Kid, Skynyrd Team Newest in Southern Rock

Southern rock is a musical genre based heavily on a combination of rock 'n' roll, blues and Tennessee whiskey. The amount of each ingredient varies.

(ABC News)

Head to many rural bars south of the Mason-Dixon Line and you'll be hard-pressed to avoid hearing the twang of the acoustic guitar, the bluesy riffs of the electric and powerful Southern-accented vocals providing testament to the simplicity of life in the country.

While the genre saw its height of popularity in the 1970s, America has seen a resurgence of Southern rock in the last few years. Let's take a look at the bands that have brought the genre back, as well as those responsible for its inception.

Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be performing on "Good Morning America" today.

Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd

Kid Rock made his leap into superstardom from the springboard of proud trailer trash metal rap and explosive energy. But soon, Kid transformed his sound, using his 2001 album "Cocky" as a transition into the world of Southern rock.

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Despite growing up in the Detroit area, Kid had his Southern credentials stamped when he teamed up with legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd this year to release "All Summer Long," a Southern rock ballad that Rolling Stone called a "monster hit."

Sampling perhaps the most famous riff in all of Southern rock, a hook from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," the Rock-Skynyrd collaboration gave summer lovers of 2008 an undeniable anthem.

"All Summer Long" has also rejuvenated the Lynyrd Skynyrd fan base, which was receding, but never dead. "Free Bird," another Skynyrd classic, has been requested by audiences of bands of all genres so often that it has become a pop culture joke.

Currently, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd are on tour to promote "All Summer Long" as well as please longtime fans with the songs that made each act a hit.

The Allman Brothers

Credited with being the first great Southern rock band, the Allman Brothers came together in Macon, Ga., in 1968. With intense blues and soul influences, the band produced what Rolling Stone called an "unprecedented sound: a searching, polyrhythmic extension of rock."