Almost half...

In the past 50 years, football teams from the southern states have absolutely dominated the college fooball scene. They've won 23 of the last 50 national championships. That means roughly 20% of the states of the US have won nearly 50% of the championships. Those sad northerners and westerners think they can stake claim as the kings. They couldn't be more wrong.

Not only is the total quantity impressive, but the variety of those that have won it is too:

Alabama
Georgia
Tennessee
Florida
Auburn
LSU
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Miami
Texas

sorry for the lack of updates

I'm going to start updating this site on Sundays and Wednesdays. That's all for now.

Vassar Clements (1928-2005)

Today is a sad day for bluegrass fans and music fans everywhere. Fiddle legend and Kissimmee, Florida native Vassar Clements has passed away at the age of 77. Clements got his start as a Bluegrass Boy in Bill Monroe's band and he went on to perform with many of music's legends and was a legend himself. He was a member of Old & In the Way, a bluegrass group also featuring Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan and John Kahn. Their eponymous debut album is the biggest selling bluegrass CD of all time.

Clements' fiddle was often used outside of the bluegrass idiom in jazz, swing, country, etc. and he played on countless studio sessions. He also played with Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, John Hartford, Norman Blake, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, Stephane Grapelli, Hank Williams Jr., the Byrds, Woody Herman and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He even played on a Monkees' album.

Vassar is a true legend, and will be greatly missed.

My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket hail from Louisville, Kentucky and have made big rawking out cool again. That's not to say that the band is all guitars and in your face (which they can be), because they can certainly take it down several notches and do some spacy, mellow stuff too. The trademark sound though is the echoey vocals of guitarist Jim James. His vocals are distant, but warm. Really different.

I haven't been this excited about a band in ages. It Still Moves receives rotation in my player weekly eventhough it's two years old. Their new album Z is due shortly.

Their fall tour was announced recently, and hopefully they're coming to a town near you. I've seen them 2-3 times and they put on a fierce show.

There are some Real Audio clips on the site for you to check out (why they don't have MP3s I'll never understand) and they can be found on the individual album pages.

Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johsnon
Born: Palm Coast, Florida - March 31, 1984

A rising star on the US soccer team and for Major League Soccer team FC Dallas, Johnson possesses a nose for the goal like few Americans ever have. He scored in his international debut against El Salvador and also scored three goals in 17 minutes in his second appearance against Panama.

His scoring has be so prolific, that in a very short time, he's already become second in goals scored in World Cup qualifying matches for the US. He also shared the MLS scoring title last year with Brian Ching.

He's nursing a recent injury to his foot and hopefully will quickly return to the form that has him inevitably going down in history as one of the USA's greatest strikers ever.

Hank Williams Sr.

Born in Georgiana, Alabama on September 17, 1923. Williams is widely hailed as the original king of country music. His life was troubled and short. He had spina bifida from birth and often took alcohol and morphine in excessive amounts to help quell the pain. Despite his brief and turbulent life, Williams left an undeniable mark on the music industry and his songs are still recorded and performed to this day. His hits included "Jambalaya," "Hey Good-Looking," "Your Cheatin' Heart" and many others. He had 12 number one singles, 16 that charted between #2 and #5, and another nine that charted between #6 and #10. That's quite an accomplishment for someone that died at 29 years old. Williams is buried in Montgomery, Alabama.

A full biography can be found on the Hank Williams site at Mercury Records.

Hank Aaron

Born in Mobile, Alabama on February 5, 1934. Hank Aaron was one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. He holds Major League Baseball's all time home run record, all time RBI record, all time total bases leader and is the all time extra base hits leader. He was the National League MVP in 1957, won three Gold Glove awards, was 21 time all-star, is third on the all time hit list, was the only player to hit 30 home runs in 15 seasons and 20 home runs in 20 seasons. He won the World Series once and was the first player to achieve 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982. He played for the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers.

Aaron currently resides in Atlanta.

Site Purpose

This blog will serve as a place to celebrate Southern culture, people and accomplishments. That includes food, music, sport, literature, etc. The South is the birthplace of blues, jazz, country, bluegrass, it is the home of the best BBQ on earth and great college football, the South gave us the words of William Faulkner, Harper Lee, Flannery O'Connor. Great atheletes like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Charles Barkley and others hail from the South. All of these things will be explored.

The site is also pan-ethnic, meaning it will include white, black, or any other ethnicity. Southern is a state of mind, not a skin color.

It will generally include things pertaining to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia