Rock History/Assignment 8: Rock Regionalism

As the ’70s went on, nostalgia and regional issues became a big focus. Many rockers celebrated more homespun concerns rather than taking fanciful flights into acid-rock, science fiction, or heavy metal fantasies. The Southern rockers took pride in the South, Bruce Springsteen became the poet of the Jersey shore, Jimmy Buffett celebrated the Gulf Coast, Bob Seger paid tribute to the heartland (the Midwest), the Eagles looked for that “Peaceful Easy Feeling” in California, Bob Marley wrote about Jamaica, and The Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival dreamed of regions other than their own.

What are your thoughts about the increase of rock’s regional focus as the ’70s unfolded? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, regionalism is “the consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region” and “the emphasis on regional locale and characteristics in art or literature.” Of the acts you choose, and feel free to choose from those I just mentioned, please give examples of their regional lyrics and inspirations.