GOP convention music: Southern and male

GOP convention music: Southern and male

By DAVID McCUMBER
Hearst Washington Bureau Chief

Lynyrd Skynyrd, the iconic Southern rockers, like to party for the Grand Old Party.

The near-perennial Republican convention headliners will take the stage again at the GOP’s convention in Tampa, along with Kid Rock, Trace Adkins, Lee Greenwood, The Oak Ridge Boys, and John Anderson.

Yes, the lineup is male, pretty much all of the country and Southern rock persuasion (Kid Rock spans many musical genres including those two) and just about all are from the land of Dixie.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s from Florida (no, not Alabama). Adkins is from Louisiana. Greenwood, Anderson and the ORB all will be commuting to Tampa from Tennessee. (For the sticklers, Greenwood lives in the Volunteer State now, although he was born in California. But his Tennessee bona fides are buttressed by his marriage to Kimberly Payne, a former Miss Tennessee USA.)

Speaking of bona fides, how much more country can you get than Trace Adkins, who was shot through the heart by his ex-wife, survived and gallantly refused to press charges?

Kid Rock, the only Yankee in the lineup, is a Michigander like Mitt. His anthem “Born Free” has been adopted as Romney’s theme, and he has endorsed Romney. He’s also tight with Lynyrd Skynyrd . The Kid introduced them, and performed “Sweet Home Alabama” with them, at their Rock Hall of Fame induction in 2006.

Lynyrd Skynrd played at the 2000 and 2004 Republican conventions, as well as doing campaign gigs for George W. Bush. This time around, delegates will be hoping the band’s new album title doesn’t reflect the party’s own demographics. The title: “Last of a Dyin’ Breed.”

SLIDESHOW at http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/08/24/gop-convention-music-southern-and-male-with-photo-gallery/