Rocktober '70s Song #6: "Southern Girls" by Cheap Trick (1977)

The pride of Rockford, Illinois, Cheap Trick, was finally, and deservedly, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.  They have been putting out great music for well over 40 years, and they were kind of the defining band of '70s power pop.  The band's sophomore album, 1977's In Color, featured the original version of what would become the band's most enduring song, "I Want You to Want Me" (the live version of which became the band's first Top 10 hit two years later), as well as several other concert staples.

But I'll be damned if there's a better song on the album than "Southern Girls" -- guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson's ode to the ladies of Southern Canada (seriously).  This song is just so fucking catchy.  I honestly don't know how it didn't chart, much less climb into the Top 10.  It starts off with Bun E. Carlos's glammy drum beat, and from there, it's all hooks.  I rediscovered this song a couple years ago, and I kind of became obsessed with it for little while there.  Since then, it's a song that I can listen to multiple times in a row because it's about as perfect a power pop song as there could be.  Hell, I just listened to it three times in a row as I wrote this post. So I'm imploring you to listen, listen again, and spread the gospel of "Southern Girls." Or at the very least, go to Windsor and sing this at the top of your lungs to all the local ladies.