, in part, defined the South. The earliest settlers to what became the South championed its Utopian physical qualities: warm weather, a… »
The Land of Lincoln Bans Confederate Railroad
Illinois’ Governor J.B. Pritzer has banned the Southern rock band Confederate Railroad from the Illinois State Fair because of the band’s name and Confederate flag on their logo. He said that the administration bars using… »
An Okie From Muskogee
As someone who grew up during the decade of the 1960’s, I am paying attention when I hear those on the Left talking of the events which took place 50 years ago. I was born… »
Bluegrass and Jazz: What Do They Have in Common?
If you’ve come across some of the other things I’ve written for Abbeville, you might have been exposed to my assertion that almost all of American music is Southern music. Therefore, an obvious answer to… »
Scotch Snaps and Southern Music
I need to tell you one story in order to tell you another. The Czechoslovakian composer Antonin Dvorak moved to the United States in 1892, and immersed himself in American music while composing his New… »
Southern Music is American Music
Why do Southerners continue to fall into that trap where we only talk about the years1861-1865? There are almost 400 years of Southern culture to talk about, yet we keep limiting ourselves to just four… »
The King and the Fool
The King of Rock and Roll brought himself up by his bootstraps, served Uncle Sam as a soldier and before his early demise came he had made an honest fortune for himself and many others.… »
