Patterson Hood and the Duality of the Southern Thing

Patterson Hood grew up in Florence, Alabama — a deeply conservative, Bible Belt town where his father was quietly making history. David Hood was a session bassist for the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, recording with Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, and Wilson Pickett at a time when it wasn't always safe to go to dinner with the artists you were recording with. Patterson learned early not to mention his dad's job at school. When people asked what church his father attended, he changed the subject.Decades later, Patterson co-founded Drive-By Truckers — a band that has spent 25 years wrestling with Southern identity, racism, abuse of power, and what it means to be American. In this conversation, he talks about growing up progressive in the Deep South, why he thinks a Black and white soul band should replace the Confederate flag as the symbol of the South, and what he hopes listeners will make of his songs 20 years from now.

You can listen to Patterson Hood and the Duality of the Southern Thing online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Patterson Hood and the Duality of the Southern Thing is an episode from Gone South by Audacy Podcasts.

This episode is 30:46 long.

This episode was published on Apr 22, 2026.

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