One of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s best songs is called “The Ballad of Curtis Loew,” even though it may not have achieved the incredible commercial success of tunes like “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” Guitarist Allen Collins and lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant co-wrote “The Ballad of Curtis Loew,” which appears on their second album Second Helping.
The piece, which is about the namesake “Curtis Loew,” is narrated from the viewpoint of a young bloke remembering his youth. The narrator calls Curtis “the finest picker to ever play the blues” and talks about how he utilized to perform his dobro for him. But it appears that the storyteller was the only person who thought well of Curtis. He subsequently recounts that nobody in the community seemed to notice at all when Curtis passed away.
The bluesy, melancholy tune has grown to become one of Skynyrd’s most cherished compositions. As a result, fans of Skynyrd routinely cover it; in fact, it’s one of the most popular Skynyrd covers available. The song’s approach is conducive to an acoustic version, as is customary for “Curtis Loew” versions. Such a rendition was done by a person who sat down with his instrument, cracked up a beer, and let “Curtis Loew” stream out of his heart.
This gentleman, Nick Swan, has evidently been planning to record himself singing “Curtis Loew” for a while. “Always one of my fav Skynyrd tunes, just now gettin’ around to doin’ it,” he stated in the caption of his video.
Keep going for the video below: