The basic track was recorded with guide lead vocals, Ed King's lead guitar, Leon Wilkeson's bass, and Bob Burns' drums. Then Ronnie wrote the lyrics and Ed and I wrote the music." Ronnie and I were sitting there, and he kept saying, 'play that again'. It's the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. In an interview with Garden & Gun, Rossington explained the writing process: "I had this little riff.
None of the three writers of the song were from Alabama Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was from Glendale, California. The song remains a staple in southern and classic rock, and is arguably the band's signature song.
It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, becoming the band's highest-charting single. It was written in response to Neil Young's 1970 song " Southern Man", which the band felt blamed the entire South for American slavery Young is name-checked and dissed in the lyrics.
" Sweet Home Alabama" is a song by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on the band's second album Second Helping (1974).