Unbelievable Singing Parrot Belts Out Eagles Classic Song

Unbelievable Singing Parrot Belts Out Eagles Classic Song

Tico & the Man Frank Maglio is a unique duet featuring guitarist and his 18-year-old double-headed Amazon Parrot feathered lead singer Tico's freestyle vocals. These videos are pure joy! Some of the Singing Parrot tunes Tico has covered are "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "House of the Rising Sun," and even," Psycho Killer" from the Talking Heads.  Tico & the Man have taken the internet by storm during the coronavirus pandemic with their classic rock videos.

This weekend WCSX is celebrating Southern Fried Rock Bands and the 50th anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd with a Southern Fried Weekend. Every hour begins with a double shot of Southern-fried rock bands.

This Sunday, August 13th, marks the 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album, Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd which gave us some of the most iconic classic rock songs including "Free Bird". Tune in at 6pm to hear the album in its entirety without commercial interruption.

Scroll down to get a taste of
the Southern Fried Rock we're
cooking up this weekend!

Lynyrd Skynyrd is a special band.  Born and raised in Florida, they were a rag-tag group of friends that didn't have an easy start or an understanding gym teacher.  The catalyst for leaving school and forming a band came from the band's famous gym teacher, Leonard Skinner.  He was insistent that the boys cut their hair before returning to school.  Lynyrd Skynyrd changed the spelling (to avoid getting sued) and their first album title became Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd. How else would anyone know how to say the name of the band?

The history of Lynyrd Skynyrd is beyond tragic.  We'll get into that another day.  This is about celebrating the music and the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The band is so much more than the events of October 20th, 1977.

The Story Behind covers "Freebird" from the lyrics to the original piano version and more. Check out the full story behind "Free Bird" below.

That little ol' band from Texas also just celebrated a 50th anniversary.  Tres Hombres hit the big 5-0 on July 26th, 2023. "La Grange" was written about a real establishment, "The Chicken Ranch," or Miss Edna's Boarding House in La Grange, Texas.  It was most likely the oldest establishment in Texas catering to the oldest profession.  The song drew so much attention to The Chicken Ranch that it was forced to close.

The Allman Brothers are quintessential Southern Rock. Duane and Gregg were both born left-handed but learned to play guitar right-handed. They performed at the Summer Jam in New York in July of 1973. They were on a bill with The Band and The Grateful Dead that drew about 600,000 people making it one of the largest rock concerts ever.

Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd both formed in Jacksonville, Florida around the same time.  The band was founded by guitarist Dave Hlubek in 1971.  Molly Hatchet's biggest song was "Flirtin' With Disaster." It spent 10 weeks on the Hot 100 chart peaking at #42 but the song has remained popular with the classic rock crowd for decades.

One of my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, "Simple Man" was written by Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington. Shortly after the passing of Ronnie's grandmother and Gary's mother, the two got together and started sharing memories of these strong women in their lives.  The song came from the stories and advice Ronnie and Gary got from them.  The song was written in about an hour.

The Marshall Tucker Band is not named after a band member.  According to songfacts.com, they saw the name on a key ring where they held rehearsals and chose it as the name for their band. The song wasn't a success on the charts, but it has been one of the biggest songs of Southern Rock nonetheless. Hank Williams Jr. and Waylon Jennings both recorded their own versions of the song.

Fun Fact:  "Train Train" was written by Rickey Medlocke's grandfather, blues man "Shorty" Medlocke.  Before Rickey Medlocke founded Blackfoot, he was a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd (and returned to Lynyrd Skynyrd later in his career).  Blackfoot had a number of hit albums but the bulk of their popularity was actually in Europe.

Another Van Zant brother!  Donnie Van Zant, lead singer brings the pipes, but who's song was it first?  This is a look at the history of "Rockin' Into The Night" and the influences behind .38 Special.

.38 Special got a big hand up from Survivor members, but I love .38 Special all on its own and I have for decades.  This Southern Rock band has pop sensibilities to boot.  You can move to a .38 Special song.

The amazing Leslie West, guitarist for Mountain explained how Mississippi Queen came together, "When Corky (Laing, drummer) brought me the idea, it was a one-chord dance song. We got real high, took out a napkin, and I came up with the main riff and the chords. Then we fit the words over the sound."  Some of the best things ever written started out on a napkin.