Pretty Southern

Category: Music

Music

  • Top 10 Southern Girl Songs

    Southern Girls are the finest ladies in all the world. Here are PrettySouthern’s Top 10 Songs about Southern Girls! We created this list based on reader feedback (plus used the most popular searches in Google). Do you agree with our list? If not, tell us why in the comments section below.

    We have to give an honorable mention to Miss Kellie Pickler for her song “Southern Girls Night Out”, plus pay our due respects to Patsy Cline, Lucinda Williams, and Dolly Parton for singing from the heart of true Southern women everywhere.

    PrettySouthern’s Top 10 Southern Girl Songs

    #10: Collective Soul, “Georgia Girl”
    #9: Lucero, “Banks of Arkansas”
    #8: Corey Smith, “From A Distance”
    #7: Conway Twitty, “Southern Comfort”
    #6: Better Than Ezra, “Southern Thing”
    #5: Incubus, “Southern Girl”
    #4: Allman Brothers, “Melissa”
    #3: General Johnson and the Chairman of the Board, “Carolina Girls”
     #2: Amos Lee, “Southern Girl”
    #1: Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Georgia Peaches”

  • Southern Girl Song #1

    The number one, absolute best song of all time about Southern girls goes to Lynyrd Skynyrd for “Georgia Peaches”. This band is about as Southern as they get. Formed in Jacksonville, Fla., in the 1960s, Lynyrd Skynyrd rose to fame touring throughout the South.

    “Georgia Peaches” is the title track on their album Legend (released in 1987 containing all demos and EPs from the band). Legend contains songs from the bands glory years (1973 – 1977) before the tragic plane crash outside Greenville, S.C. In 2001, the album Street Survivors was reissued featuring “Georgia Peaches” as a bonus track.

    Well you can see her walkin’ down on Peachtree Street
    She got high-heeled shoes and a dot on her cheek
    Well she’s lookin’ good, she’s headed downtown
    A’int got no money, honey, she knows her way around

    I think she’s cute, think she’s cute as she can be
    Talkin’ about a funny talkin’, hony tonking Georgia Peach

    Well these Georgia Peaches, son, they know their way around
    Take your money, son, before you gets outta town
    Well they talk a little funny, but they look so fine
    Yes, nine out of ten of them gonna sell you a dime

    I think they’re cute, think they’re cute as they can be (ooh yeah!)
    I’m talkin’ about a funny talkin’, hony tonking Georgia Peach

    Well peaches, peaches
    Love them Georgia Peaches
    Peaches, peaches
    Love them Georgia Peaches!

    Well them Georgia Peaches, they sure do got style
    They gonna steal your heart, with a Southern smile
    Well they talk a little funny, but they look so fine
    Older they get, Lord, I swear it’s like good wine

    I think they’re cute, think they’re cute as they can be
    Talkin’ about a funny talkin’, hony tonking Georgia Peach

    Thank you, Lynyrd Skynyrd! Was this your favorite Southern Girl song? Tell us with a comment below!

    —Editor’s note: photo contributed by our favorite Florida girl, Heather McCole Williams. To view more of her art or book her for photographic work, check out Heather’s blog or their Facebook page.

  • Southern Girl Song #2

    Defining a Southern Girl is as easy or tricky as y’all want it to be. Technically, a Southerner is any denizen below the Mason Dixon line. Where it gets complicated is attributing all the lovely qualities that make a Southern girl the best in the world.

    Amos Lee does a fantastic job in his song “Southern Girl”. He doesn’t go into specifics, but when he sings the chorus we all feel his emotions — love, adoration, and humility — in the presence of his lady.

    If you try to search “southern girl definition” in Google, you’ll get results from Urban Dictionary which appear to have been written by a Carolinian. There’s references to qualities inherent in Carolina girls, but these few sentences are ubiquitous for all ladies in waiting:

    “Southern hospitality runs in the family. Southern households are the most generous of them all, which makes Southern girls, the sweetest.” Amos Lee, would you agree?

    “Somethin’ about a Southern Girl, makes me feel right. In a Mississippi morning she’s an angel in flight.” At PrettySouthern, we believe all states below the Mason Dixon line are created equal. What state are you from, dear reader, and what do you love most about Southern girls?

    —Editor’s note: photo contributed by our favorite Florida girl, Heather McCole Williams. To view more of her art or book her for photographic work, check out Heather’s blog or their Facebook page.

  • Southern Girl Song #3

    Y’all may have heard this one before, especially if you like to shag. If not, meet “Carolina Girls” by General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board.

