Bands That Rocked: 38 Special!




Sure, the 80s had big hair and metal bands and androgynous characters, but it also had some rock that, like today's Foo Fighters, were an it-goes-down easy rock for the masses.

(Wikipeia) They were a band made up of neighborhood friends Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant in 1974 in Jacksonville, Florida. The band's first two albums had a strong southern rock influence. By the early 1980s, 38 Special shifted to a more accessible arena rock style without abandoning its southern rock roots. This shift helped to usher in a string of successful albums and singles.

  "Hold On Loosely" in 1981 made them famous.

 

 Big hair with no makeup and wearing Levi's -- wow, very manly in an era of effeminate men.
 


This music reminds me of riding along the PCH in California, T-top open on the Camaro and big hair fluttering in the salty wind in the 80s. I worked in clothing stores in a mall, was a total clothes horse, and loving going to the beach for some volleyball on the weekends. This music, like Huey Lewis and the News and others, went down easy in that era of mindless decadence.



Their music is on my top 5 favorite makeout artists to listen to, along with Sade, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kings of Leon and (gulp) Journey.



Feel better now?

Comments

  1. Love Hold On Loosely. What a great song.

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  2. Love the 80's! But I was rocking the other end of the spectrum. We were listening to Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, X, The Dickies, Tsol, Agent Orange, The Ramones..............

    The best years of my life!

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  3. One of the first bands with TWO drummers! Seems like everybody and his cousin were in that band. They had so many people, I called them "38 People"

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