"A Sneak Peek"....
On January 3, 1981, the band "38 Special" released the album "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys".
This is the band's fourth album and also it's breakthrough album and the first to reach platinum status.
After three albums that focused on the Southern Rock style, the band decided to open up to a more up-to-date and accessible sound, aiming for the radio.
The band made a deliberate effort to differentiate themselves from classic "southern" bands like "Lynyrd Skynyrd" and "The Allman Brothers Band", and undertook a change of musical style towards a lighter and more catchy sound than their previous albums.
This was not a simple craft, as the comparisons to the bands we mentioned above were obvious, in terms of musical style, origin, and look and especially because one of the band's founders and the spirit behind was Donnie Van Zant, brother of Ronnie Van Zant and Johnny Van Zant from "Lynyrd Skynyrd".
Don’t get us wrong, Southern rock style still dominates this album, but it includes additional influences designed to make the material accessible in a much more friendly way, to appeal to a wider audience.
The band, formed in 1974 in Jacksonville Florida by friends Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant, released their debut album in 1977, and have been searching for their hit for three albums since.
The band received it in the form of the opening song "Hold On Loosely", which became the band's biggest hit.
The song was co-written with Jim Peterik who was not part of the band and was a member of the band "Survivor", yes the one that would release the immortal song "Eye of the Tiger" a year later.
Patrick co-wrote three more songs from the album, including the album's theme song.
It turns out that Jim Peterik is a very talented writer who has written for artists such as: "Cheap Trick", Sammy Hagar, "REO Speedwagon", Brian Wilson, "Lynyrd Skynyrd", "The Beach Boys" and more.
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