    Norman Johnson (a Southerner born in Virginia who died last year in Atlanta) teamed up in 1978, with Danny Woods and Ken Knox under the name General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board.

    In 1980, the new Chairmen founded Surfside Records, for which the group still records out of Charlotte, N.C.. In 1980, “Carolina Girls” was released and became one of the most popular songs to shag to across the Carolinas.

    In an interview, Danny Woods of Chairman of the Board was asked if “Carolina girls really are the best? He replied:

    “You know when I first came here (The Carolinas) there was no style. You know you had the New York girls, California girls and they all got the attention. Even songs about them. And that just made Carolina girls feel like nothing but there’s quite a difference between Carolina girls now and then. Their self esteem just magnified after that song.”

    It’s the all-time favorite Carolina beach song. If you’re hittin’ the road to the beach this summer, be sure to include it on your playlist. Here at PrettySouthern, we believe all Southern girls are the best in the world, regardless of their home state. Today, this one’s for the Carolina Girls.

    “Sweet Southern pearls! Sure look tough, girl I can’t get enough!”

    Happy shagging!

    —Editor’s note: photo contributed by our favorite Florida girl, Heather McCole Williams. To view more of her art or book her for photographic work, check out Heather’s blog or their Facebook page to check out what’s happening at their sweet shop.

  • Southern Girl Song #4

    From their album “Eat A Peach” the Allman Brothers most recognizable song is arguably “Melissa”. Who was Melissa you may ask? Gregg Allman gave the history of this song’s origin to the San Luis Obispo Tribune on Nov. 30, 2006:

    “I wrote that song in 1967 in a place called the Evergreen Hotel in Pensacola, Fla. By that time I got so sick of playing other people’s material that I just sat down and said, ‘OK, here we go. One, two, three – we’re going to try to write songs.’ And about 200 songs later – much garbage to take out – I wrote this song called ‘Melissa.’

    “And I had everything but the title…So one night I was in the grocery store – it was my turn to go get the tea, the coffee, the sugar and all that other s–t… and there was this Spanish lady there and she had this little toddler with her – this little girl. And I’m sitting there, getting a few things and what have you. And this little girl takes off, running down the aisle. And the lady yells, Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa!’ And I went, ‘Oh – that’s it’!”

    No, the song is not “Sweet Melissa” it’s just “Melissa.”

    Did y’all know Melissa is also a flower? It’s found in the U.K. (botanical Name Melissa officianalis) and the essence of oil in this flower can be used to mist your skin replenishing its moisture and restoring its healthy glow. Seems like Melissa did the same for this Allman brother.

  • Southern Theatre Hosts Salute to Motown

    The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is bringing Motown hits this Fourth of July weekend. At this marvelous Marietta, Ga., theatre y’all will be treated to hits by Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and a host of Motown greats.

    “Our focus for Independence Day weekend this year is to celebrate music born in America, music still alive today,” said Earl Reece, Strand director and show producer. We’ve been enjoying Motown music for over 50 years, and still, young people today know the words to songs like ‘My Girl’ and ‘Stop in the Name of Love.’ Motown is truly America’s music.”

    The Strand’s Salute to Motown musical revue will be a non-stop salute to some of the best music in the history of America. The show will tell the story of the origins of Motown, starting when Berry Gordy opened Motown Records in 1959 and posted a sign that proclaimed “Hitsville, U.S.A.” There wasn’t much of a reason to brag – yet. But soon his prediction came true. Emerging at the peak of the civil rights movement, Motown gave Americans everything they could want in music: anguish, romance, joy, and a reason to dance.

    Fabulous performances in Salute to Motown include a cast of soulful singers who are all local professional talent with choreography by Cindy Mora.

    “Some work as professional backup singers, have been on national tours, or are attending some of the top performing arts colleges in the nation,” said Director of Business Development & Marketing, Cassi Costoulas. “Motown may have started in Detroit, but its universal appeal helped unite Americans of all races across the country and especially in the South.”

    Smokey Robinson said “I would come to the South in the early days of Motown and the audiences would be segregated. Then they started to get the Motown music and we would go back and the audiences were integrated and the kids were dancing together and holding hands.”

    Salute to Motown promises to be a show filled with fun and exciting memories of extraordinary Motown sounds. Patrons can move, dance, laugh, and romance to the vibes of Motown, Friday and Saturday, July 1 & 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday and Monday, July 3 & 4 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 day of show.

    For more information, tickets, or to join The Strand’s email list, visit www.EarlSmithStrand.org or call the Box Office at 770-293-0080. The Box Office is located at 117 North Park Square, Marietta, and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; and two hours before the show.

    ~ Contributed by Cassi Costoulas