Author Archives: Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena

The Country Music Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama,” is set to come out July 20th only at Wal-Mart. Among those artists who have recorded tracks for “Sweet Home Alabama ” are  Eric Church, Randy Houser, Uncle Kracker, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Randy Montana, Eli Young Band, and Ashley Ray. This eight-track collection mixes a variety of Skynyrd classics such as “Simple Man” by Houser, “Gimme Three Steps” by the Eli Young Band, “Call Me the Breeze” by Shooter Jennings, “Tuesday’s Gone” by Randy Montana and “Sweet Home Alabama” by Joyce protege Ashley Ray — with more obscure cuts such as “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” (Church), “Four Walls of Raiford” (Johnson) and “All I Can Do Is Write About It” by Uncle Kracker. “It’s all these young country bucks doing Skynyrd songs, which is pretty cool to us,” Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant tells Billboard.com. “It gives me great pleasure, because they’re doing older stuff…my brother (Ronnie Van Zant) wrote while he was still alive. People still love that stuff. They did what he did. He was a poet for the common people, and it’s always great when other people are interested enough to re-do the songs.” Currently, Skynyrd is on a summer tour that lasts until September 3rd, mostly with Bret Michaels and .38 Special. The group releases “Live From Freedom Hall,” recorded at a 2007 concert in Louisville, Ky., on June 22, and Van Zant says Skynyrd is hoping for a quick follow-up to last year’s studio set, “God & Guns.”Country Music Photo Gallery