Sweet Home Alabama
"Sweet Home Alabama" was written as an answer to two songs, "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young, which dealt with themes of racism and slavery in the American South. "We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two," said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. The following excerpt shows the Neil Young mention in the song:
In his 2012 autobiography "Waging Heavy Peace", Young commented on his role in the song's creation, writing "My own song 'Alabama' richly deserved the shot Lynyrd Skynyrd gave me with their great record. I don't like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue".
Skynyrd Frynds
The album was executive-produced by Lynyrd Skynyrd member Gary Rossington. Alabama's rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama" includes a rewritten verse, which omits the references to Watergate and George Wallace. Wynonna's rendition of "Free Bird" was later included on her 1996 album "Revelations", and Sammy Kershaw's "I Know a Little" was later included on his 2000 album "Covers the Hits". Confederate Railroad's version of "Simple Man" also appeared on the band's 1998 album "Keep On Rockin'". "Tuesday's Gone" by Hank Williams, Jr. was originally included on his 1988 album "Wild Streak".