Sweet Home Everywhere: The Life and Times of an Unlikely Rock and Roll AnthemMP3 CD, 21 February 2017

Released in 1974, Sweet Home Alabama has become synonymous with Southern rock. From its opening guitar riff, it is instantly recognizable, a raucous, irreverent defense of a Deep South state and its segregationist governor against the jabs of Neil Young. But the roots of Lynyrd Skynyrd's best-selling anthem go much deeper than regional pride or resentment of a fellow rocker. In this fresh take on the history of an oft-debated rock classic, journalist Jonathan Bernstein traces the tune's surprising centuries-old origins and incredible global influence, which continues to this day. Sweet Home Everywhere is the story of a song that has enthralled, enraged, and confused listeners for 40 years.

Jonathan Bernstein is a freelance music journalist and fact-checker based in New York. His writing has appeared in Oxford American, Rolling Stone, Time, and American Songwriter, among others.