A deep dive into one of the best country rock records in history.

"The Ballad of Curtis Loew" by Lynyrd Skynyrd released&nbsp;on Lynyrd Skynyrd's second album, Second Helping, in 1974. This whimsical tale was written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant, but recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd. "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" tells the tale of a child who visits a corner store to get money for recycled bottles. While the child is there he sees an aged, black man, Curtis Loew, and often gives him money to play his dobro, which is a type of resonator guitar played horizontally, typically plucked or picked on the lap. The child gave Curtis his drinking money. He would sip wine where, "When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care". This created a negative aura around Curtis as the song says, "People said he was useless". The story goes on when we find out that the child's mother beats the child for interacting with Curtis. The child continues going to see Curtis, where he has a great time with him trying to keep the rhythm that Curtis plays.&nbsp; Dark days fall upon the child when he finds out that Curtis has died. No one showed up to pray at his funeral which was rushed. The song ends with the child yearning to hear him play the blues again where he called Curtis, "The finest picker to ever play the blues." I believe this song resonated with Ronnie who originally formed Lynyrd Skynyrd, because it painted a picture of a confused, but inspired child. Sadly, there isn't a lot of information on the background and meaning of this song as Ronnie passed away in a plane crash just three years after recording it.&nbsp; The story paints an entire scene in my head. The lyrics are minimal, but vivid enough for me to visualize the scene of a kid and old black man jamming out at the corner store. The repeated melody of the drums and guitar carry throughout the song which puts me into a trance-like state. This is one of those songs where you just lean back in your chair and drift off with the music.&nbsp; Overall, this song is an important piece of Southern Americana. More importantly, I have beautiful memories of my father and I listening to this song while fishing and working on cars. That is probably why it is so special to me. The&nbsp;memories of my loved ones keeps bringing me back to this&nbsp;Lynyrd Skynyrd classic.