The Ballad Of Curtis Loew

This song tells the story of Black man named Curtis Loew who would play his dobro outside the corner store if you gave him some change, which he's use to buy wine. Most of the locals look down on Curtis, but anyone listening can hear he's "the finest picker to ever play the blues." The song was written by Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Allen Collins, who both died young (Van Zant in 1977 at 29, Collins in 1990 at 37). If they spoke about the song, it's been lost to time, but guitarists Gary Rossington and Ed King have both discussed it, and they give conflicting origin stories. According to King, who joined the band in 1972, Curtis Loew is a composite of different people, including Shorty Medlocke, the grandfather of Ricky Medlocke, who played guitar in an early Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup (Ricky later formed the band Blackfoot). Shorty, according to King, could "play anything," and contrary to the song's lyrics, was not black (In a 1997 interview on the Lyve From Steel Town album, the band was quoted as jokingly saying, "We needed to 'color' the song up"). Rossington a founding member of the band who grew up with Collins and Van Zant in Jacksonville, Florida, says there really was a Curtis Loew, although "Loew" wasn't his last name. "It's a true story," he said in a radio interview. "It's about a Black man who grew up in the west side with us. There was a store called Mulberry Market, and there was a Black man who stayed out there. His name was Curtis and he had an old dobro guitar. He kept it in his house right behind the store, but if you gave him some money - 50 cents or even a quarter - he'd play a song for you. He'd rake out his bottle and play the blues. We would collect Coke bottles - which the song says - drive all around the neighborhood getting them, then we'd cash them in, get the money and give it to Curtis Loew. He would go right across the street to the wine store and buy a bottle of wine. We'd give him like a quarter and he'd play for a minute and he'd come out straight and just play a song and say, 'give me the money, boy.' But when we'd all get together, three or four of us would put our money together and we'd give him like a dollar, $1.50. I think a bottle of cheap wine back then was $1.25. Then he'd go across the street and buy a bottle, have two or three nips, then he'd play a little song and half a bottle would be gone. He was into it. He was stomping his foot and he'd take an old Coca-Cola crate, turn it upside down, and that was his beat. He's start playing and he'd drink a little more wine he'd start singing and playing and kicking. That was fun."

"The Ballad Of Curtis Loew" wasn't released as a single and the band rarely played it live, but it still found a following among the Skynyrd faithful and is one of the most popular deep cuts in classic rock. It's part of the band's second album, Second Helping, which also includes "Sweet Home Alabama." The band recorded the album at The Record Plant in Los Angeles at the same time the Eagles were making their third album, On The Border, at the same studios. Members of both groups would congregate around the pinball machines in the studios and became friends.

A dobro is a resonator guitar with a mechanical amplifier. It was originally released in 1927. Gibson now owns the rights to the dobro guitar.