Ten Favorite Southern Rock Songs: That's Your Secret (#10)

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Earlier today I saw a post by @Dena91 about southern rock bands, and it got me thinking....so credit her if you like this idea! (Blame me if you don't.) I grew up in Florida in the mid-70s, and moved back there for my first duty station in the Navy. As a result of that, I was exposed to a lot of southern rock. Now, before I begin, I'm going to lay a rule down for what I personally consider "southern rock" (given that some of the lists I saw online listed California bands like CCR and Little Feat as "southern rock"). I'm dealing with bands who came from the southeast and played that driving brand of rock that came to be known as "southern rock." Yes, I love Little Feat, but they don't count just because they did a song called "Dixie Chicken." Nor does CCR because of "Born on the Bayou." And, by the same token, Tom Petty (from Florida) or R.E.M. (from Georgia) are also not in this list, because, although they're southern, their brand of rock and roll doesn't fit in the "southern rock" category. Oh, and I left ZZ Top off....maybe in the "Texas music" series. So with that said, here's the first song...which may seem like a contradiction to that when you listen to it! #10: That's Your Secret - Sea Level So this sounds like the Allman Brothers meets Pablo Cruise, right? It really shouldn't be on the list, should it? Well, yes. Sea Level is what was left of the Allman Brothers Band when the Allmans broke up: Chuck Leavell (for whom "Sea Level" was named, in a joking way), Lamar Williams, and Jai Johanny Johanson. While the Allmans spearheaded the "southern rock" feel, combining rock and blues in long, guitar-based jams, Sea Level went another direction: putting a little jazz in the rock. (Hey, Dickey Betts left, where could they get a long guitar solo? ) "That's Your Secret" actually does have some good guitar work, along with some fine keyboard work from Leavell. It also contains a reference to professional wrestling, a southern staple: "it's agonizing reappraisal says Dusty Rhodes, and he's the American Dream." (I thought of that line first thing when Rhodes died a couple of years ago.) Sea Level didn't last long, and they didn't have near the success of their parent band. The introduction of a little jazz and funk into southern rock can be heard on later albums, though, by acts like the Rossington-Collins Band. That's Your Secret Written by Randall Bramblett and Davis Causey Recorded by Sea Level From Cats on the Coast, 1978 When you do it one time you've got to do it again: