The Ballad of Curtis Loew

The Ballad of Curtis Loew is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song was first released on the band's 1974 album, Second Helping and again on their compilation, The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd and later on All-Time Greatest Hits. It is not one of the band's best known songs, but is on many of their compilation albums and before the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, was performed once live. In Ed King says, "The original version of the band only played 'Curtis Loew' ONE time on stage. We were playing in a basement in some hotel and thought we'd try it. We never played it again until the Tribute Tour with Johnny Van Zant."

[edit] The Story

The lyrics of the song tell about a young boy who wakes up in the morning "Before the rooster crows" and searches for soda bottles to cash in for money to give to a man named Curtis Loew. Curtis is described as a "Black man with white curly hair". The boy gives the money from the soda bottles and Curtis plays him songs on his Dobro guitar. Curtis eventually dies and the boy is perplexed at the fact that nobody came to pray at his funeral. Ronnie Van Zant, the band's lead singer and co-author of the song has never stated whether the song's story is based on true events. It is sometimes thought by Skynyrd fans to be about Shorty Medlocke, the father of Rickey Medlocke, Lynyrd Skynyrd's drummer during their 1970 tour.