Go on and admit it, every time you hear their distinctive twang you start to get nostalgic and sway along with the music. It’s okay, a lot of us do and it’s completely natural. Lynyrd Skynyrd was and is one of the most awesome sounds to ever come along in the music industry and it’s brought nothing less than a genuine good vibe to any movie that each of their songs is paired with. Even to this day when you hear songs like Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama it’s time to get up and dance or at least sit there and sing along with the words to get that good, downhome feeling that their songs are so good at bringing out.
Here are some of the films that helped keep that positive attitude and have been able to keep Lynyrd Skynyrd as an enjoyable sound.
5. Sweet Home Alabama-Joe Dirt
He’s kind of a dirty little hillbilly, but, no, wait, that’s what he is to be honest. But beneath the super-sized mullet and white trash appearance Joe Dirt is the kind of guy that’s all heart and no quit. Some people might have thought that maybe he should just pack it in and let the world have him finally, but Joe is the kind of soul that just doesn’t know when to give it up and slink off, at least not until he thinks he’s lost the last person that made him feel important. Thankfully the lovable loser gets the girl and we’re reminded that life has a funny sense of humor.
4. Free Bird – The Kingsman: The Secret Service
Utter, wanton destruction. That’s what the Kingsmen are there to prevent, and yet it’s proven in this scene that even they aren’t above being tricked and coerced into doing something that goes against their upstanding moral code. The song keeps the movement going and easily matches the crazed pace of the actors as they tear, rip, tug, pull, and generally attempt to break each other apart in this old-fashioned melee in which Harry quite simply upstages them all as he mows through the civilians he’s sworn to protect like a highly trained buzz saw. Only when it’s all over does he realize what he’s done, and by then it’s too late.
3. Saturday Night Special – The Longest Yard
Cruz is the bad boy, the guy that everyone loves but can’t stand any longer because he just can’t keep his more destructive tendencies from affecting his judgment. It’s kind of amusing really to see him get back at his vindictive girlfriend for treating him like a trained monkey, but obviously he’s not all that great at making what could be long-term decisions. Still, he got in a multiple-car pileup and didn’t spill his beer, let’s give him points for style if not for tact.
2. Tuesday’s Gone – Happy Gilmore
A means of remembering things the way they were by honoring the way they are, that seems to be what this song says at times. Happy didn’t want things to change, but the more he fought them the more they went ahead and changed anyway. Eventually embracing the fact that he was a golfer with the spirit of a hockey player, he finally moved forward and accepted the life he was meant for, not necessarily the life he wanted.
1. Call Me The Breeze – Wild Hogs
Ah the open road, the freedom, the serenity, the bugs flying at you at thirty to forty miles an hour. At times like this you can imagine bikers might miss having a windshield, but somehow they make do. In a film that’s largely about a group of middle-aged friends making a trek across the country via motorcycle, it’s easy to expect some kind of mishap to occur, even if the least of it is a few skeeters in the teeth.
The distinctive sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd is one that is bound to be remembered for generations still to come, and it’s a good thing too.
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