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Any .38 Special fans?

Posted on 7/19/25 at 9:31 pm
Posted by morganwadefan
TN
Member since May 2023
1405 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 9:31 pm
New music sounds pretty good. Always have a soft spot for them, they were the first band I saw live.

LINK
Posted by DeltaTigerDelta
Member since Jan 2017
13301 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 10:09 pm to
Yes!

Posted by dukke v
PLUTO
Member since Jul 2006
215918 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 10:56 pm to
“Hold on Loosley” a great great song.
Posted by AlwysATgr
Member since Apr 2008
19910 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 11:18 pm to
quote:

they were the first band I saw live.


Same here. Opened for Peter Frampton at the PMAC 1977.

New music sounds great. Thanks OP.
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
30728 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 5:13 am to
I liked them, can't say I was a huge fan though.
Anyhow, this thread got me thinking about their stuff.
It always reminded me a bit of Atlanta Rhythm Section. This morning, I found out why.
Their producer/engineer, starting in 1979 was Rodney Mills, who had also worked with ARS.
It's kind of crazy how someone that doesn't even play in the band can leave their fingerprints all over records like that.
Posted by Bayou
Boudin, LA
Member since Feb 2005
41159 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 6:44 am to
I was given free backstage passes at an outdoor venue in Chandler, AZ in which they performed. I didn't speak to any of them but shared a moment over beers with a couple guys from The Outlaws.
.38 Special, today, just can't be the same core of members???
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
30728 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 6:55 am to
quote:

.38 Special, today, just can't be the same core of members???

Yeah, that would be almost impossible. DVZ is in his mid 70s.
Posted by Tchefuncte Tiger
Bat'n Rudge
Member since Oct 2004
62306 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 8:19 am to
quote:

Same here. Opened for Peter Frampton at the PMAC 1977.


I saw them a few years later at the Centroplex when they opened for Jefferson Starship. They were actually better than the headlining act. JS's show was actually boring until they started playing old Jefferson Airplane songs.
Posted by Sport Wood
Shreveport
Member since Dec 2006
785 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 8:40 am to
Chain Lightning is a great tune.
Fantasy Girl legit also.
Posted by Rize
Spring Texas
Member since Sep 2011
18532 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 9:09 am to
I grew listening to them but got away from a lot of the music from the 70’s and 80’s and even 90’s. I recently picked up a couple Boston albums and man I’ve been missing out. Going to give them another listen.
Posted by SeeeeK
some where
Member since Sep 2012
30448 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 9:36 am to
While hearing them in the 80's, wasn't big fan, but became a fan of their stuff. During the summers, it seemed 38 special was part of some fair, or 2, or 3.

They were the first group i had noticed, who had 2 drummers.
Posted by roll to victory
Hoover, AL
Member since Aug 2018
1526 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 10:10 am to
quote:

Chain Lightning is a great tune.


One of their best, way underrated!!
Posted by wareaglepete
Lumon Industries
Member since Dec 2012
17064 posts
Posted on 7/20/25 at 1:07 pm to
Posted by Lee B
Member since Dec 2018
3407 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 2:30 am to
quote:

quote:
.38 Special, today, just can't be the same core of members???

Yeah, that would be almost impossible. DVZ is in his mid 70s.


It's Don Barnes, the guitarist who ended up singing the hits back in the day, who might be in his 70s but seems to be in good shape from some vids I saw a while back... he left in the late '80s but went back at some point. Van Zant had to retire a while back for health reasons. Jeff Carlisi, the lead guitarist, left at some point in the early 90s. Not sure who else is there but I'm sure it's on wikipedia.
Posted by Lee B
Member since Dec 2018
3407 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 2:37 am to
I liked the hits... "Rockin' Into The Night," "Hold On Loosely," "Caught Up In You," "What If I Had Been The One." Good cleverly-written pop rock...

And at the same time I liked Survivor's hits before they became too much of a ballad band.

And a couple of months ago I was reading an article about Jim Peterik, the keyboardist;songwriter in Survivor, and before that the singer/guitarist in The Ides of March ("I'm your vehicle, baby...") in the late 60s. He met the guitarist from Survivor and they wrote a bunch of songs and made demos and got a record deal... but there was one song the label thought sounded "too Southern rock" for them, and their manager or somebody asked if they could give it to .38 Special, because it was probably perfect for them... that song was "Rockin' Into The Night." Then after that, Peterick and the other Survivor dude co-wrote "Hold On Loosely" and Caught Up In You" and other songs with some of the .38 Special guys. And it seems obvious, now.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
68835 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 6:32 am to
Saw them in concert 3 times. Great live band.



Tour de Force was a solid tour


Posted by jdd48
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2012
23347 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 7:18 am to
Huge fan. Probably not one of their more popular songs, but I personally love the ballad "Second Chance". The guitar fills in that song are awesome.
Posted by A12 Oxcart
On the float out in the Belt
Member since Dec 2022
990 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 10:03 am to
Love .38 Special, but most people don't realize they owe some of their biggest success to Peterik. (He also co-wrote "Fantasy Girl" and wrote "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys")

Jeff Carlisi is a very underrated player, so that helped.
Posted by Zappas Stache
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
Member since Apr 2009
42185 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 10:57 am to
I liked them for a minute and saw them at the Houston Summit in 1982 or 83. They didn't live on for me.
Posted by Lee B
Member since Dec 2018
3407 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 11:34 am to
quote:

Huge fan. Probably not one of their more popular songs, but I personally love the ballad "Second Chance". The guitar fills in that song are awesome.


That was a huge hit, but with a different lead singer who was a keyboardist who joined later... the thing is that people don't remember it being a .38 Special song because it has a bit of a different sound.
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